House Committee of Reference Report
Committee on Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources
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April 21, 2025
After consideration on the merits, the Committee recommends the following:
HB25-1332 be amended as follows, and as so amended, be referred to the Committee on Appropriations with favorable recommendation:
Page 1, Line 1Amend printed bill, page 2, strike lines 13 through 15 and substitute
Page 1, Line 2"public schools;".
Page 1, Line 3Page 3, strike lines 3 through 23 and substitute:
Page 1, Line 4"(e) Conservation; outdoor recreation; contributions to reducing
Page 1, Line 5emissions and addressing climate change through the development of
Page 1, Line 6transmission and renewable energy generation on state trust lands; and
Page 1, Line 7housing for teachers, educators, school employees, and families with
Page 1, Line 8children may all be identified as forms of benefits to the trust
Page 1, Line 9beneficiaries;".
Page 1, Line 10Reletter succeeding paragraphs accordingly.
Page 1, Line 11Page 4, strike line 19 and substitute "similar interests in land".".
Page 1, Line 12Page 4, strike lines 20 through 27.
Page 1, Line 13Strike pages 5 through 7 and substitute:
Page 1, Line 14"(2) The general assembly further finds and declares that:
Page 1, Line 15(a) As the state approaches its 150th anniversary on August 1,
Page 1, Line 162026, there are opportunities to further implement the intent of section
Page 1, Line 1710".
Page 1, Line 18Page 8, strike lines 7 through 27.
Page 1, Line 19Page 9, strike lines 1 through 6.
Page 2, Line 1Reletter succeeding paragraphs accordingly.
Page 2, Line 2Page 9, line 14, after "expand" insert "conservation, restoration, and".
Page 2, Line 3Page 9, strike lines 20 through 27.
Page 2, Line 4Page 10, strike line 1 and substitute:
Page 2, Line 5"(III) Respecting the rights of existing lessees; and".
Page 2, Line 6Reletter succeeding paragraphs accordingly.
Page 2, Line 7Page 10, strike lines 8 through 13 and substitute "transmission siting, and
Page 2, Line 8housing, where appropriate.".
Page 2, Line 9Page 10, line 23, strike "means:" and substitute "means, with regard
Page 2, Line 10to the long-term stewardship trust:".
Page 2, Line 11Page 12, strike lines 13 through 22 and substitute:
Page 2, Line 12"for recreation, conservation, and agriculture;
Page 2, Line 13(II) Make recommendations on or before September 1, 2026,
Page 2, Line 14to the governor; the house of representatives agriculture,
Page 2, Line 15water, and natural resources committee and the senate
Page 2, Line 16agriculture and natural resources committee, or their
Page 2, Line 17successor committees; the state board of land commissioners;
Page 2, Line 18and the executive director of the department;
Page 2, Line 19(III) Be assisted by a professional facilitator;
Page 2, Line 20(IV) Engage specialists or subject matter experts as
Page 2, Line 21needed, including experts on the economy, landscape ecology,
Page 2, Line 22agriculture, and climate resilience; and".
Page 2, Line 23Renumber succeeding subparagraph accordingly.
Page 2, Line 24Page 12, line 26, strike "February 28," and substitute "March 16,".
Page 2, Line 25Page 13, strike lines 5 through 27.
Page 2, Line 26Page 14, strike lines 1 through 6 and substitute:
Page 2, Line 27"(3) (a) By September 5, 2025, appointing authorities shall
Page 2, Line 28appoint voting members of the work group pursuant to
Page 3, Line 1subsection (3)(b) of this section. In making the appointments, the
Page 3, Line 2appointing authorities shall endeavor to achieve geographic
Page 3, Line 3diversity on the work group. In conducting the study, the work
Page 3, Line 4group shall solicit public input, including input regarding
Page 3, Line 5identification of particular properties to consider and
Page 3, Line 6management recommendations to include in the study.
Page 3, Line 7(b) (I) The speaker of the house of representatives shall
Page 3, Line 8appoint to the work group:
Page 3, Line 9(A) One member of the public school capital construction
Page 3, Line 10assistance board created in section 22-43.7-106;
Page 3, Line 11(B) One representative of an environmental organization
Page 3, Line 12with expertise in land conservation and stewardship; and
Page 3, Line 13(C) One representative of a wildlife and habitat
Page 3, Line 14conservation organization.
Page 3, Line 15(II) The majority leader of the house of representatives
Page 3, Line 16shall appoint to the work group:
Page 3, Line 17(A) One county commissioner;
Page 3, Line 18(B) One representative of nonmotorized recreation; and
Page 3, Line 19(C) One representative of a commercial real estate entity
Page 3, Line 20with experience leasing property on state lands.
Page 3, Line 21(III) The minority leader of the house of representatives
Page 3, Line 22shall appoint to the work group:
Page 3, Line 23(A) One representative of motorized recreation; and
Page 3, Line 24(B) One member who is an agricultural producer or
Page 3, Line 25representative of a statewide agricultural organization.
Page 3, Line 26(IV) The president of the senate shall appoint to the work
Page 3, Line 27group:
Page 3, Line 28(A) One member with a background in outdoor equity;
Page 3, Line 29(B) One representative from the renewable energy
Page 3, Line 30industry with experience leasing renewable energy facilities on
Page 3, Line 31state trust lands; and
Page 3, Line 32(C) One representative of a hunting or angling
Page 3, Line 33organization.
Page 3, Line 34(V) The majority leader of the senate shall appoint to the
Page 3, Line 35work group:
Page 3, Line 36(A) One educational stakeholder representing rural
Page 3, Line 37schools;
Page 3, Line 38(B) One representative of the mining industry with
Page 3, Line 39experience leasing property on state trust lands; and
Page 3, Line 40(C) One elected representative of a municipality.
Page 3, Line 41(VI) The minority leader of the senate shall appoint to
Page 3, Line 42the work group:
Page 3, Line 43(A) One oil and gas operator with experience leasing
Page 4, Line 1property on state trust lands; and
Page 4, Line 2(B) One member who is an agricultural producer or
Page 4, Line 3representative of a statewide agricultural organization.
Page 4, Line 4(VII) The governor shall appoint to the work group:
Page 4, Line 5(A) One member with economic expertise related to issues
Page 4, Line 6the work group will study, including option value, as described
Page 4, Line 7in section 36-1-152.5 (1)(a)(V), and conservation leasing;
Page 4, Line 8(B) One member with legal expertise, including knowledge
Page 4, Line 9of the state constitution, fiduciary duties, and statutes
Page 4, Line 10governing the issues the work group will study; and
Page 4, Line 11(C) One member with water resource management
Page 4, Line 12experience.
Page 4, Line 13(VIII) The executive director of the department shall,
Page 4, Line 14through the Colorado commission of Indian affairs created in
Page 4, Line 15section 24-44-102, present to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the
Page 4, Line 16Southern Ute Indian Tribe on the work group and its objectives
Page 4, Line 17and invite the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Southern Ute
Page 4, Line 18Indian Tribe to participate in the work group. The Ute Mountain
Page 4, Line 19Ute Tribe and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe may accept or
Page 4, Line 20decline the invitation to participate and, if either tribe elects to
Page 4, Line 21participate, the tribe shall appoint a representative to serve on
Page 4, Line 22the work group.
Page 4, Line 23(IX) The Colorado commission of Indian affairs created in
Page 4, Line 24section 24-44-102 shall appoint to the work group one member
Page 4, Line 25who is a member of the American Indian community in
Page 4, Line 26Colorado.".
Page 4, Line 27Reletter succeeding paragraph accordingly.
Page 4, Line 28Page 14, line 15, strike "and".
Page 4, Line 29Page 14, strike line 17 and substitute "designee; and
Page 4, Line 30(VI) The state historic preservation officer or the
Page 4, Line 31officer's designee.".
Page 4, Line 32Page 15, strike line 6 and substitute "recreational opportunities on
Page 4, Line 33state trust lands, taking into account the challenges
Page 4, Line 34associated with recreational access on state trust land parcels
Page 4, Line 35with existing agricultural leases; and".
Page 4, Line 36Page 15, line 22, after "resiliency," insert "water resources,".
Page 4, Line 37Page 15, strike lines 26 and 27.
Page 5, Line 1Page 16, strike lines 1 through 4 and substitute:
Page 5, Line 2"(c) Identification of state trust land parcels that
Page 5, Line 3present unique opportunities for conservation and educational
Page 5, Line 4purposes, which identification may include recommendations as
Page 5, Line 5to whether and how long-term disposition of parcels should
Page 5, Line 6occur, including lease, easement, or fee title acquisition for
Page 5, Line 7conservation purposes such as habitat restoration or ecosystem
Page 5, Line 8services. Identification of parcels must include consideration
Page 5, Line 9of:".
Page 5, Line 10Page 16, strike lines 21 and 22 and substitute:
Page 5, Line 11"(C) Wetlands and riparian areas;
Page 5, Line 12(D) Habitat connectivity; and
Page 5, Line 13(E) Agricultural opportunities;".
Page 5, Line 14Page 16, line 27, strike "states," and substitute "states and
Page 5, Line 15consideration of private property rights of lessees and adjacent
Page 5, Line 16landowners,".
Page 5, Line 17Page 17, line 4, before "lessons" insert "any applicable".
Page 5, Line 18Page 19, line 15, strike "October 1, 2025," and substitute "February 1,
Page 5, Line 192026,".
Page 5, Line 20Page 19, strike lines 23 through 27.
Page 5, Line 21Page 20, strike lines 1 and 2.
Page 5, Line 22Reletter succeeding paragraphs accordingly.
Page 5, Line 23Page 20, strike line 17 and substitute "viewing, and an analysis of
Page 5, Line 24how those states minimize impacts to current leases on the same
Page 5, Line 25parcel.".
Page 5, Line 26Page 20, line 20, strike "December 15, 2026," and substitute "February
Page 5, Line 2715, 2027,".
Page 5, Line 28Strike page 21 and substitute:
Page 5, Line 29"(b) A specific process to substantiate how the state
Page 5, Line 30board balances revenue generation with conserving the
Page 6, Line 1long-term value of state trust lands;
Page 6, Line 2(c) Any other policies or rules the state board, in its
Page 6, Line 3discretion, deems necessary to implement section 10 of article IX
Page 6, Line 4of the state constitution; and
Page 6, Line 5(d) A schedule to review and update by December 2028, if
Page 6, Line 6necessary, all existing stewardship trust management plans or
Page 6, Line 7other applicable plans to achieve conservation purposes and
Page 6, Line 8require corrective management actions in accordance with the
Page 6, Line 9existing stewardship trust policy and lease terms.
Page 6, Line 10SECTION 4. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
Page 6, Line 11takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
Page 6, Line 12ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except
Page 6, Line 13that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V
Page 6, Line 14of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this
Page 6, Line 15act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take
Page 6, Line 16effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in
Page 6, Line 17November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the
Page 6, Line 18official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.".