Committee hears bill to divert Keep Colorado Wild overages to county road grants; amendment passes, bill postponed

Senate Bill 30, introduced by Senator Bazely, would direct excess revenue from the Keep Colorado Wild (KCW) pass — the amount collected above a $36,000,000 statutory baseline — into a new grant program to help counties maintain roads and access to state parks and wildlife areas.

Supporters, including Park County Commissioner Amy Mitchell and other county officials, told the committee the bill responds to a clear local need. Mitchell said counties have insufficient funding to maintain park access roads and argued KCW overage grants would improve access at dozens of parks and wildlife areas. “Counties desperately need help,” Mitchell said during her two-minute testimony.

Teller County Commissioner Eric Stone called the proposal “common sense,” saying KCW met its revenue goals and that overage funds offer a ready source for local maintenance. Jared Verner of the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments said regional studies show county roads that provide park access require upgrades and that a state grant program modeled on federal lands access programs could be effective. Park County Commissioner Jason Gammer described how current Highway User Tax Fund formulas favor urban counties; he said Park County receives only about $3,800 per road mile per year and that heavy park traffic can push unpaved roads well beyond standard maintenance thresholds, increasing costs and public-safety risks.

Opponents included Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and conservation groups, which said KCW overages were intended by the 2021 legislation to support conservation and recreation priorities. Brian Webster of Conservation Colorado said the overage “is not a surplus” and warned that redirecting the funds would “effectively defund” programs that support vulnerable species and habitat. Wendy Padilla, deputy executive director at the Department of Natural Resources speaking on behalf of CPW, said KCW provides mission-critical funding for park maintenance, backcountry search and rescue and the state wildlife action plan, and she urged a no vote.

The committee also heard detailed fiscal questions. Legislative fiscal analyst Alexa Kelly explained that current statute directs KCW receipts into Parks and Wildlife enterprise cash funds; moving overage receipts to the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) for grant administration could make those amounts subject to TABOR because the receipts would not remain inside the enterprise.

Senator Bazely offered amendment L001 to establish an advisory board composed of county commissioners from counties with parks to recommend grant distribution. The committee voted on the amendment and it passed on a 3–2 vote.

After closing remarks from the sponsor and further committee discussion, a motion to send SB 30, as amended, to the Committee on Finance with a favorable recommendation failed on a committee vote (reported in the transcript as 1–4). A subsequent motion to postpone the bill indefinitely was made and — by reverse roll call as announced on the floor — the committee postponed SB 30 indefinitely. The chair then adjourned the meeting.

What remains unresolved is whether the legislature will reintroduce a funding mechanism that addresses county maintenance needs without altering the statutory dedication of KCW funds; supporters urged state-level action, while opponents urged alternative approaches such as expanded opt-in county fees or study bills.

The committee record contains both the advisory-board amendment’s adoption and the procedural outcome that ended SB 30’s current progress; no implementation or appropriation followed from today’s session.