HOUSE PASSES BILL TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE

Bill goes to Gov for signature

(May 1) – The House sent a bill sponsored by Speaker of the House KC Becker, D-Boulder, and Rep. Dominique Jackson, D-Aurora, to the Governor. The bill will take action to address climate change. Acting on climate will help protect clean air and water, and spur clean energy jobs, innovation, business development, and economic growth for Colorado.

“We can address climate change, create clean energy jobs, reduce carbon pollution and help our economy all at once,” said Speaker Becker. “I thank my colleagues for taking action to address this challenge and we look forward to the Governor signing it into law. Air pollution doesn’t respect county or governmental boundaries and in Colorado we take pride in the fact that we are doing our part to address the impacts of climate change. This bill sets goals to reduce carbon pollution and some utilities have already set carbon-free goals.”

“We too frequently see the smog, and the hazy, bad air quality impacting the air we all breathe. Pollution is changing how we live our lives and threatening the things we love about Colorado,” said Rep. Jackson when the bill passed the House in April. “We’ve all heard the stories about elderly individuals who have been physically harmed because they couldn’t cool their home. Our seniors, low income people and especially communities of color are more likely to bear the impacts of climate change. Let’s preserve our Colorado way of life today.”

Rep. Jackson is Chair of the House Energy and Environment committee. Establishing science-based goals & taking action to meet them are critical to Colorado’s future. The overwhelming majority of Coloradans support climate action.

Coloradans are already seeing the negative impacts of climate change on a daily basis:

Coloradans are experiencing poor air quality affecting our health; mountain residents are seeing more frequent and destructive wildfires; increased drought is harming our farms; smaller snow packs are resulting in shorter ski seasons; and shallower rivers for fishing and rafting are threatening our thriving outdoor economy and the Colorado way of life. The overwhelming majority of Coloradans support climate action. This reasonable, science-based legislation directs the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to develop rules limiting carbon pollution, ensuring Colorado lead on climate action. HB19-1261 puts pollution reduction goals into statute to reduce Colorado’s greenhouse gas pollution by 26 percent by 2025, 50 percent by 2030, and 90 percent by 2050 of 2005 levels. The AQCC will hold an extensive stakeholder process throughout the rulemaking period.

The House re-passed the bill after the Senate added amendments on a vote 39-24.