Bill Summary for Bill Number HB09-1317

Date: 04/23/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1317

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved to refer House Bill 09-1317 to the Committee	PASS

02:48 PM -- House Bill 09-1317

Senator Kester, sponsor, described the provisions of House Bill 09-1317 that prohibits the State Board of Land Commissioners from selling or leasing any property it holds in trust to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for expansion of the Piñon Canyon maneuver site. It requires the Attorney General to make it a priority to oppose any attempt by the federal government to acquire state lands associated with the expansion of the maneuver site, for which consent to acquire has been withdrawn.

The following persons testified on the bill:

02:52 PM -- Commissioner Jim Montoya, Las Animas County, spoke in support of the bill (Attachment C).

02:52 PM -- Commissioner Gary Hill, Las Animas County, spoke in support of the bill.

02:53 PM -- Harris Sherman, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, spoke in support of the bill. He also expressed concern about the effect of the bill if a ranch that surrounds State Land Board lands is sold to the DOD and the State Board of Land Commissioners is prohibited from selling or leasing the property to the DOD (Attachment D).

03:03 PM -- Tyrel Barry, representing himself, described the loss of his grandmother's ranch that was condemned by the Department of Defense and he spoke in support of the bill.

03:09 PM -- Patrick DuRan, representing himself, described the loss of his family's ranch that was condemned by the Department of Defense and he spoke in support of the bill.

03:11 PM -- Brooke Grissom, representing herself, expressed concern about the impact to her family if the DOD expands the Pinon Canyon maneuver site and spoke in support of the bill.

03:13 PM -- Shiann Sallee, representing herself, expressed concern about the impact to her family if the DOD expands the Pinon Canyon maneuver site and spoke in support of the bill.

03:16 PM -- Avery Hollingsworth, representing himself, expressed concern about the impact to his family if the DOD expands the Pinon Canyon maneuver site and spoke in support of the bill.

03:18 PM -- Kimmi Walter, representing herself, expressed concern about the impact to her family if the DOD expands the Pinon Canyon maneuver site and spoke in support of the bill.

03:22 PM -- Commisioner Kevin Karney, Otero County, Souther Colorado Economic Development District, spoke in support of the bill.

03:25 PM -- Troy Bredenkamp, Executive Director of the Colorado Farm Bureau, spoke in support of the bill.

03:27 PM -- Kennie Gyurman, representing himself, expressed concern about the impact to his family's ranch if the DOD expands the Pinon Canyon maneuver site and spoke in support of the bill.

03:30 PM -- Abel Benavidez, representing himself, expressed concern about the impact to his family's ranch if the DOD expands the Pinon Canyon maneuver site and spoke in support of the bill.

03:32 PM -- Shirit Stern, Colorado Cattlemen's Association, spoke in support of the bill.

03:34 PM -- Rebecca Goodwin, Otero County Preservation Board, spoke in support of the bill.

03:36 PM -- Mack Louden, Not 1 More Acre, spoke in support of the bill and described litigation with the DOD concerning the proposed Pinon Canyon maneuver site expansion.

03:42 PM -- Grady Grissom, Rancho Largo Cattle Company, Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, spoke in support of the bill. He also spoke in opposition to amending the bill to address Mr. Sherman's concern about the potential impact of the bill on State Board of Land Commissioner lands surrounded by land that is willingly sold to the DOD.

03:46 PM -- Tom Verquer, Las Animas County Farm Bureau, spoke in support of the bill.

03:48 PM -- Doug Holdread, Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, described the history and culture of the Pinon Canyon area and spoke in support of the bill.

03:51 PM -- Steve Wooten, Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, described the biological resources of the Pinon Canyon maneuver expansion area and spoke in support of the bill. He also distributed a copy of the Southeastern Colorado Survey of Critical Biological Resources 2007 that was conducted by Colorado State University and the Natural Heritage Program. For a copy of this report, contact Colorado Natural Heritage Program of the Colorado State University or visit www.cnhp.colostate.edu or www.pinoncanyon.com/documents/BioExecSum.pdf.

04:01 PM -- Lon Robertson, Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, described the biological resources of the Pinon Canyon maneuver expansion area and spoke in support of the bill. He also described efforts by the DOD to obtain land for the expansion from willing sellers and the effect of the bill on these efforts.

04:06 PM -- Mr. Louden returned to respond to questions from the committee about efforts by the DOD and an unnamed private conservation organization to obtain conservation easements in the Pinon Canyon area.

04:09 PM -- Eugene Ritchey, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the proposed expansion of the DOD's Piñon Canyon maneuver site and in support of the bill.

04:12 PM -- Commissioner Montoya returned to explain that the DOD's environmental impact statement (EIS) is based on an assumption that there will be no live fire in the proposed expansion area.

04:13 PM

Senator Kester closed his remarks on the bill.


BILL:	HB09-1317
TIME:	04:15:44 PM
MOVED:	Kester
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1317 to the Committee of the Whole, without amendment. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy	Excused
	Gibbs	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Kester	Yes
	Schwartz	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Isgar	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:17 PM

The meeting adjourned.