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DENVER – The Colorado Chamber released the following statement following a prehearing conference by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) regarding the proposed Employee Traffic Reduction Program (ETRP):
“The Colorado Chamber raised serious concerns about the original ETRP proposal and its impact on Colorado businesses and employees,” said Katie Wolf, the Colorado Chamber’s Director of State Governmental Affairs. “How Coloradans commute to work shouldn’t be the concern of state government, and a mandatory approach to reducing employee commutes would be overreaching, impractical, and inequitable. We appreciate that the commission has taken our feedback seriously and will be revising its proposal from a mandatory to voluntary program. We look forward to reviewing the new ETRP plan when it is released.”
The ETRP program is a regulatory initiative by the AQCC aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions resulting in employee commutes to work. The originally drafted program created mandates surrounding the use of personal vehicles to drive to work, requiring businesses with more than 100 employees in the Front Range to reduce employee trips by 40%. This proposal did not offer any exemptions or considerations for the unique needs of employees, industries, or geographic areas.
In the AQCC prehearing conference held this afternoon, commission staff announced that the agency would be revising the ETRP proposal to make certain elements voluntary instead of mandatory. Specific details have yet to be released.
The Colorado Chamber is leading a coalition of business and industry groups in opposition to the originally drafted proposal. The chamber was granted party status on the proposal and filed a formal prehearing statement with the AQCC July 9, 2021. The statement can be viewed here. Opposing statements from other parties in the proceedings can be found here.
A public hearing on the E-Trip program is scheduled for August 18th, 2021.
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The Colorado Chamber of Commerce champions free enterprise, a healthy business environment and economic prosperity for all Coloradans. It is the only business association that works to improve the business climate for all sizes of business from a statewide, multi-industry perspective. What the Colorado Chamber accomplishes is good for all businesses, and that’s good for the state’s economy. It was created in 1965 based on the merger with the Colorado Manufacturers’ Association.