Colorado § 24-38.5-103 - Electric vehicle grant fund - creation - administration - legislative declaration.

§ 24-38.5-103. Electric vehicle grant fund - creation - administration - legislative declaration.

(1) (a) (I) There is created in the state treasury the electric vehicle grant fund, referred to in this section as the "fund". The Colorado energy office shall use the fund to:

(A) Provide grants to state agencies, public universities, public transit agencies, local governments, landlords of multifamily apartment buildings, private nonprofit or for-profit corporations, and the unit owners' associations of common interest communities as defined in article 33.3 of title 38 to install charging stations for electric vehicles;

(B) Cover the administrative costs of providing grants pursuant to subsection (1)(a)(I)(A) of this section;

(C) Provide analysis and technical support related to the development, permitting, and energization of electric vehicle charging stations, including providing technical assistance to counties and municipalities in accordance with sections 30-28-213 (6) and 31-23-316 (6);

(D) Support or directly engage in operational and policy work to support electric vehicle adoption, electric vehicle charging, and affordable, clean electricity for electric vehicles, including covering the administrative costs of this work; and

(E) Support the development and enforcement of retail electric vehicle charging rules by the division of oil and public safety in the department of labor and employment.

(II) The Colorado energy office shall prioritize grants provided pursuant to subsection (1)(a)(I) of this section based upon:

(A) The extent to which the proposed recipients' charging locations are likely to effectively serve existing electric vehicles or encourage the acquisition of additional electric vehicles;

(B) The extent to which one or more charging stations would not be installed but for the financial assistance provided by a grant from the fund; and

(C) Any other criteria defined by the Colorado energy office.

(b) The general assembly declares that while the intent of this section is to provide assistance and additional incentive where needed to encourage the installation of charging stations thereby maximizing the number of stations that can be installed using the limited resources available from the fund, the Colorado energy office may grant the full cost of an installation or help offset station operating costs in a location that is especially advantageous for support of the electric vehicle market but where other revenues are not and will not foreseeably be available to defray the costs.

(2) The Colorado energy office is authorized to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this section. All private and public funds received through gifts, grants, or donations shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the fund. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the Colorado energy office. Any money in the fund not expended for the purposes of this section may be invested by the state treasurer as provided by law. All interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of money in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year must remain in the fund and must not be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund.

Source: L. 2009: Entire section added, (SB 09-075), ch. 418, p. 2319, § 3, effective August 5. L. 2012: (2) amended, (HB 12-1315), ch. 224, p. 968, § 20, effective July 1. L. 2013: (1) amended, (SB 13-126), ch. 165, p. 538, § 3, effective May 3. L. 2014: (1) amended, (SB 14-028), ch. 114, p. 412, § 1, effective April 11. L. 2019: IP(1)(a), (1)(b), and (2) amended, (1)(a)(I) repealed, and (1)(a)(IV) added, (HB 19-1198), ch. 123, p. 532, § 1, effective August 2. L. 2024: (1)(a) amended, (HB 24-1173), ch. 215, p. 1321, § 5, effective August 7. L. 2025: (1)(a)(I)(B) amended and (1)(a)(I)(D) and (1)(a)(I)(E) added, (HB 25-1267), ch. 252, p. 1262, § 3, effective August 6.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 24-1173, see section 1 of chapter 215, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.