Colorado collecting 2-cent-per-gallon gas

Total at 3 cents

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

Colorado began collecting a 2-cent-per-gallon fee on gasoline purchases on April 1.

Revenue from the fee, which increases to 3 cents per gallon on July 1, will go toward addressing the state’s multibillion-dollar transportation project backlog. e charge was imposed through a bill passed by the legislature in 2021 that also added fees on deliveries, rideshare rides and electric vehicles.

e gas fee was originally supposed to begin in July 2022, but the legislature delayed the start until April 1, at a cost of $45 million, because of high gas prices. A year ago, the average cost of a gallon of regular gas in Colorado was $3.97. is week, it was hovering around $3.47.

Fuel prices reached an all-time high in Colorado in June 2022, when a gallon of regular gasoline averaged $4.92 and diesel was at $5.54 a gallon, according to AAA.

e gas fee is set to increase gradually by 1 cent per year until it reaches 8 cents per gallon in July 2028. In

Nominations for the 2022 Officer and Citizen of the Year for the Lyle Wohlers’ Law Enforcement Award

Organizers of the annual Lyle Wohlers’ Law Enforcement Luncheon and Awards Ceremony are soliciting nominations for the 2022 Officer and Citizen of the Year. The annual event will be hosted by the Empire and Georgetown Police Departments. Law Enforcement included in this luncheon are Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Department, Colorado State Patrol, Empire Police, Georgetown Police, and Idaho Springs Police which commemorates Colorado State Trooper Lyle Wohlers who was killed in the line of duty near Georgetown in 1992.

An interdepartmental awards committee seeks to identify those officers who serve the citizens and visitors within greater Clear Creek County, and particularly that member of the law enforcement community who has shown exemplary service during 2022. The committee will also select the 2022 Citizen of the Year who supports area law enforcement and public safety or has engaged in an extraordinary feat to safeguard another.

Nominations must be received by 5:00 PM, Monday April 24, 2023. Nomination forms may be found at the following locations: Idaho Springs Police Department, Idaho Springs City Hall, Empire Town Hall, Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Department, Georgetown Town Hall. To request nomination forms, please email nominations@empirecolorado.us or call EPD at 303-569-2281.

July 2032, the fee will be adjusted annually based on in ation.

Other fees imposed by the bill include:

• A 27-cent fee on deliveries

• A 30-cent fee on rideshares e fuel and road-usage fees are the subject of a lawsuit led in Denver District Court by conservatives who argue the charges were illegally imposed. Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires that voters approve all tax increases, but fees can be imposed by the legislature as long as the revenue goes to a set purpose. Colorado also collects a 22-cent tax on each gallon of gas sold. e state’s gas tax is among the lowest in the country. is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

• A 4-cent-per-gallon fee on diesel fuel. Like the gas fee, the diesel fee increases annually — but by 2 cents — until it reaches 16 cents in 2028.