COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUTLURE
Plant Industry Division
Rules Pertaining to the Administration and Enforcement of the Colorado Nursery Act
8 CCR 1203-5
PART 5.0	FEES
5.1	INSPECTION FEES - ACTUAL COST
A charge of thirty dollars ($30.00) forty-five dollars ($45.00) per hour per inspector for actual inspection time shall be collected to defray the costs of inspections made pursuant to the statute. The minimum charge for each inspection made shall be the charge of one hour of inspection time.
5.2	REGISTRATION FEES
The fee for a registration as required by § 35-26-106(1), C.R.S., shall be ninety dollars ($90.00) for each place of business.
12.0	Statements of Basis, Specific Statutory Authority and Purpose
12.19	Adopted June 12, 2019 – Effective July 30, 2019
Statutory Authority
These amendments to the rules are proposed for adoption by the Commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture (“CDA”) pursuant to his authority under § 35-26-111 C.R.S. of the Colorado Nursery Act (the “Act”).  
The purpose of these proposed rule amendments is as follows:
1.	Change the inspection fee hourly rate from $30.00/hour to $45.00/hour.
The factual and policy issues encountered when developing these rules include:
1.	The Colorado Department of Agriculture is required by § 35-26-106(3), C.R.S., to charge for the actual cost incurred in making inspections.  Over time, the average personnel cost of an inspection has increased to approximately $39/hour, while the operating costs associated with an inspection (e.g., travel, fleet) have increased to almost $24/hour. Although CDA has data to support an increase to approximately $63/hour for the actual cost of an inspection, CDA is proposing to increase the cost to $45/hour.  This increase will allow CDA to defray the majority of the cost to perform inspections as part of the Nursery Program.
  2.	The inspection fee has not increased since 2009, and costs incurred to complete inspections have increased significantly over the past ten years.  to allow the nursery program to function effectively and to implement program goals, CDA must raise fees associated with inspections.