HB25-1014 · Bill · 2025 Regular Session · Colorado

Increasing Efficiency Division of Water Resources

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Concerning measures to increase efficiency in division of water resources processes.

Official status: Became Law

Prime sponsors

• Dusty Johnson (House) — Prime Sponsor
• Meghan Lukens (House) — Prime Sponsor
• Dylan Roberts (Senate) — Prime Sponsor
• Cleave Simpson (Senate) — Prime Sponsor

Progress (from the official record)

Official summary

Official text — shown in English exactly as published by the official source. The official text controls.

The division of water resources in the department of natural resources (division) is responsible for administering water rights and issuing water well permits, among other duties. Under current law, after having received a permit to appropriate designated groundwater or construct a well outside the boundaries of a designated groundwater basin, a permit holder is required to construct the well within one year after the date of issuance of the permit. If the well is not constructed within one year, the permit expires; except that the ground water commission (commission) in the division or the state engineer, as applicable, may grant a single one-year extension. The act extends the time frame for construction of a well to 2 years, eliminating the need for the commission or the state engineer to approve a one-year extension to the initial one-year construction time frame, except for permits issued for federally authorized water projects. The act also removes the requirement that the commission or state engineer must mail a certified letter to the permit holder before a permit can be formally expired. The act allows the commission or state engineer to reinstate an expired permit if the applicant for reinstatement of the permit can show that the well was completed in a timely manner and submits a $30 fee. Under current law, the division engineer of each water division is required to decennially present to the water court a list of water rights that meet the criteria for abandonment. The act splits this decennial abandonment process into 2 batches, grouped by water division and spaced 5 years apart, beginning with 2030 and 2035. The act maintains the requirement that the abandonment process be performed every 10 years in each water division. The act extends certain time frames relating to the well permitting process. Lastly, the act eliminates final permitting requirements for non-Denver Basin bedrock aquifer wells in the designated basins. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Status timeline

Recorded votes

• 04/11/2025 — Senate Appropriations: “Refer House Bill 25-1014 to the Committee of the Whole and with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendar.” — the motion passed on a vote of 7–0.
• 03/27/2025 — Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources: “Refer House Bill 25-1014 to the Committee on Appropriations.” — the motion passed on a vote of 7–0.
• 02/28/2025 — House Appropriations: “Refer House Bill 25-1014 to the Committee of the Whole.” — the motion passed on a vote of 10–0.
• 01/27/2025 — House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources: “Refer House Bill 25-1014, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations.” — the motion passed on a vote of 13–0.

Full text

• Signed Act version (official PDF), 06/03/2025
• Final Act version (official PDF), 05/15/2025
• Rerevised version (official PDF), 04/14/2025
• Revised version (official PDF), 04/11/2025
• Reengrossed version (official PDF), 03/05/2025
• Engrossed version (official PDF), 03/04/2025
• Introduced version (official PDF), 01/08/2025

Official record

View HB25-1014 on leg.colorado.gov

Source: Colorado General Assembly (leg.colorado.gov) · Data as of 2026-10-27