HB 22-1007

House Bill 22-1007, also known as the Assistance Landowner Wildfire Mitigation Act, aims to help prevent wildfires by providing grants and tax credits. The bill establishes a grant program through which local governments, nonprofits, and other organizations can receive funding to educate landowners in high-risk areas about wildfire prevention measures. Additionally, it offers Colorado residents a state income tax credit of up to $625 (25% of $2,500) for costs related to reducing wildfire risks on their property. This bill has been signed into law and is now active, meaning that eligible organizations can apply for grants and landowners can claim the new tax credits starting in 2023.

Official Summary

The act establishes the wildfire mitigation resources and best practices grant program (grant program) within the Colorado state forest service (forest service). To be eligible to receive a grant, a recipient must be an agency of local government, a county, a municipality, a special district, a tribal agency or program, or a nonprofit organization. The forest service is tasked with reviewing grant applications. Grants must be awarded only to applicants proposing to conduct outreach among landowners in high wildfire hazard areas, and the forest service must consider the potential impact of an applicant's proposed outreach when awarding grants. The forest service must report to the wildfire matters review committee on the grant program. Commencing no later than the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act requires the general assembly to annually appropriate money from the general fund to the healthy forests and vibrant communities fund to implement the grant program. The act extends the existing income tax deduction created to offset the landowner's costs incurred in performing wildfire mitigation measures, currently set to expire with the 2024 income tax year, through the 2025 income tax year. The act also creates a state income tax credit to reimburse a landowner for the costs incurred in performing wildfire mitigation measures on the landowner's property. Specifically, a landowner with a federal taxable income at or below $120,000, annually adjusted for inflation and rounded to the nearest hundred dollars, for any income tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2023, but prior to January 1, 2026, is allowed a state income tax credit in an amount equal to 25% of up to $2,500 in costs for wildfire mitigation measures. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Votes