C.R.S. Section 43-4-217
Additional funding

  • road usage fees
  • rules
  • legislative declaration
  • definitions

(1)

The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

(a)

State motor fuel excise taxes levied on the purchase of motor fuels represent the largest source of state funding for the construction, maintenance, and supervision of the highways, roads, and streets of the state;

(b)

The amount of motor fuel taxes paid for motor fuel used to propel a motor vehicle bears a reasonable relationship to the vehicle’s use of and impact on the highways, roads, and streets of the state because the amount of motor fuel used by a vehicle is in large part a function of the amount of miles traveled by the vehicle and the weight of the vehicle;

(c)

Motor fuel tax rates have not been increased in over twenty-five years, and motor fuel tax revenue has not kept pace and will not keep pace with inflation or the increased transportation infrastructure demands of the growing population of the state because:

(I)

The amount of motor fuel tax paid does not depend on the price of motor fuel and therefore does not increase when motor fuel prices increase but instead depends on the quantity of motor fuel purchased, which for most drivers does not increase over time; and

(II)

Motor vehicles have become more fuel-efficient over time;

(d)

It is necessary, appropriate, and in the best interest of the state to mitigate the declining purchasing power of motor fuel excise taxes by collecting a road usage fee from persons who use the transportation system to travel by motor vehicle, basing the amount of the fee on reasonable estimates of fee payers’ usage of and impact on the system, and using fee revenue solely for the construction, maintenance, and supervision of the highways of the state;

(e)

Because motor fuel consumption is reasonably related to use of and impact on the transportation system, it is fair to fee payers, reasonable, and appropriate to calculate the amount of the road usage fee based on their motor fuel consumption;

(f)

It is also fair to fee payers, reasonable, and appropriate to streamline fee collection by collecting the road usage fee from distributors of motor fuels when motor fuel taxes are collected because the amount of the fee will be incorporated into the retail price of motor fuel and therefore passed on to users of the transportation system in precise proportion to their consumption of motor fuel and in reasonable relation to their use of and impact on the transportation system; and

(g)

In accordance with numerous Colorado judicial precedents, the road usage fee and the bridge and tunnel impact fee imposed as authorized by section 43-4-805 (5)(g.5) and collected by the department of revenue on behalf of the statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise pursuant to this section are fees and are not taxes because:

(I)

The fees are imposed not to raise revenue for general governmental purposes but instead are imposed for the sole purpose of funding the construction, maintenance, and supervision of the transportation system, with a priority placed on projects that are designated as ten-year vision projects on the department’s ten-year vision project list;

(II)

Fee revenue defrays costs incurred by the state in funding construction, maintenance, and supervision of the transportation system that is necessitated by increased use of the system by the fee payers who use motor vehicles on the transportation system; and

(III)

The fees are imposed at rates that are reasonably calculated to defray the costs of providing the service, are based on the use and impact on the transportation system by fee payers, and are thus proportional to the benefits received by fee payers.

(2)

As used in this section:

(a)

“Gasoline” means gasoline, as defined in section 39-27-101 (12), that is taxed at the rate specified in section 39-27-102 (1)(a)(II)(A).

(b)

“Inflation” means the average annual percentage change in the United States department of transportation, federal highway administration, national highway construction cost index or its applicable predecessor or successor index for the five-year period ending on the last December 31 before a state fiscal year for which an adjustment to the road usage fee imposed pursuant to subsection (3) or (4) of this section is to be made begins.

(c)

“Special fuel” means special fuel, as defined in section 39-27-101 (29), that is taxed at the rate specified in section 39-27-102 (1)(a)(II)(B). “Special fuel” does not include diesel fuel and kerosene to which indelible dye meeting federal regulations is added before or upon removal from a terminal so long as such fuel is not used for a taxable purpose as described in section 39-27-102.5 (1.5).

(3)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (6) of this section, on and after April 1, 2023, each distributor of gasoline that pays the excise tax imposed on gasoline shall also pay, at the same time and in the same manner as the excise tax, a road usage fee in the amount specified in subsection (3)(b)(I) of this section or annually calculated by the department of revenue as required by subsection (3)(b)(II) or (3)(b)(III) of this section.

(b)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(I)

The amount of the road usage fee for each gallon of gasoline acquired, sold, offered for sale, or used in this state from April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023, and during state fiscal years 2023-24 through 2031-32 is:

(A)

Two cents per gallon from April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023;

(B)

Three cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2023-24;

(C)

Four cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2024-25;

(D)

Five cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2025-26;

(E)

Six cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2026-27;

(F)

Seven cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2027-28; and

(G)

Eight cents per gallon for state fiscal years 2028-29 through 2031-32.

(II)

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3)(b)(III) of this section, the amount of the road usage fee for each gallon of gasoline acquired, sold, offered for sale, or used in this state during state fiscal year 2032-33 or during any subsequent state fiscal year is the sum of:

(A)

The nominal amount of eight cents on December 31, 2030, adjusted for inflation; and

(B)

The difference between the nominal amount of twenty-two cents on December 31, 2030, adjusted for inflation, and the nominal amount of twenty-two cents on December 31, 2030.

(III)

An adjustment for inflation shall be made pursuant to subsection (3)(b)(II) of this section only if the rate of inflation is positive and must be the lesser of the actual rate of inflation or five percent. The department of revenue shall calculate the inflation adjusted amount of the road usage fee for state fiscal year 2032-33 and shall publish the amount no later than April 15, 2032.

(4)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (6) of this section, on and after April 1, 2023, each distributor of special fuel that pays the excise tax imposed on special fuel shall also pay, at the same time and in the same manner as the excise tax, a road usage fee in the amount specified in subsection (4)(b)(I) of this section or annually calculated by the department of revenue as required by subsection (4)(b)(II) or (4)(b)(III) of this section.

(b)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(I)

The amount of the road usage fee for each gallon of special fuel acquired, sold, offered for sale, or used in this state from April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023, and during state fiscal years 2023-24 through 2031-32 is:

(A)

Two cents per gallon from April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023;

(B)

Three cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2023-24;

(C)

Four cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2024-25;

(D)

Five cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2025-26;

(E)

Six cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2026-27;

(F)

Seven cents per gallon for state fiscal year 2027-28; and

(G)

Eight cents per gallon for state fiscal years 2028-29 through 2031-32.

(II)

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4)(b)(III) of this section, the amount of the road usage fee for each gallon of special fuel acquired, sold, offered for sale, or used in this state during state fiscal year 2032-33 or during any subsequent state fiscal year is the sum of:

(A)

The nominal amount of eight cents on December 31, 2030, adjusted for inflation; and

(B)

The difference between the nominal amount of twenty and one-half cents on December 31, 2030, adjusted for inflation, and the nominal amount of twenty and one-half cents on December 31, 2030.

(III)

An adjustment for inflation shall be made pursuant to subsection (4)(b)(II) of this section only if the rate of inflation is positive and must be the lesser of the actual rate of inflation or five percent. The department of revenue shall calculate the inflation adjusted amount of the road usage fee for state fiscal year 2032-33 and shall publish the amount no later than April 15, 2032.

(5)

Each distributor of special fuel that pays the excise tax imposed on special fuel shall also pay, at the same time and in the same manner as the excise tax and the road usage fee imposed pursuant to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, a bridge and tunnel impact fee in the amount imposed by the statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise as authorized by section 43-4-805 (5)(g.5). The collection and administration of the bridge and tunnel impact fee by the department of revenue on behalf of the statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise is done on behalf of the enterprise for the purpose of minimizing compliance costs for distributors and administrative costs for the state, and all bridge and tunnel impact fee revenue is revenue of the enterprise only and is excluded from state fiscal year spending, as defined in section 24-77-102 (17).

(6)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

A distributor is not required to pay the road usage fee imposed by subsection (3) or (4) of this section or the bridge and tunnel impact fee imposed as authorized by section 43-4-805 (5)(g.5), if the distributor would otherwise be liable for the excise tax on the gasoline or special fuel subject to the fee but is allowed to sell the gasoline or special fuel without payment of the applicable excise tax pursuant to section 39-27-102 (1)(b)(II) or section 39-27-102.5 (2)(b).

(b)

Gasoline or special fuel removed from a terminal in this state by a person licensed as an exporter pursuant to section 39-27-104 exclusively for delivery to another state is not subject to the road usage fee imposed by subsection (3) or (4) of this section or the bridge and tunnel impact fee imposed as authorized by section 43-4-805 (5)(g.5).

(c)

The burden of proving that gasoline or special fuel is not subject to the road usage fee imposed by subsection (3) or (4) of this section or the bridge and tunnel impact fee imposed as authorized by section 43-4-805 (5)(g.5) is on the distributor under such reasonable requirements of proof as the executive director of the department of revenue may prescribe.

(7)

The collection, administration, and enforcement of the road usage fees imposed by subsection (3) or (4) of this section and the bridge and tunnel impact fee imposed as authorized by section 43-4-805 (5)(g.5) shall be performed by the executive director of the department of revenue in the same manner as the collection, administration, and enforcement of state gasoline and special fuel taxes pursuant to article 27 of title 39. A distributor who pays the road usage fee as required by subsection (3) or (4) of this section shall remit the fee, together with any bridge and tunnel impact fee that the distributor also pays as required by section 43-4-805 (5)(g.5) and subsection (5) of this section, to the department of revenue at the same time and in the same manner in which the distributor remits gasoline or special fuel taxes collected by the distributor as required by article 27 of title 39. The department of revenue may promulgate rules to implement this section.

(8)

In accordance with section 43-4-203 (1)(f), the state treasurer shall credit all road usage fee revenue collected as required by this section to the highway users tax fund created in section 43-4-201. In accordance with section 43-4-805 (5)(g.5), the state treasurer shall credit all bridge and tunnel impact fee revenue collected as required by this section to the statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise special revenue fund created in section 43-4-805 (3)(a). All fees credited to the highway users tax fund pursuant to this section shall be allocated from the highway users tax fund to the state, counties, and municipalities as required by section 43-4-205 (6.8).

Source: Section 43-4-217 — Additional funding - road usage fees - rules - legislative declaration - definitions, https://leg.­colorado.­gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2023-title-43.­pdf (accessed Oct. 20, 2023).

43‑4‑201
Highway users tax fund - created
43‑4‑202
Definitions
43‑4‑203
Sources of revenue
43‑4‑204
Appropriation
43‑4‑205
Allocation of fund
43‑4‑206
State allocation
43‑4‑207
County allocation
43‑4‑208
Municipal allocation
43‑4‑209
Withholding municipal allocations
43‑4‑210
Estimated county allocations
43‑4‑211
Estimated municipal allocations
43‑4‑212
Payment of balances
43‑4‑213
Forfeiture of funds
43‑4‑214
Future municipalities eligible
43‑4‑216
Liability unaffected
43‑4‑217
Additional funding - road usage fees - rules - legislative declaration - definitions
43‑4‑218
Additional funding - retail delivery fee - fund created - simultaneous collection of enterprise fees - rules - legislative declaration - definitions
43‑4‑301
Legislative declaration
43‑4‑302
Powers of commission - contracts approval
43‑4‑401
Fund created
43‑4‑402
Source of revenues - allocation of money - special account created
43‑4‑403
Alcohol and drug impaired driving prevention enforcement program - minimum requirements
43‑4‑404
Formula for allocation of money - rules
43‑4‑501
Short title
43‑4‑502
Legislative declaration
43‑4‑503
Definitions
43‑4‑504
Creation of authorities
43‑4‑505
Board of directors
43‑4‑506
Powers of the authority - inclusion or exclusion of property - determination of public highway alignment
43‑4‑506.5
Traffic laws - toll collection
43‑4‑507
Local improvement districts
43‑4‑508
Value capture areas
43‑4‑509
Bonds
43‑4‑510
Cooperative powers
43‑4‑511
Powers of governmental units
43‑4‑512
Referendum
43‑4‑513
Notice - opportunity for comment
43‑4‑514
Notice - coordination of information - report
43‑4‑515
Successor to prior entity - assumption of obligations and liabilities - action for mandamus or injunctive relief
43‑4‑516
Agreement of the state not to limit or alter rights of obligees
43‑4‑517
Investments
43‑4‑518
Bonds eligible for investment
43‑4‑519
Exemption from taxation - securities laws
43‑4‑520
No action maintainable
43‑4‑521
Termination of revenue-raising powers
43‑4‑522
Judicial examination of powers, acts, proceedings, or contracts of an authority
43‑4‑601
Short title
43‑4‑602
Definitions
43‑4‑603
Creation of authorities - exercise of powers of an authority by transportation planning organization
43‑4‑604
Board of directors
43‑4‑605
Powers of the authority - inclusion or exclusion of property - determination of regional transportation system alignment - fund created - repeal
43‑4‑605.5
Preservation of state highway funding - legislative declaration
43‑4‑606
Establishment of regional transportation activity enterprises
43‑4‑607
Traffic laws - toll collection
43‑4‑607.5
Streetscape enhancements - local and private authority
43‑4‑608
Local improvement districts
43‑4‑609
Bonds
43‑4‑610
Cooperative powers
43‑4‑611
Powers of governmental units
43‑4‑612
Referendum
43‑4‑613
Notice - opportunity for comment
43‑4‑614
Notice - coordination of information
43‑4‑615
Agreement of the state not to limit or alter rights of obligees
43‑4‑616
Investments
43‑4‑617
Bonds eligible for investment
43‑4‑618
Exemption from taxation - securities laws
43‑4‑619
No action maintainable
43‑4‑620
Judicial examination of powers, acts, proceedings, or contracts of an authority
43‑4‑621
Calculation of fiscal year spending limit - first full fiscal year’s spending as base
43‑4‑622
Exercise of authority powers by transportation planning organization
43‑4‑701
Legislative declaration
43‑4‑702
Definitions
43‑4‑703
Submission of ballot question regarding issuance of transportation revenue anticipation notes
43‑4‑704
Powers of executive director
43‑4‑705
Revenue anticipation notes - ballot issue - repeal
43‑4‑706
Financial obligations subject to annual budget allocation
43‑4‑707
Note proceeds
43‑4‑708
Investments
43‑4‑709
Powers of political subdivisions
43‑4‑710
Notes legal investments
43‑4‑711
Exemption from taxation
43‑4‑712
No action maintainable
43‑4‑713
Annual reports
43‑4‑715
Construction of part
43‑4‑801
Short title
43‑4‑802
Legislative declaration
43‑4‑803
Definitions
43‑4‑804
Highway safety projects - surcharges and fees - crediting of money to highway users tax fund - definition
43‑4‑805
Statewide bridge enterprise - creation - board - funds - powers and duties - legislative declaration - definitions
43‑4‑806
High-performance transportation enterprise - creation - board - funds - powers and duties - limitations - reporting requirements - violations on the peak period shoulder lanes - legislative declaration - definitions
43‑4‑807
Bonds - investments - bonds eligible for investment and exempt from taxation
43‑4‑808
Toll highways - special provisions - limitations
43‑4‑809
Enterprises - applicability of other laws
43‑4‑810
Fees and surcharges - limitations on use
43‑4‑811
Transit and rail division - funding for local transit grants
43‑4‑812
Use of user fees for transit - legislative declaration
43‑4‑814
Military deployment - motor vehicle fees exempted - penalty
43‑4‑901
High-visibility alcohol and drug impaired driving enforcement
43‑4‑902
Local high-visibility alcohol and drug impaired driving enforcement - qualified program - report - rules
43‑4‑903
High-visibility alcohol and drug impaired driving enforcement funding
43‑4‑1101
Legislative declaration
43‑4‑1102
Definitions
43‑4‑1103
Multimodal transportation options fund - creation - revenue sources for fund - use of fund
43‑4‑1201
Legislative declaration
43‑4‑1202
Definitions
43‑4‑1203
Clean transit enterprise - creation - board - powers and duties - rules - fees - fund
43‑4‑1301
Legislative declaration
43‑4‑1302
Definitions
43‑4‑1303
Nonattainment area air pollution mitigation enterprise - creation - board - powers and duties - rules - fees - fund
43‑4‑1401
Definitions
43‑4‑1402
Colorado wildlife safe passages fund - creation - use of fund - report
43‑4‑1501
Legislative declaration
43‑4‑1502
Definitions
43‑4‑1503
Fuels impact enterprise - creation - powers and duties
43‑4‑1504
Fuels impact enterprise cash fund - definition
43‑4‑1505
Fuels impact reduction fee
43‑4‑1506
Fuels impact reduction grant program
43‑4‑1507
Repeal of part
Green check means up to date. Up to date

Current through Fall 2024

§ 43-4-217’s source at colorado​.gov