CUT Engaged

How to Send a Message to Legislators

Use this form to contact the sponsors of this bill and share your support CUT’s position.

CUT has provided a message for you, but you also have the option to personalize it before sending.

Steps to Complete:

Enter your name and email address, then click Next.
Review the pre-written message or add your own comments.
Optional: Add your state senator and representative to the email to make sure they hear from you as well.
Click Send to submit your message directly to the bill sponsors (and your legislators, if selected).

Important: The reply-to address for this email will be Kim Monson, President of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT). Legislators may respond directly to Kim regarding this issue.

Your message will be sent to the legislators listed as sponsors of this bill. Your state senator and representative will also receive your message if you include them.

Make your voice heard!

First Name

Last Name

Step 2: Add Your Message (Optional)

Below, you can add a custom message to personalize your email to the bill sponsors. If you prefer, you can send the pre-written message from the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) as is.

Tips for Writing an Effective Message:

Be respectful and to the point.
Explain why this bill matters to you personally.
If possible, reference how it affects taxpayers, businesses, or your community.

Note: If you do not enter a custom message, the email will be sent with CUT’s recommended message only.

Message

Would you like to include your state senator and representative in this message?

In addition to sending your message to the bill sponsors, you have the option to also notify your state senator and representative. This ensures that your elected officials are aware of your stance on this bill.

Select an option below:

Select legislators

Yes No

Use the fields below to enter the email address for your state senator and representative.

You can find them by entering your address on Colorado Legislature website . (The tool will open in a new tab. After finding your legislators, return to this page to enter their email addresses.)

Mobile Tip: If you're using a phone and prefer to open the tool manually, click below to copy the link:

https://leg.colorado.gov/FindMyLegislator

State Senator

State Representative

Certification

I confirm that I am the person I claim to be, and I am submitting my name and email address knowingly.

CUT Opposes HB26-1030, Data Center & Utility Modernization

The bill establishes a data center development program and a development authority appointed to run the program. The program offers a 100% sales and use tax exemption for minimum $250M data facility projects. This legislation ignores the reason new, giant data centers are not coming here: unreliable, 100% renewable energy mandated by this legislature. The solution they propose to their problem is to set up another bureaucracy and offer tax incentives. The taxpayers (including existing data centers) will have to pay for these incentives and will see TABOR refunds shrink. Meanwhile, more demand is placed on a declining power supply. This is cronyism that works by giving special favors to select businesses at everyone else’s expense, run by appointees answerable to no one. Insertion of the Safety Clause is the final twist of the dagger into the body of Colorado’s citizens.

Bill HB26-1030 Summary

The bill creates the data center development and incentive program (program) operated by the Colorado data center development authority (authority), which is newly created in the Colorado office of economic development (office) ( section 1 of the bill). The authority consists of 9 members, as follows:

2 members appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate;
The director of the Colorado energy office or the director’s designee;
One member who has experience in water projects or water resource management, appointed by the president of the senate;
One member who has experience in clean and renewable energy, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
2 members who have experience in data center development, with one member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and one member appointed by the president of the senate;
One member representing a statewide organization that represents workers in trade crafts who construct data centers, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and
One member representing a statewide organization that represents contractors who construct data centers, appointed by the president of the senate.

To incentivize efficient data center development, the program allows a 100% state sales and use tax exemption on qualified purchases to the operator of a certified data center. To be eligible for certification, the operator of the data center, or a data center operator collectively with participating data center tenants, must:

Have initiated a preliminary consultation with the utility that will provide electricity for the data center project regarding interconnection feasibility, capacity, and infrastructure requirements;
Commit to making a $250 million minimum investment in data center infrastructure within 5 years;
Commit to creating new full-time jobs, including employees and long-term service and maintenance positions, that satisfy specified criteria and breaking ground on the data center project within 2 years of obtaining certification;
Commit to complying, and ensure that the utility that provides electricity to the data center also complies, with craft labor requirements, apprenticeship utilization requirements, and prevailing wage requirements; and
Commit to obtaining certification under one of several energy efficiency standards, implementing water stewardship strategies that optimize operational water management, ensuring that all backup power generation associated with the data center project meets specified requirements, and consulting with the department of natural resources.

To obtain certification, a data center operator must apply to the authority in a form and manner to be determined by the authority. The authority is required to review a data center operator’s application for certification and may award certification to a data center operator that has demonstrated that it will satisfy the certification criteria ( section 1 ).

A data center operator that obtains certification for a data center project is eligible for a 100% state sales and use tax exemption on the purchase and use of qualified data center infrastructure and systems for 20 years from the date that the data center project was certified, so long as the data center satisfies ongoing post-certification requirements and submits annual compliance reports to the authority. As long as the data center meets post-certification requirements as demonstrated in the annual compliance reports, a data center operator of a certified data center may apply to the authority for an extension of the sales and use tax exemption for an additional 10 years. If the authority determines that a data center operator is not fulfilling its obligations and commitments to retain certification, the authority may revoke the certification and the data center operator is required to repay the state for the sales and use tax benefits that it received ( sections 1 and 5 ). The exemption for a certified data center does not apply to local sales and use taxes unless the exemption is expressly included at the time of adoption or amendment of the local sales tax ordinance or resolution ( section 4 ).

The bill allows a utility regulated by the public utilities commission (commission) to submit a targeted resource acquisition application to the commission to propose methods of meeting emerging large-load customer needs. The bill also specifies how a utility may finance resource and infrastructure needs in connection with emerging large-load customers ( section 3 ).
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Welcome to CUT Engaged

CUT Engaged is a new initiative by the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) designed to empower Colorado citizens to take direct action on legislation that impacts them. Through CUT Engaged, taxpayers can easily send messages to the sponsors of selected bills, urging them to support or oppose policies based on CUT’s pro-taxpayer stance.

How CUT Engaged Works

Stay Informed – CUT reviews key legislation and explains each bill’s impact on taxpayers.
Take Action – Each CUT Engaged post features a personalized form that allows you to email the bill sponsors directly.
Make Your Voice Heard – You can send CUT’s recommended message or personalize your email to include your own perspective.
Amplify Your Impact – You can add your state senator and representative to ensure they also hear your stance.
Legislators Get the Message – Your email is sent directly to the lawmakers responsible for the bill, with Kim Monson, President of CUT, as the reply-to contact for any legislative responses. This ensures CUT has full visibility of the communication and minimizes potential abuse of the system by bad actors.

Why CUT is Providing This to Colorado Taxpayers

For nearly 50 years, the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) has been the state’s leading advocate for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and taxpayer rights. CUT Engaged is an extension of this mission, making it easier than ever for Colorado citizens to have a voice in the legislative process.

Many bills pass without real public input. Lawmakers need to hear from the people who will be affected most—you, the taxpayer. CUT Engaged removes the barriers to participation, ensuring that Colorado’s taxpaying citizens can quickly and effectively communicate with legislators before critical votes take place.

Stay informed. Take action. Protect Colorado taxpayers.

CUT Engaged

CUT Opposes HB26-1030, Data Center & Utility Modernization

Bill HB26-1030 Summary

Welcome to CUT Engaged

How CUT Engaged Works

Why CUT is Providing This to Colorado Taxpayers

CUT Engaged Bills 2026

CUT Engaged Opposed Bills 2025

Support CUT

Join CUT and receive legislative emails

Contribute to CUT and support our work

Donate to the CUT Foundation