House Bill 1292, which would let the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) allow transmission developers to use state highway rights-of-way for electric transmission in exchange for fees, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee 4-3.

Sponsor Senator Winter told the committee the bill would let CDOT charge a small per-mile surcharge to access right-of-way and establish a cash fund to support the program. "We have a huge resource within our state that are the rights of ways that CDOT already owns," Winter said, adding the approach could be preferable to negotiating with private landowners or using eminent domain to expand transmission.

Senator Kirk Meyer pressed sponsors on how much revenue the program would generate and why expenditures were shown from the State Highway Fund when collections were described as indeterminate. Winter said the program mirrors prior permit systems, noting CDOT currently issues about 300 permits that have generated roughly $60,000 and that the surcharge would be set per mile when applications are received.

Senators asked about safety. Winter responded, "I do believe high voltage lines are safe. We have high voltage lines throughout the state. We have codes and we have standards for high voltage lines." After discussion the committee recorded a 4-3 vote in favor and the bill will proceed to the next stage of the legislative process.