DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday signed into law the bill that imposes a fee on rental cars to help fund rail passenger service in the state.
SB24-184 imposes a “congestion impact fee” of up to $3 per day on rental cars, with money raised as a result to go into a fund to be used to meet matching-fund requirements for federal funding for rail — including the Front Range Passenger Rail and Mountain Corridor projects — and other forms of public transportation. It also directs the Denver-area Regional Transportation District, the state Department of Transportation, and Front Range Rail Passenger District to work together to develop the route between Denver and Fort Collins, Colo., as the first part of the Front Range system. It also requires the state Transportation Investment Office to develop a multimodal capital plan that aligns with the state’s 10-year transportation plans and pollution reduction goals.
The bill passed the state’s Senate by a 23-12 vote in April and the House by a 41-16 margin earlier this month.
“Front Range Passenger Rail is a critical way to make Colorado more sustainable, affordable, and liveable,” Polis said in a statement after signing the bill at Denver Union Station. “High-quality service will allow Coloradans from every corner of our state to travel with ease to enjoy everything our communities have to offer. Today we are closer to this reality than ever.”
House Speaker Julie McCluskie (D-Dillon), one of the bill’s sponsors. said in a press release, “Once-in-a-generation federal infrastructure funding is giving us the opportunity to build an expanded passenger rail system that will create the transportation options Coloradans have been asking for. In addition to creating transit that reduces traffic and air pollution, passenger rail projects, including Mountain Rail, will create Colorado jobs and boost economies throughout the state. This law is a long time in the making, and I am excited to make significant progress towards passenger rail infrastructure.”
SO MUCH COMPLAINING. All ya’ll do is complain.
Whine whine whine whine whine. Do you ever have anything good to say about anything?
It’s a nice sunny day here, but Charles Landey would probably tell me why that’s a terrible thing that’s a Democratic plot to destroy freedom n stuff.
Yet one more “FEE” for us Colorado Taxpayers. This is what these Libs do in this state to get around Tabor when they know the Taxpayers would turn it down with a proper vote. They can call it what they want. If it’s money coming from the citizens and going to a government, it’s a TAX.
David is absolutely right. The empty-headed governor and his buffoon legislative followers know that the voters will turn this thing down flat when they realize how many millions, if not billions, this thing will cost. That’s why he is pushing for an early vote in order to get it done before the voters have a chance to get more information and figure out how they are getting screwed. It would be better to get with the other states and fund a second Denver-Chicago train. Less cost and less hassle with an already operating service than to build new. More ridership if it is scheduled opposite the CZ.
If passenger rail were economically reasonable, it would already be done. This grows government expenditures and grows politicians self esteem. It would be cheaper and quicker to subsidize buses.
Well then there shouldn’t be any hotel & convention tax on hotel rooms either.
While I like the idea of a Front Range passenger train, Denver airport car rentals are already some of the most expensive anywhere.
These Democrats are living in a fantasy land. (Which is a polite way of saying they’re full of it.) Tell me how many rental car-days will it take (at $3.00 per rental car-day) to fund passenger rail.
Let’s just say for example that a ticket on a passenger train is subsidized at, pick a number, $150.00, combining the capital cost recovery and the daily O+M. (Or substitute any number you want, but there certainly is a substantial subsidy). At $150.00, that means fifty rental car days for one passenger on a train.
In other words, Polis is hoping for more and more and more car rentals. This is like governments funding their budgets on “sin taxes”, such as taxes on booze, ciggies, auto congestion (in Manhattan or Amsterdam), or marijuana. The import of the tax is to discourage those “sins”, while the governments hope for MORE “sin” so that they collect more taxes.
You know this country is in deep trouble (which it is) when the existing taxes don’t cover government outlays (or even come anywhere close). So, the government casts a wider and wider and wider net for sources of revenue. At a certain point, American state, local and federal governments will go broke, or as they say in England, “T over A”. It will happen. Actually, it’s happening now as we speak.
No one is twisting your arm to rent a car in Colorado Charles. Yet if you are so inclined, get there quick and shake that fist and tell the Colorado Legislature they’re doing it wrong and you know best.
As a resident of Colorado, I actually think in this case Charles is making more sense than the Governer and his legislator are making.
MARK — as it happened we did walk past the Colorado state capitol last month. I didn’t shake my fist nor otherwise act out. Just conveyed my silent thoughts.
Is the Colorado state government the dregs? I think that most governmental units in this country, state, federal and local, have been going rapidly downhill. I remember being proud of, somewhat in awe of, Milwaukee city, Milwaukee County, and State of Wisconsin governments. That was years ago. I’ve lost all respect for all three.
Charles is right. It’s nothing but tax and spend, repeat. Tax and spend , repeat, with know end in sight.