Position Papers
In This Section
Author: Beverly Stables
February 6, 2025
WHAT DOES THE BILL DO?
House Bill 25-1056 lets telecom corporations jump to the front of the permitting line, even for brand new cell towers. This special treatment isn’t targeted to areas of poor coverage or state-owned land and makes no guarantee of cell coverage issues being addressed. Critical needs like housing, broadband, energy and water projects, and more will be forced to wait, and communities will suffer from the unfunded mandate and lack of proper review.
WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE NO
Cutting the permitting line isn’t the answer to wireless coverage issues in Colorado. The bill is a gift to an industry that doesn’t need it, and local communities will pay a price for it. Federal and state laws already provide substantial prioritization for telecom. The bill goes far beyond existing “shot-clock” standards and creates unjustified special treatment like shot-clocks with automatic approvals for new wireless facilities.
Industry leaders have identified a permitting problem in other states but refuse to identify problems in Colorado.
On average, your local governments process these permits within 60-100 days, though some smaller communities can take up to 200 days. No one-size-fits-all timeline works for the types of permits covered by the bill. Every municipality has different staff levels and resources. New facilities are different. Municipal permitting isn’t standing in the way of new facilities in underserved areas in both urban or rural areas.
Residents desperately need action from the industry. If building new facilities in underserved areas was truly a priority, telecommunications providers could deliver better service today.
YOUR OPPOSITION IS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED
Telecom providers already have some of the most preferential treatment in permitting, thanks to existing federal and state laws. But, without any guarantee of actually addressing coverage issues, HB25-1056 imposes new burdens on local governments and establishes unjustifiable top-down permitting standards on local government without addressing permitting on state-owned land. Giving even more special treatment to telecom over other priority areas ultimately will harm Coloradans.
House Bill 25-1056 lets telecom corporations jump to the front of the permitting line, even for brand new cell towers. This special treatment isn’t targeted to areas of poor coverage or state-owned land and makes no guarantee of cell coverage issues being addressed. Critical needs like housing, broadband, energy and water projects, and more will be forced to wait, and communities will suffer from the unfunded mandate and lack of proper review.
WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE NO
Cutting the permitting line isn’t the answer to wireless coverage issues in Colorado. The bill is a gift to an industry that doesn’t need it, and local communities will pay a price for it. Federal and state laws already provide substantial prioritization for telecom. The bill goes far beyond existing “shot-clock” standards and creates unjustified special treatment like shot-clocks with automatic approvals for new wireless facilities.
Industry leaders have identified a permitting problem in other states but refuse to identify problems in Colorado.
On average, your local governments process these permits within 60-100 days, though some smaller communities can take up to 200 days. No one-size-fits-all timeline works for the types of permits covered by the bill. Every municipality has different staff levels and resources. New facilities are different. Municipal permitting isn’t standing in the way of new facilities in underserved areas in both urban or rural areas.
Residents desperately need action from the industry. If building new facilities in underserved areas was truly a priority, telecommunications providers could deliver better service today.
YOUR OPPOSITION IS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED
Telecom providers already have some of the most preferential treatment in permitting, thanks to existing federal and state laws. But, without any guarantee of actually addressing coverage issues, HB25-1056 imposes new burdens on local governments and establishes unjustifiable top-down permitting standards on local government without addressing permitting on state-owned land. Giving even more special treatment to telecom over other priority areas ultimately will harm Coloradans.
Additional Resources
- Downloadable Position Paper for HB25-1056