Senate Bill 24-095 Fact Sheet

Published on May 17, 2024

SB24-095 proposes additional strategies so Colorado will reach attainment levels and avoid a potential “extreme” designation under the Clean Air Act. If legislators are committed to improving the state’s air quality, they should support this bill. For years, the legislature has passed regulations targeting the energy industry, but little has been done to address other significant sources of high emissions. SB24-095 uses incentives instead of penalties to do four things:

1. Create an incentive program to repair high-emitting vehicles.
2. Enhance the RAQC MowDown rebate program for purchasing electric lawn and garden equipment.
3. Expand Clean Fleet Enterprise to include light-duty trucks and subsidies up to 80% of incremental vehicle costs for local governments to pursue low-NOx fleet options.
4. Allocate sufficient and consistent air quality planning funds for regular photochemical modeling and analysis.
   
   

Top 5 Reasons to vote for SB 24-095

It helps disproportionately impacted communities. Not only does the bill benefit low-to moderate-income Coloradans, cutting emissions helps those who live in neighborhoods near highways that are hit the hardest by pollution.

• Malfunctioning or poorly maintained vehicles can emit up to 100 times more than a well-maintained vehicle.
  • Of the nine counties along the Front Range, Denver had the highest asthma rates for children between the ages of 5-14 every year but one from 2011-2022.4 The Denver-Aurora area was listed as the 6th worst in the country for high ozone days last year by the American Lung Association.We know it works. In California’s San Joaquin Valley, which is geographically similar to the Front Range, 70,000 low-income disadvantaged community residents have participated in a program to find and fix high-emitting vehicles.
• Every $8,000 in cost = 1 ton in emission reductions
  • Guided by the data, the bill addresses emission sources. Modeling from Gov. Polis’ designated air quality planning agency  shows that cars, trucks and commercial lawn and garden equipment are major ozone contributors.
• A leaf blower powered by a small two-stroke gas engine for ONE hour produces the same emissions as driving a gas-powered car with modern emission controls from Denver to Los Angeles.
• It helps protect our residents’ health. Traffic-related air pollution is associated with low birth weights, asthma onset in children and adults, and all-cause mortality in adults. 
• We can effectively address the ozone problem with frequent, ongoing modeling. The last modeling was conducted in 2021 using 2016 emissions. That is currently the best available data.

_{1. Regional Air Quality Council https://raqc.egnyte.com/dl/BO9JptnDlm}

_{2. Ibid. https://raqc.org/document/2021-modeling-forum-local-source-apportionment/}

_{3. The International Council on Clean Transportation}

 _{https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/US-TRUE-emissions-distribution-oct2020.pdf}

_{4. CDPHE https://coepht.colorado.gov/asthma-data}

_{5. Valley CAN https://valleycan.org/titu-about/}

_{6. https://www.mowdownpollution.org}