Be On The Record
BlogSign inSubscribe
HearingsBillsAlerts
← Hearings

House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources

Thursday, February 19, 2026·1h 42m·▶ Watch / Listen

The House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee advanced three bills to the Committee of the Whole: a unanimous ag land property tax exemption update for pasture-based livestock producers, a unanimous sunset of a dormant veterinary pharmaceutical advisory committee, and a contested coal transition worker hiring preference and investment authority bill that passed 11-2 over objections about government mandates on private businesses and geographic inequity.

Key Actions

·SB 26-10 – Agricultural Land Property Tax Exemption UpdatePassed

+ 2 more actions

Controversies

Geographic equity of SB 26-052 benefits for small, infrastructure-poor communities

Representative Sorry Don Suckla argued that his community (Nucla, approximately 300 people) received $2.8 million in coal transition grants compared to what he stated Moffatt County received ($57 million as stated by Suckla), and that the bill would hurt rather than help communities without railroad, freeway, or union infrastructure; he asked sponsors to 'help me out how we're going to be able to make this fair throughout the state instead of localized,' but no commitment was made on the record.

+ 1 more controversy

Notable Quotes

“I am honestly torn on this because it's going to help my community. But this is a government band aid to a government caused solution and now we're putting a safety clause when we've known for years that this was going to be a transition issue and now we're coming back at a last minute save.”

Representative Dusty Johnson — Johnson was explaining his ambivalence about SB 26-052, the coal transition hiring preference and investment bill, before ultimately voting yes.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Move SB 26-052 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendationPassed
Yes (11)Lesley Smith, Katie Stewart, Tammy Story, Dusty Johnson, Tisha Mauro, Karen McCormick, Lori Goldstein, Mandy Lindsay, Meghan Lukens, Matthew Martinez, Ty Winter
No (2)Larry Don Suckla, Lori Garcia Sander
Unlock the full summary

Subscribe to see all key actions, controversies, quotes, and what's next.

Sign in to subscribe
TranscriptPreview
Natural Resources Committee will come to order. Ms. Kelly, please call the roll. Representatives Garcia. Sander. Present. Goldstein. Here. Johnson. Here. Lindsey. Here. Lukens. Excused. Martinez. Here. Smith. Here. Stewart. Here. Sorry. Here. Sukla. Here. Winter. Excused. McCormick. Here. Madam Chair. Here. We will now Hear Senate Bill 2610. Will the bill sponsors stay at the table? Have a seat. But just stay right where you are and go ahead and. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Go ahead. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the introduction. Good morning members. It is great to see you all today. I am very excited to be here with my CO Prime, Representative McCormick, to share with you Senate Bill 10. I first want to share my thanks to the members of the Water Resources and Agricultural Review Committee, the Colorado Assessors association, the Farm Bureau, our Colorado Livestock association and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union who have all been great partners in helping us bring forward this bill since the interim of 2024. So we're talking. Over the last two years, the water Resources and Ag Review Committee has grappled with how the agricultural land property tax exemption, something that's been in existence now…
Continue reading

Subscribe to unlock the full transcript, summary, and search across all Colorado committee hearings.

Sign in to subscribe