(1)(a) No political
subdivision shall levy a tax, fee, or charge for any right or privilege of engaging in a
business or for use of a public highway other than:
(I)A license fee or tax authorized under section 31-15-501 (1)(c), C.R.S., or
article XX of the state constitution; and
(II)A street or public highway construction permit fee, to the extent that
such permit fee applies to all persons seeking a construction permit.
(b)All fees and charges levied by a political subdivision shall be reasonably
related to the costs directly incurred by the political subdivision in providing
services relating to the granting or administration of permits. Such fees and
charges also shall be reasonably related in time to the occurrence of such costs. In
any controversy concerning the approp
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(1) (a) No political
subdivision shall levy a tax, fee, or charge for any right or privilege of engaging in a
business or for use of a public highway other than:
(I) A license fee or tax authorized under section 31-15-501 (1)(c), C.R.S., or
article XX of the state constitution; and
(II) A street or public highway construction permit fee, to the extent that
such permit fee applies to all persons seeking a construction permit.
(b) All fees and charges levied by a political subdivision shall be reasonably
related to the costs directly incurred by the political subdivision in providing
services relating to the granting or administration of permits. Such fees and
charges also shall be reasonably related in time to the occurrence of such costs. In
any controversy concerning the appropriateness of a fee or charge, the political
subdivision shall have the burden of proving that the fee or charge is reasonably
related to the direct costs incurred by the political subdivision. All costs of
construction shall be borne by the telecommunications provider or broadband
provider.
(2) (a) Any tax, fee, or charge imposed by a political subdivision shall be
competitively neutral among telecommunications providers and broadband
providers.
(b) Nothing in this article or in article 32 of title 31, C.R.S., shall invalidate a
tax or fee imposed if such tax or fee cannot legally be imposed upon another
telecommunications provider, broadband provider, or service because of the
requirements of state or federal law or because such other provider is exempt from
taxation or lacks a taxable nexus with the political subdivision imposing the tax or
fee.
(c) If a political subdivision imposes a tax on a telecommunications provider
or broadband provider and such tax does not apply to other providers of
comparable telecommunications services or broadband services due to the
language of the ordinance or resolution that imposes the tax, then the governing
body of the political subdivision shall take one of the following two courses of
action:
(I) If it can do so without violating the election requirements of section 20 of
article X of the state constitution, the governing body shall amend the ordinance or
resolution that imposes the tax so as to extend the tax to providers of comparable
telecommunications services or broadband services; or
(II) If an election is required under section 20 of article X of the state
constitution, the governing body shall cause an election to be held in accordance
with said section 20 to authorize the extension of the tax to providers of
comparable telecommunications services or broadband services. If the extension of
the tax is not approved by the voters at such election, then the existing tax shall no
longer apply to the providers that had been subject to the tax immediately before
the election.
(3) Taxes, fees, and charges imposed shall not be collected through the
provision of in-kind services by telecommunications providers or broadband
providers, nor shall any political subdivision require the provision of in-kind services
as a condition of consent to use a highway.
(4) The terms of all agreements between political subdivisions and
telecommunications providers or broadband providers regarding use of highways
shall be matters of public record and shall be made available upon request
pursuant to article 72 of title 24, C.R.S.
(5) Nothing in this section affects the manner in which the property tax
administrator values a public utility under article 4 of title 39, C.R.S.
(6) Nothing in this article affects the ability of a political subdivision to
require and grant a cable franchise to a cable operator seeking to provide cable
television service within the political subdivision and to obtain any consideration or
impose any conditions in a cable franchise, unless otherwise prohibited by federal
law.
(7) As used in this section, public highway or highway as otherwise
defined in section 38-5.5-102 (6) does not include excess and remainder rights-of-way under the department of transportation's jurisdiction.