Colorado § 33-10-117 - State park access - fees - fund - definitions - rules.

§ 33-10-117. State park access - fees - fund - definitions - rules.

(1) (a) (I) By July 1, 2024, the commission shall establish, by rule:

(A) A process for local governments to request an additional fee to be charged on a daily vehicle pass that authorizes the use of a state park located within the local government's geographic boundaries; and

(B) Criteria for approving a request made under subsection (1)(a)(I)(A) of this section.

(II) The division shall not collect the fee from a state park visitor who holds an annual or lifetime pass to visit state parks. The commission shall not unreasonably withhold approval of a request to create the fee.

(b) The rules promulgated by the commission must set the fee so that the fee:

(I) Does not exceed two dollars, but the commission shall adjust the fee every five years to account for inflation or deflation as provided in subsection (1)(c) of this section, and the adjustment may allow the fee to exceed two dollars; and

(II) Is rounded to the nearest dollar.

(c) In calculating inflation or deflation, the commission shall use the statistics published by the Colorado department of transportation as the construction cost index.

(d) (I) (A) The local access route cash fund is created in the state treasury. The fund consists of money credited to the fund in accordance with this subsection (1) and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund.

(B) The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund.

(C) Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the division to implement this section.

(II) The division shall perform, on an annual basis, an analysis to determine the net incremental cost of the collection and administration of the fee. The division may retain a portion of the fee to cover the cost of collecting and administering the fee, but may retain only the amount of the fee that is determined to be necessary by the cost analysis. The division shall not retain more than three and one-third percent of the fee. The division shall transmit the retained portion of the fee to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund created in section 33-10-111.

(2) (a) Beginning January 1, 2025, the division shall collect any fee established under subsection (1) of this section from each person using a daily vehicle pass that visits a state park for which an additional fee has been established and shall transfer the fee, minus the amount retained under subsection (1)(d) of this section, to the state treasurer, who shall credit the fee to the fund. The division shall transfer the remainder of the fee from the fund to the local government that requested the fee and is responsible for the local access route. If a state park has multiple local access routes that are maintained by multiple local governments, all of which requested the additional fee pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section, the local governments shall determine by agreement how the fee revenue is to be apportioned, and the division shall not distribute the fee revenue to the local governments until the local governments have provided the division with the agreement.

(b) A local government shall use any fee received under this subsection (2) to support access to state parks. Supporting access may include maintaining and constructing local roads, bicycle lanes, shuttle operations, and multimodal access routes.

(3) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Daily vehicle pass" means any fee paid by a visitor to a state park assessed on a daily basis and based on a motor vehicle entering the state park.

(b) "Fee" means the fee established under subsection (1) of this section.

(c) "Fund" means the local access route cash fund created in subsection (1)(d)(I) of this section.

(d) "Local access route" means a right-of-way, including a bike or pedestrian path, that is normally used to travel to or from a state park.

(e) "Local government" means a city, county, city and county, or special district of this state.

Source: L. 2023: Entire section added, (SB 23-059), ch. 223, p. 1153, § 2, effective August 7.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 23-059, see section 1 of chapter 223, Session Laws of Colorado 2023.