Good afternoon Representatives.
My name is Jared Verner, and I’m the Public Policy and Communications Manager at the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments. I’m here to voice our opposition for House Bill 26-1102.
PPACG is made up of three counties and 13 cities and towns, all of which rely on the Highway Users Tax Fund to support needed infrastructure and safety improvements for all users, whether that is for drivers, cyclists or pedestrians. This fund is a critical piece of the puzzle that makes up how our member jurisdictions meet the transportation needs of our residents and visitors.
The fiscal impact of 1102, and removing money from the Highway Users Tax Fund, will limit the ability of our members to deliver projects. Based on our fiscal analysis, while still incorporating revenue growth in future years, the impacts of this bill would result in $541,394 less in Fiscal Year 2026-27, and $757,343 less in Fiscal Year 2027-28, across our 16 member governments.
Colorado Springs will lose out on more than a quarter-million dollars next year. Park County nearly $64,000. El Paso County, $169,000. Teller County, $30,000. The City of Fountain, $9,700. This is real money that can be used by our member jurisdictions that serve for grant matches, curb and gutter maintenance, pedestrian enhancements, safety improvements, roadway construction, and other purposes.
Some of our members have found ways to be aggressive in funding transportation needs. The Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority and Colorado Springs’ 2C initiative have both been renewed multiple times, because our residents recognized that the funding from state and federal sources was not enough. But those programs do not apply to all of our members, and in our most rural areas, the tax base would not be large enough to support the infrastructure that often carries freight across the state and tourists into the nation’s most scenic areas.
This bill would be in addition to other reductions to transportation funding that our members have experienced in recent years, like the Multimodal Transportation and Mitigation Options Fund, or MMOF. $70 million was swept last year, and the annual general fund transfers are being reconsidered. Our members have already delayed projects using those funds. Additional cuts to transportation funding, as proposed in this bill, would add to the impacts to local projects.
Thank you for your time and we encourage you to vote against House Bill 26-1102.