House panel extends conservation easement tax credit through 2036, citing rural and habitat benefits

The House Finance Committee voted 9–2 to send House Bill 12‑30 to the Committee on Appropriations after sponsors moved a clarifying amendment.

Representatives Martinez and Velasco, sponsors of the bill, described the proposal as a simple extension of the conservation easement tax credit sunset from 2031 to 2036 intended to allow projects already in the pipeline to complete. "This tax credit is an important tool to incentivize land owners to put their lands in conservation easements," Representative Martinez told the committee.

Speakers representing land trusts, ranching groups, counties and conservation organizations testified in support. Laura Cusick of the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust and Eric Glenn of the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust described how the credit enables working‑family ranches to remain productive and protects water, wildlife habitat and open space. Nick Concilia outlined a planned development that would use the credits to finance 40 homes, including units for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Andy Seidel, an agricultural and resource economist at Colorado State University, summarized a study estimating that the public benefits from private‑lands conservation associated with the program are multiples of the state investment. Counties also testified about local ecosystem and economic benefits; Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shattuck McNally said conservation easements protect watersheds and local agriculture.

Committee members asked about past abuses in syndicated conservation projects and sought reassurances that reforms have addressed earlier problems. Witnesses and sponsors said state reforms and federal changes (including federal legislative fixes to syndicated appraisals) have reduced opportunities for abuse and that state agencies and land trusts now apply stronger oversight. Eric Glenn told the panel the program is administered on a first‑come, first‑served basis but that land trusts and the state retain conservation standards.

Sponsor amendment L001 clarified that landowners who donated easements prior to the bill’s effective date would not become newly eligible under the extension and preserved eligibility for projects already in the current timeline. After passing L001 by voice consent, the committee recommended HB 12‑30 to appropriations, 9–2.

Because the program is oversubscribed, supporters said the extension provides certainty for projects that have started the multi‑year conservation process and preserves agricultural and wildlife benefits that accrue over time.