Tucked inside an eleventh-hour
bill that would impose new fees on oil and gas produced in Colorado is a requirement that the Regional Transportation District prioritize completion of its long-promised commuter rail lines between Denver and Longmont and Denver and north Adams County. The measure would also require RTD to work with the state on the routes and send a plan to the legislature and governor by July 2025 explaining how it plans to get the projects done. The clauses in the fee bill, the revenue from which would go to transit projects, are the latest examples of how Gov. Jared Polis and Democrats in the legislature this year are trying to impose changes on RTD amid their broader quest to force the agency to cooperate with plans to create
a Front Range passenger rail system . Front Range rail has become a legacy dream for the governor, and he and his allies see RTD, created by the legislature in 1969, as crucial to achieving that goal. Since RTD was created through state statute, state lawmakers have authority to tinker with its structure and direction. “If the state is going to be investing more money into transit funding, then I think it makes sense for us to say ‘where the money is going needs to be part of ensuring more confidence among voters and the population,’” said Senate President Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat and Polis partner who is one of the main sponsors of the fee measure,
Senate Bill 230 .
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The passenger trains from Denver to Longmont and Thornton were approved by voters in 2004 through a ballot measure, called FasTracks, raising sales taxes in RTD’s eight-county service area and giving the agency bonding authority. The train to Boulder was supposed to happen by 2014, but the revenue never materialized. Meanwhile, the passenger train promised between Denver and Thornton, known as the N line, opened in 2020, but the final 5.5 miles of the planned route, from Thornton to Colorado 7 in north Adams County,, still isn’t done. Polis has been a fierce critic of RTD, and his office led the negotiations with environmentalists and the oil and gas industry that led to Senate Bill 230. In exchange, all sides
agreed to back off their other policy and ballot measure plans. The legislation is estimated to generate $138 million in revenue each year, 80% of which would go to transit projects, a share of which would specifically be directed to rail. Much of the money runs through the Colorado Department of Transportation. “RTD is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of this bill, being the biggest transit provider in the state,” Shelby Wieman, a spokesperson for Polis, said in a written statement. “So it’s critical, and clear to Coloradans, that if they are to receive new state investments they expand service, do better, and improve on delivering transit services that people can rely on by fulfilling the commitment they made to voters and instilling transparency and accountability measures to drive better outcomes like increased ridership.” The governor and his allies at the Capitol want RTD’s Denver-to-Longmont commuter line to be built out in financial coordination with the broader system. In fact, Senate Bill 230 says RTD has to partner with the Front Range Passenger Rail District. Polis was also a driving force behind
House BIll 1447 , which, as introduced, would have
changed the makeup of RTD’s 15-member board by shrinking it to seven members and handing the governor the power to appoint two members to the panel. The measure was amended amid fierce pushback to drop those proposed changes. It’s now focused predominantly on making sure RTD is part of the state’s transit-centered housing conversation and forcing the agency to include the legislature in its long-term planning. There are also transparency requirements in the bill aimed at tracking any Senate Bill 230 dollars and direction to RTD to increase ridership. “We need to increase ridership, accessibility, frequency, reliability and safety,” Rep. Meg Froelich, an Englewood Democrat and main sponsor of House BIll 1447 said on the House floor Thursday. “RTD falls short on all of these metrics compared to transit agencies of similar size.” Separately,
Senate Bill 184 , which would
increase state fees on renting a car to generate an estimated $50 million annually for transit, primarily for rail. The measure also orders RTD to work with the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Front Range Passenger Rail District to come up with a way to work together, including determining whether they should create a new rail authority.
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JoyAnn Ruscha, who represents District B on the RTD board, said she’s glad the legislature is helping fund transit, but she’s worried about how prescriptive Senate Bill 230 is as RTD deals with maintenance and driver shortage issues. She thinks the N line to north Adams County should be a priority for RTD and the agency needs to get it done. But the passenger rail route to Longmont just isn’t in the financial cards for the near future. “Short of completely just gutting our entire bus system and drawing ourselves in debt, we don’t have $2 billion — and it might cost more than that at this point,” she said, referencing the cost estimate for the Denver-Longmont train. “… There is no money tree that we can shake to make this happen.” Further, Ruscha thinks the legislature is overreaching in its broader attempts to shape RTD, especially those geared toward Front Range rail, which is still a long way from becoming reality, both in planning and dollars. “This directive that (Front Range rail) is supposed to be RTD’s priority and takes precedence over other communities — I think it’s harmful,” said Ruscha, whose district spans northeast Denver, including the airport. Pauline Haberman, an RTD spokesperson, said the agency is “currently reviewing the newly introduced bills to fully understand their intent and possible impact.” “As an initial reaction, it is very welcome news to potentially have the state of Colorado identify a funding source to make investments in public transit,” Haberman said. “As the bill moves through the final days of the legislative session, RTD looks forward to working with both the governor’s office and the General Assembly.” Another part of Senate Bill 230 would prohibit RTD from using the oil and gas fee revenue to replace the existing tax dollars it has collected for rail projects and in turn using those dollars elsewhere. “These are already projects that RTD has committed to, either at the ballot box or at the board level,” Fenberg said. “We just think it makes sense to finish what voters thought they were approving before simply giving money for other projects.” The legislative session ends May 8.
Type of Story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
