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House Energy & Environment

Thursday, March 12, 2026·1h 29m·▶ Watch / Listen

The House Energy & Environment Committee killed Rep. Stephanie Luck's HB26-1279, which would have required public utilities to notify landowners before building new infrastructure, even after amending it and hearing raw testimony from southeast Colorado ranchers about eminent domain and un-noticed transmission projects. The panel also took hours of testimony on HB26-1246, a framework for privately financed 'consumer regulated' electric utilities, before laying it over at the sponsor's request.

Key Actions

·Public Utility Notice to Real Property OwnerKilled

+ 1 more action

Notable Quotes

And we received a letter back saying, well, you have failed to respond, so we are going to move forward with accessing your property.

Carrie Frase · witnessA Bent County rancher describing how a utility proceeded onto land after she declined to sign — the core grievance the bill sought to address.

+ 5 more quotes

Votes

Postponed indefinitely — bill killedAction
Yes (10)Carlos Barron, Jamie Jackson, Junie Joseph, Amy Paschal, Manny Rutinel, Lesley Smith, Jenny Willford, Dan Woog, Elizabeth Velasco, Alex Valdez
No (2)Ken DeGraaf, Scott Slaugh
Excused (1)Lori Goldstein
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TranscriptPreview
It. Committee will come to order. Ms. Falco, please call the roll. Representatives Barone. Here. DeGraff. Late. Excused. Goldstein. Late. Excused. Jackson. Here. Joseph. Late and excused. Pascal. Here. Brunell. Late and excused. Slaw. Late and excused. Smith. I am here. Wilford. Here and on time. Like it. Late and excused. Come from Alaska. And Mr. Chair, I'm here. Let's get going. Representative Le. Tell us about 1279. Thank you, Mr. Chair. 1279 is a bill that came out of a conversation I had with a former constituent. So when I first ran for office, I ran for House District 47 and we redistricted and I now serve House District 60. But a former constituent called me up and said, we have a problem. Would you try and help provide a solution? And I think it's worth a solution. So, as you likely know, I represent rural Colorado. And in rural Colorado, we are big on being good neighbors and being considerate. And part of being good neighbors and considerate is just the function of letting people know what you're up to. For instance, every New Year's Day, we have our Wagon Masters group do a New Year's Day ride
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