Colorado Revised Statutes

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 40-2-108 (2026)

Rules - legislative declaration

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CO-LEGleg.colorado.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(1) The commission shall promulgate such rules as are necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this title and shall furnish, without charge, copies of the appropriate rules to each public utility under its jurisdiction and, upon request, to any public officer, agency, political subdivision, association of officers, agencies, or political subdivisions and to any representative of twenty-five or more consumers. The commission shall be governed by the provisions of article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., for the promulgation and adoption of rules; except that, notwithstanding any provision of the said article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., to the contrary, the commission shall issue a decision whenever it adopts rules in accordance with this section.

(2) Notwithstanding section 24-4-103 (6), C.R.S., any temporary or emergency rule adopted by the commission shall be effective until a permanent rule that replaces the temporary or emergency rule is effective but not for more than two hundred ten days after the date of adoption.

(3) (a) The general assembly finds, determines, and declares that:

(I) Certain communities, both in Colorado and internationally, have historically been forced to bear a disproportionate burden of adverse human health or environmental effects, as documented in numerous studies, including the "Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty, 1987-2007" report by the United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries; the federal environmental protection agency's annual environmental justice progress reports; and a 2021 report from the "Mapping for Environmental Justice" project at the Berkeley Public Policy/The Goldman School that shows how the pollution burden is distributed in Colorado, while also facing systemic exclusion from environmental decision-making processes and enjoying fewer environmental benefits; and

(II) The purpose of this subsection (3) is to ensure that the commission, in exercising its regulatory authority, will take account of and, where possible, help to correct these historical inequities.

(b) The commission shall promulgate rules requiring that the commission, in all of its work including its review of all filings and its determination of all adjudications, consider how best to provide equity, minimize impacts, and prioritize benefits to disproportionately impacted communities and address historical inequalities.

(c) (I) In promulgating rules pursuant to this subsection (3), the commission shall identify disproportionately impacted communities. In identifying the communities, the commission shall consider minority, low-income, tribal, or indigenous populations in the state that experience disproportionate environmental harm and risks resulting from such factors as increased vulnerability to environmental degradation, lack of opportunity for public participation, or other factors. Increased vulnerability may be attributable to an accumulation of negative or a lack of positive environmental, health, economic, or social conditions within these populations.

(II) When making decisions relating to retail customer programs, the commission shall host informational meetings, workshops, and hearings that invite input from disproportionately impacted communities and shall ensure, to the extent reasonably possible, that such programs, including any associated incentives and other relevant investments, include floor expenditures, set aside as equity budgets, to ensure that low-income customers and disproportionately impacted communities will have at least proportionate access to the benefits of such programs, incentives, and investments.

(d) Repealed.

Source: L. 13: p. 468, § 12. C.L. § 2923. CSA: C. 137, § 13. CRS 53: § 115-2-9. C.R.S. 1963: § 115-2-9. L. 64: p. 166, § 124. L. 69: p. 930, § 9. L. 89: Entire section amended, p. 1525, § 6, effective April 12. L. 93: Entire section amended, p. 2058, § 8, effective July 1. L. 95: Entire section amended, p. 232, § 1, effective April 17. L. 2021: (3) added, (SB 21-272), ch. 220, p. 1157, § 3, effective June 10. L. 2023: (3)(d) repealed, (HB 23-1233), ch. 245, p. 1333, § 20, effective May 23.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 23-1233, see section 1 of chapter 245, Session Laws of Colorado 2023.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 11 cases, 1976–2005 · leading case: Pub. Serv. Co. of Colorado v. Van Wyk, 27 P.3d 377 (Colo. 2001).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Pub. Serv. Co. of Colorado v. Van Wyk, 27 P.3d 377 (Colo. 2001). · cites it 2× “(2000)(vesting the power to regulate public utilities in PUC).”

Pub. Serv. Co. v. Trigen-Nations Energy Co., 982 P.2d 316 (Colo. 1999). · cites it 4× “*325 PUC has rulemaking authority, see § 40-2-108, which it has utilized to adopt confidentiality rules applicable to PUC proceedings.”

Denver Welfare Rights Org. v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 547 P.2d 239 (Colo. 1976). · cites it 3× “Section 40-2-108, C.R.S. 1973. Among other broad powers are the regulations of rates and correction of abuses; section 40-3-102, C.”

Douglas Cnty. Bd. of Commissioners v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 829 P.2d 1303 (Colo. 1992). “) Especially in the case of the PUC, which has authority over public utilities encompassing many areas, see § 40-2-108, 17 C.R.S. (1991 Supp.), including common carriers, pipeline, gas, electrical, telephone, telegraph, and water corporations, see § 40-1-103, 17 C.”

Pollard Contracting Co. v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 644 P.2d 7 (Colo. 1982). · cites it 3× “Section 40-2-108, C.R.S.1973, grants authority to the PUC to promulgate rules and regulations, consistent with the statutes, for governing contract carriers within the state.”

Regular Route Common Carrier Conf. of the Colorado Motor Carriers Ass'n v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 761 P.2d 737 (Colo. 1988). “We affirm that part of the judgment upholding the two rules challenged by the common carriers and reverse that part setting aside the several rules contested by the contract *740 carriers in the judicial review proceeding in the district court.”

O'Bryant v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 778 P.2d 648 (Colo. 1989). “§§ 40-2-108 and 40-6-108, 17 C.R.S. (1984).”

O'BRYANT v. PUC of State of Colo., 778 P.2d 648 (Colo. 1989). “§§ 40-2-108 and 40-6-108, 17 C.R.S. (1984).”

East West Resort Transp., LLC v. Sopkin, 371 F. Supp. 2d 1253 (D. Colo. 2005). · cites it 2× “C.R.S. § 40-2-108. I disagree. First, the Colorado legislature grants the Commission its authority, and the legislature can change that authority by statute.”

J.C. Trucking, Inc. v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 776 P.2d 366 (Colo. 1989). “XXV; § 40-2-108, 17 C.R.S. (1984); Public Utils.”

Regular Rt. Com. Carrier Conf. v. Puc, 761 P.2d 737 (Colo. 1988). “We affirm that part of the judgment upholding the two rules challenged by the common carriers and reverse that part setting aside the several rules contested by the contract *740 carriers in the judicial review proceeding in the district court.”

— Colo. Rev. Stat. § 40-2-108(1) — 2 cases

Pub. Serv. Co. of Colorado v. Van Wyk, 27 P.3d 377 (Colo. 2001). “(2000)(vesting the power to regulate public utilities in PUC).”

Pub. Serv. Co. v. Trigen-Nations Energy Co., 982 P.2d 316 (Colo. 1999). “*325 PUC has rulemaking authority, see § 40-2-108, which it has utilized to adopt confidentiality rules applicable to PUC proceedings.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.