House approves expansion of Clean Fleet Enterprise to include cleaner diesel and natural gas options

The Colorado House on March 31 approved Senate Bill 21 as amended, a bill that expands the Clean Fleet Enterprise’s options for replacing high-emitting heavy trucks. Sponsors said the program is optional for fleets and is designed to remove older, high-emitting trucks from the road by offering grants, rebates or loans for newer, lower-emitting vehicles.

Representative Baron, a co-prime in the House, emphasized the program is not a mandate but an option for trucking companies and independent drivers to decommission older rigs and receive financial help for newer diesel, compressed natural gas or electric vehicles. "This is an option for trucking companies or truck drivers... to get decommissioned and get some financial help for a newer, cleaner, more efficient diesel or electric vehicle," Baron said.

Floor debate focused on program metrics, the five-year sunset, fund caps and concerns about subsidizing large private fleets. Representative Graff and others urged posting enterprise metrics, baseline assumptions and methodologies publicly. Representative Graff argued for transparency and metrics to measure emissions outcomes, and proposed an amendment requiring annual disclosures; the amendment and related language about metrics and web posting were discussed and several technical amendments were voted on. Some members objected to using public funds to subsidize large corporations and called for targeting small businesses and independent operators. Representative De Graaf argued the enterprise appears overfunded and proposed adjusting fee collections when unobligated balances remain; that proposal was debated but did not carry.

The House adopted several amendments on the floor (including L008 and L009 where noted) and passed SB21 as amended.