Bill Summary for Bill Number SB08-055

Date: 02/06/2008

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB08-055

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment C). Th Refer Senate Bill 08-055, as amended, to the Commi	Pass Without Objection PASS

11:37 AM -- Senate Bill 08-055

Senator Hagedorn introduced Senate Bill 08-055, which increases fees for certain stationary sources of air emissions in order to allow the Department of Public Health and Environment to hire more FTE to support air quality programs. He stated that the Department of Public Health and Environment has ascertained that air quality monitoring programs will be insolvent within a year if the fees are not raised. He distributed amendment L.001 (Attachment C) to the committee.

11:38 AM -- Paul Tourangeau, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, explained that current air quality emissions fees are insufficient to support the air quality division. He stated that an increase in fees will help to prevent the loss of delegation of air quality programs to the federal government or a significant reduction in the permitting, inspection, and enforcement of air quality programs. The bill will maintain the FTE necessary to operate air quality programs, will allow the state to respond to changes required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the ozone standard, and other changes related to energy-development. He stated that the department calculated the amount needed to keep inspection programs solvent, and the bill increases fees by 27.46 percent in order to correct the disparity between the fees received by the department and the costs of administering the air quality programs. The increase will generate an additional $1.75 million. The bill also provides the authority to hire an additional 5.0 FTE. He described the specific fees that will be affected by the legislation. He noted that the fees will still be lower than fees charged by other states and those recommended by the EPA. He distributed three letters of support for the bill (Attachments D through F). He stated that it is important that the state maintain a robust, independent air emissions inspection program.

11:48 AM -- Dave Lock, Platte River Power Authority, described the interaction of the authority with the air quality programs of the Department of Public Health and Environment, stating that the division is responsible for a large workload. He stated that the division needs increased staff to continue to provide services. He asked that the committee support the bill.

11:50 AM -- Donnah Moody, Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, reiterated the comments of the department, stating that the department included stakeholders in the process in determining how much to increase the fees. She stated that the fee increase is fair and is split between stationary and mobile sources, and will allow the program to operate more efficiently.

11:52 AM -- Stan Dempsey, Colorado Petroleum Association, reiterated the testimony of Mr. Tourangeau and thanked the department for their work on the legislation and reaching out to stakeholders. He stated that the fee increases are important because the energy industry is engaged in a lot of activity with the department in processing permits related to air quality, and it is important that the permits are processed quickly. He stated that the air quality monitoring work of the department is extremely important.


BILL:	SB08-055
TIME:	11:54:21 AM
MOVED:	Hagedorn
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cadman
	Mitchell S.
	Sandoval
	Schultheis
	Tochtrop
	Boyd
	Hagedorn
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB08-055
TIME:	11:54:44 AM
MOVED:	Hagedorn
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 08-055, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed 5-2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cadman	No
	Mitchell S.	Yes
	Sandoval	Yes
	Schultheis	No
	Tochtrop	Yes
	Boyd	Yes
	Hagedorn	Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS