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HB26-1303 • 2026

Technical Changes to Energy & Carbon Management Statutes

Current law requires the energy and carbon management commission (commission) to adopt rules to require certification for welders working on oil and gas process lines, including rules that require pas

Energy Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Rep. B. Bradley, Rep. M. Carter, Sen. M. Ball, Sen. M. Catlin, Rep. C. Espenoza, Sen. T. Exum, Sen. J. Rich, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. J. Phillips, Sen. J. Coleman
Last action
2026-05-05
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date depends on whether a referendum petition is filed within the ninety-day period after adjournment; if no petition is filed, August 12, 2026, is the start date.

Technical Updates to Welder Certification and Energy Operation Terms

This law updates the specific exams welders must pass for certification on oil and gas lines and changes legal terms in penalty sections to match the commission's authority.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the required exam for welders from a building code test (ICC Exam F31) to tests made specifically for the oil and gas industry.
  • Lists three acceptable certifications: American Petroleum Institute Standard 1104, American Society of Mechanical Engineers Section IX, or another nationally recognized certification applicable to welding on oil and gas process lines.
  • Updates legal text in penalty sections to replace 'oil and gas operations' with 'energy and carbon management operations' for consistency.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Welders who work on pressurized process lines in upstream and midstream oil and gas operations.
  • The Energy and Carbon Management Commission, which creates rules for worker certification.
  • Energy and carbon management operators subject to permit suspensions or revocations.

Terms To Know

Upstream and Midstream Operations
Parts of the oil and gas industry involving finding, extracting, transporting, and storing resources before they reach refineries.
Certification
Official proof that a worker has passed an exam or meets specific skill standards required by law.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law takes effect on August 12, 2026, unless voters file a petition to challenge it.
  • If citizens successfully file a referendum petition before the deadline, the changes will not take effect until approved by voters in November 2026.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-05 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-04-28 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-04-28 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  4. 2026-04-28 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  5. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  6. 2026-04-06 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments

  7. 2026-03-31 Senate

    Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Refer Unamended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole

  8. 2026-03-19 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs

  9. 2026-03-16 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  10. 2026-03-13 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments

  11. 2026-03-12 House

    House Committee on State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole

  12. 2026-02-27 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Official Summary Text

Current law requires the energy and carbon management commission (commission) to adopt rules to require certification for welders working on oil and gas process lines, including rules that require passing an exam. The act changes the reference to the welder exam from 'the International Code Council Exam F31, national standard journeyman mechanical, or an analogous successor exam', which is not applicable to welders, to certain other examinations that are applicable to welders in the oil and gas industry.
In certain instances, the act changes 'oil and gas operations' to 'energy and carbon management operations' to ensure uniformity of terminology and to align statutory references to 'operations' to those operations that are within the scope of the commission's regulatory authority.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
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HOUSE BILL 26-1303
BY REPRESENTATIV E(S) Bradley and Carter, Espenoza, Duran, Phillips;
also SENATOR(S) Ball and Catlin, Exum, Rich, Coleman.
CONCERNING TECHNICAL CHANGES TO ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT
STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 34-60-106, amend
(20)( d)(III) as follows:
34-60-106. Additional powers of commission - fees - rules -
definitions - repeal.
(20) The commission shall adopt rules to require certification for
workers in the following fields:
( d) Welders working on oil and gas process lines, including:
(III) Passage of the Intemational Code Council Exam F31, national
standardjotttneyman nrechanical, man analogous successm exam, For any
person working on pressurized process lines in upstream and midstream
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act.
operations, PASSAGE OF:
(A) THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE STANDARD 1104,
WELDING OF PIPELINES AND RELATED FACILITIES, OR AN ANALOGOUS
SUCCESSOR CERTIFICATION;
(B) THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS SECTION
IX, WELDING, BRAZING, AND FUSING QUALIFICATIONS, OR AN ANALOGOUS
SUCCESSOR QUALIFICATION; OR
(C) A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED EXAMINATION, CERTIFICATION, OR
QUALIFICATION, OTHER THAN THOSE SPECIFIED IN SUBSECTIONS
(20)(d)(Ill)(A) AND (20)(d)(IIl)(B) OF THIS SECTION, THAT IS APPLICABLE
FOR THE CERTIFICATION OF WELDERS WORKING ON OIL AND GAS PROCESS
LINES.
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 34-60-121, amend ( 6),
(7)(b), and (7)(c) as follows:
34-60-121. Violations - investigations - penalties - rules -
definition -legislative declaration.
( 6) If the commission determines, after a hearing conducted in
accordance with section 34-60-108, that an energy and carbon management
operator has failed to perform any corrective action imposed under
subsection ( 4) of this section or failed to comply with a cease-and-desist
order issued under subsection (5) of this section, the commission may issue
an order suspending, modifying, or revoking the operator's permit or
permits or suspending or revoking the operator's license to conduct oil and
gas ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT operations or may take other
appropriate action. An energy and carbon management operator subject to
an order that suspends, modifies, or revokes a permit or that suspends or
revokes the operator's license to conduct oil and gas ENERGY AND CARBON
MANAGEMENT operations shall continue the affected operations only for the
purpose of bringing the affected operations into compliance with the permit
or modified permit and must bring the affected operations into compliance
under the supervision of the commission. Once the affected operations are
in compliance to the satisfaction of the commission and any penalty not
subject to judicial review or appeal has been paid, the commission may
reinstate the permit or the license to conduct oil and gas ENERGY AND
PAGE 2-HOUSE BILL 26-1303
CARBON MANAGEMENT operations.
(7) (b) If the commission finds, after the hearing conducted pursuant
to subsection (7)(a) of this section, that the energy and carbon management
operator is responsible under the legal standards specified in subsection
(7)(a) of this section, the commission may issue an order that prohibits the
issuance of any new permits to the energy and carbon management operator,
suspends any or all of the energy and carbon management operator's
certificates of clearance, suspends the operator's license to conduct oil and
gas ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT operations, or any combination of
the three. If the energy and carbon management operator demonstrates to
the satisfaction of the commission that the operator has brought each of the
violations into compliance and that any penalty not subject to judicial
review or appeal has been paid, the commission may vacate the order.
( c) In a hearing conducted pursuant to this subsection (7), the
commission may consider as evidence violations for which enforcement
was commenced prior to May 16, 2024, in determining whether to prohibit
the issuance of any new permits to the operator, suspend any or all of the
operator's certificates of clearance, suspend the operator's license to conduct
oil and gas ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT operations, or any
combination of the three.
SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August
12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a
referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state
constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within
such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless
PAGE 3-HOUSE BILL 26-1303
approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2026
and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of
the vote thereon by the governor.
, --,-~~ '-.... \',,, . •
Julie·~~~
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
v~~
Vanessa Reilly
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
Jared S.
GOVE
PAGE 4-HOUSE BILL 26-1303
James Rashad Coleman, Sr.
PRESIDENT OF
THE SENATE
Esther van Mourik
SECRETARY OF
THE SENATE
STATE OF COLORADO