History Colorado would be authorized to sell selected mineral rights under bill advanced unanimously

Representatives AML Winter and Lindsay presented House Bill 13‑04, which authorizes History Colorado to dispose of out‑of‑state mineral rights that were donated to the agency. Sponsors said a competitive sale can generate a one‑time influx to address urgent collection storage and facility repairs.

History Colorado CFO Chris Creighton and CEO Dawn DePrince described a consultant review of the holdings. Creighton said the Weld County lease produced minimal royalties to date and that a competitive sale could produce roughly $700,000–$800,000 in proceeds now, a better immediate resource to address an urgent museum storage need than long‑term royalties. Witnesses and sponsors emphasized competitive bidding and that History Colorado lacks core capacity to administer mineral‑holdings management.

The committee advanced HB13‑04 unanimously.