Colorado - in a frustrating start to the session https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb25-026 has been introduced which would reduce the marketers Vendor allowance from 2% to 1% based on a Washington state study.
Few things. The review of the allowance was part of a scheduled and mandated periodic review by the state auditor. We worked with the state Auditor to defend the allowance and the recommendation from the state was that the Legislature should leave the allowance alone.
Because there was background material provided one of the Senators took hold of the Washington study and recommended a reduction in the allowance which would cost marketers 6.5 million dollars per year when adopted in 2026.
In looking at the science a 20-degree coefficient supports a 2% allowance on days like today where gallons sourced in Denver contract when delivered hundreds of miles away.
Clearly CWPMA will oppose this.
At issue is that the fees imposed by SB 260 https://tax.colorado.gov/fuel-tax-and-fee-rates are not assessed the allowance even though they are collected in the same way, at the same time, and on the same people, as the fuel excise tax. This was part of a negotiated agreement where the allowances would be left alone in exchange for our non-opposition to the imposition of the fees.
Someone missed the memo. CDOT is envisioning a proposal that will further increase the Fee/Tax on Diesel this year and we are skeptical of that proposal that seeks to hit on road CMV’s with additional cost without getting anything in return dedicated to freight.
More on this later but as justification for the value of the association which has an annual budget of less than 300k dollars... saving the industry 6.5 million is a pretty good marker.
CWPMA has done nothing but support the communities we depend on relative to fuels. Thankfully one of the sponsors has a really good track record of looking at the data and the science so we can hopefully mitigate the damage this proposal will cause.
Also at issue is that the fiscal note simply reverts the money to the General Fund....Not to CSP not to CDOT but simply into the base accounting balance. Even if we supported this, the money should be allocated to the Highway system and the supervision and maintenance of said system.... This is something we are dedicating almost all our attention on as the session begins.