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HB 25-1277

Increasing Transparency Impact of Fuel Products

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jennifer Bacon and 6 co-sponsors

HB 25-1277 would require bilingual warnings at fuel-pump/dispenser displays about air pollution and climate impacts, with penalties up to $20,000 per violation.

Senate Committee on Transportation & Energy Postpone Indefinitely
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Bill Summary · HB 25-1277

HB 25-1277 — Increasing Transparency: Impact of Fuel Products

Status: Postponed indefinitely by the Senate Committee on Transportation & Energy (April 23, 2025)
Introduced: February 20, 2025 | Sponsors: Reps. Jennifer Bacon, Junie Joseph (primaries); Sen. Lisa Cutter (primary)
Fiscal notes published March 28 and April 4, 2025 (Legislative Council Staff)

Purpose / Intent

To increase consumer awareness at the point of sale about the environmental and health consequences of burning certain fuel products by requiring explicit labeling. The bill declares that failing to provide the disclosure is a deceptive trade practice.

Key provisions

  • Label requirement (effective for labeling beginning July 1, 2026): Retailers may not display or sell specified fuel products to Colorado consumers unless the product or dispensing/display is labeled with a bilingual (English and Spanish), conspicuous warning statement. The required wording (as set in the bill) reads in substance: "WARNING: USE OF THIS PRODUCT RELEASES AIR POLLUTANTS AND GREENHOUSE GASES, KNOWN BY THE STATE OF COLORADO TO BE LINKED TO SIGNIFICANT HEALTH IMPACTS AND GLOBAL HEATING, RESPECTIVELY, PURSUANT TO SECTION 25-5-1603, C.R.S. Tampering with this label is a violation of section 18-4-510, C.R.S."
  • Label appearance and placement requirements (reengrossed version):
    • Must be clearly legible, conspicuous, accessible in English and Spanish.
    • Affixed to dispensing equipment (e.g., pumps) or to the retailer’s fuel-product display for container sales.
    • Printed in black on a white background, maintained and replaced when necessary, and type no smaller than the bill’s specified minimum (reengrossed language specifies a minimum point size).
  • Definitions: “Fuel product” covers gases or liquids produced from petroleum refining, natural gas processing, blending facilities, and ethanol (text excludes some biofuel conversion processes; see bill for detail).
  • Enforcement:
    • A violation is classified as a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA).
    • Before bringing a CCPA action, a consumer must send a certified-mail notice of violation; the alleged violator has 45 days to cure before an action may be filed.
    • The label’s tampering is referenced to a criminal defacement statute; the fiscal note treats this as creating a new factual basis for that offense.
  • Penalties: Under CCPA, civil penalties can be up to $20,000 per violation; actual recoveries are case-dependent and not estimated by the fiscal note.

Who is affected

  • Primary: Retailers who sell or display covered fuel products in Colorado (gas stations, convenience stores, retailers selling containerized fuel).
  • Secondary: Consumers (who will receive the disclosure) and fuel industry actors who may need to alter equipment, signage, or displays to comply.
  • Government: Minimal additional workload for the Department of Law, Department of Public Health & Environment (to respond to inquiries), and trial courts if complaints are filed.

Fiscal and procedural impact

  • Fiscal notes (Legislative Council Staff) estimate minimal state workload and minimal or no state revenue impact; no appropriation required.
  • Potential but unquantified civil-penalty revenue under CCPA; possible increase in civil filing fees (TABOR-covered).
  • The act’s general effective-date provision: takes effect 90 days after adjournment sine die (unless a referendum is filed); labeling requirements are specified to apply beginning July 1, 2026 (see bill for application language).

Current status / next steps

  • Passed the House (third reading) in early April 2025 with amendments; assigned to the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee on April 3, 2025.
  • Committee recommended postponement indefinitely on April 23, 2025 — effectively halting further action unless revived.

For full statutory text, precise definitions, and exact label formatting requirements, see the engrossed bill (HB 25-1277) and the Legislative Council fiscal notes.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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