Finance Committee advances bill to fund statewide pesticide disposal program with registration fees

Representative Morrow and co-prime Representative McCormick persuaded the House Finance Committee to advance HB 11‑11, a bill that would establish a Department of Agriculture enterprise to fund and run a Colorado pesticide disposal and container-recycling program paid for by added pesticide product registration fees.

The bill’s sponsors said the program is aimed at commercial applicators and private farmers who lack economical options to dispose of bulk or restricted‑use pesticides. “The program’s goal is to safely dispose of unused, unwanted pesticides and recycle associated containers,” Representative Morrow said in opening remarks, noting the materials often sit in sheds and garages for decades.

Representative McCormick, the bill’s co-prime, told the committee the model is self-funding and used by other states. He described the funding as a modest new fee on existing pesticide product registration: “We’re looking at about a $10 per product fee for an option for disposal… and then, potentially about a $30 increase to the registration fee for the manufacturer or the person, the company that’s selling in our state,” McCormick said.

Why it matters: Supporters said the program would reduce risky home or field storage of legacy pesticides and protect waterways, soil and public health by enabling regular disposal and recycling events at convenient locations across the state.

Supporters and concerns
Rachel Satsky, senior policy advisor at EcoCycle, supported the bill but asked the committee to add a floor amendment to align HB 11‑11’s definition of recycling with Colorado’s existing producer responsibility statute. “It’s critical that Colorado maintain a single consistent definition of recycling that counts only the materials that are actually recycled into new products,” Satsky told the committee.

Brian Loma, hazardous materials and waste diversion advocate for Green Latinos Colorado, urged consistent reporting and recycling definitions statewide. Christopher Finarelli of the Household & Commercial Products Association acknowledged industry support for a program to serve commercial applicators but warned the bill’s fee is currently universal and requested clearer language on which products would be exempt and why. He directed the committee to written testimony with suggested language.

Department perspective and fiscal details
Jordan Beasley, deputy commissioner for external affairs at the Colorado Department of Agriculture, said licensees had long requested an affordable disposal solution. Beasley said the fiscal note anticipates setting the fee at about $31 initially — roughly a 15% increase over current registration costs — and that an amendment would cap the annual registration fee at $50, adjusted by CPI, to provide predictability while allowing future rulemaking to carve out exemptions and eligibility.

Committee action
Sponsor Amendment L007 corrected a drafting error (moving the cap to the intended fee), advanced the enterprise’s start date to November 1 to align with registration renewals, and added a safety clause to allow time for rulemaking. The committee adopted L007 by voice vote with no objection.

After closing remarks from the sponsor, the vice chair moved HB 11‑11 as amended to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion was seconded, and the committee recorded the vote; the chair announced the bill passed the Finance Committee and will proceed to appropriations.

What’s next
HB 11‑11 was routed to the House Committee on Appropriations as amended. The bill’s final scope — including the exact fee level and any exemptions determined by rule — will be shaped in subsequent committee work and rulemaking.