(1) There is hereby created in the state treasury the end users fund, referred to in this section as the "fund", consisting of the fee revenue credited pursuant to section 30-20-1403 (2)(a)(II). The state treasurer shall credit all interest and any other return on the investment of money in the fund to the fund. The fund is subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the department for the purposes specified in this section.
(1.5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, on June 30, 2020, the state treasurer shall transfer one million four hundred thousand dollars from the fund to the general fund.
(2) (a) The department shall use the money in the fund to provide quarterly rebates to instate:
End users; and
Retailers that sell tire-derived products.
(b) A waste tire hauler of tires in a rural county is only eligible for rebates pursuant to this subsection (2) if the waste tire hauler is also an end user or has contracted with an end user that is also a waste tire hauler.
(3) The rebate is subject to the following conditions:
The department shall pay the rebate amount quarterly, on a per-ton basis; and
Once the department has paid a rebate on a particular quantity of tire-derived product, every part of that particular quantity of tire-derived product is no longer eligible for payment of the rebate.
(4) (a) The commission shall annually set the amount of the rebate, by rule, on a per-ton basis, and the department shall pay the set rebate amount for each ton of qualified tire-derived product. The commission shall calculate the rebate to equal, but not exceed, the amount of the anticipated income transferred into the fund during each succeeding twelve-month period.
(b) Each year, the department shall continue to provide the rebate in accordance with the tiered structure set forth in subsection (5)(e) of this section until:
All qualified rebate requests submitted in that year are satisfied; or
There is insufficient money in the fund to support additional rebate payments.
(5) The commission shall promulgate rules governing administration of the rebate, which rules must include the following:
A quarterly rebate schedule for qualified recipients, with the first end user payout inJuly 2020, to be issued for end uses that occur between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020;
A requirement that twenty-five percent of the expected annual rebate amount be heldin reserve before paying the first quarterly rebate;
If the balance of the fund is anticipated to be insufficient to pay out all of the rebatesapplied for, a requirement that the department:
Give notice of the anticipated insufficiency to all end users that during the precedingtwelve months have submitted an application for a rebate; and
Pay a proportionally reduced rebate beginning with tier 1 and rural waste tire haulerrebate recipients, continuing to tier 2 rebate recipients, and ending with tier 3 rebate recipients;
(d) A requirement that an end user that qualifies for a rebate by utilizing waste tires for:
Alternative daily cover must verify with the department that the alternative daily cover meets all specification standards for all type-B tire-derived aggregate, as established by the ASTM standard D6270; and
Tire-derived aggregate must verify with the department that the tire-derived aggregate meets all specification standards for all type-A tire-derived aggregate, as established by the ASTM standard D6270; and
(e) Three tiers of rebate amounts that the department may pay out based on the amount of the waste tire that was used and destroyed as follows:
Tier 1: Full rebates going to crumbed rubber end uses and end uses that completelydestroy the waste tire for the purpose of energy recovery or other clean technologies as defined and approved by the commission by rule;
Tier 2: Fifty percent of the full rebate going to end uses such as molded products andrubber mulch; and
Tier 3: Twenty-five percent of the full rebate going to tire bale end uses and enduses for alternative daily cover and tire-derived aggregate that meet the ASTM standard D6270.
(6) The department:
(a) Shall pay:
The rebate only for waste tires that are generated and processed in Colorado; and
An end user only if the end use involves tire-derived products in Colorado or use ofthe entire waste tire to generate energy or fuel in Colorado; and (b) May deny:
The rebate to a person that is out of compliance with any state or federal environmental laws, rules, or regulations; and
All future rebates pursuant to this section and grants of money from the waste tireadministration, enforcement, market development, and cleanup fund created in section 30-201404 to an applicant that knowingly or intentionally provides false information to the department when applying for a rebate or for a grant of money from the waste tire administration, enforcement, market development, and cleanup fund.
Waste tires obtained from rural counties are eligible for an additional rebate amountof twenty-five dollars per ton; however, the additional rebate amount must not exceed the rebate amount for tier 3 rebates as determined by the commission by rule pursuant to subsection
(5)(e)(III) of this section. To qualify for the additional rebate amount set forth in this subsection (7), an end user must provide evidence to the department documenting the county of origin for each waste tire.
The department shall require that an end user submit an application for a rebate thatcontains self-certifications provided by the end user regarding:
The total tonnage of tires processed; and
The total tonnage of tires collected in rural counties.
(9) (a) The department may issue rebates after January 1, 2026, only for end uses occurring and rebates applied for on or before December 31, 2025.
The commission shall repeal any rules concerning the fund and implementation ofthis section once the department has issued the final rebates pursuant to subsection (9)(a) of this section.
On July 1, 2026, the state treasurer shall transfer any money left in the fund to thegeneral fund.
(10) This section is repealed, effective July 1, 2026.
Source: L. 2014: Entire part added, (HB 14-1352), ch. 351, p. 1582, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2019: Entire section RC&RE, (SB 19-198), ch. 402, p. 3560, § 4, effective August 2. L. 2020: (1.5) added, (HB 20-1406), ch. 178, p. 814, § 19, effective June 29.
Editor's note: Subsection (5) provided for the repeal of this section, effective January 1, 2018. (See L. 2014, p. 1582.) However, this section was recreated August 2, 2019.