Senate Finance approves Colorado Water Conservation Board projects bill and sends it to Appropriations

House Bill 26‑1338, the annual projects bill for the Colorado Water Conservation Board, was presented to the Senate Finance Committee and advanced to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation and a unanimous vote.

Senator Simpson described the bill as the CWCB's annual project package — about $69 million in programs including water‑plan grants, water forecasting and wildfire‑ready watershed efforts — funded from cash funds overseen by CWCB rather than the General Fund. Witnesses including Anthony Sandoval (Special District Association), the CWCB executive director and Diana Orf (Colorado Water Congress) testified in support and described the projects’ importance to pipelines, storage and local water infrastructure.

The committee adopted no amendments and moved the bill to Appropriations. Lawmakers and witnesses emphasized that projects are built through an extended stakeholder process and that the bill reflects multi‑month reviews of local priorities. The committee recorded the motion and the bill passed the committee and was scheduled for further consideration in Appropriations.