Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources (02/19/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Date:	02/19/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:31 PM to 04:56 PM	Brophy	X
		Gibbs	*
Place:	SCR 353	Harvey	X
		Kester	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Schwartz	*
	Senator Isgar	Hodge	X
		Isgar	X
This Report was prepared by
	Raegan Robb
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Conf 09-Parks and Outdoor Recreation SB09-154 SB09-174 SB09-182 SB09-165		Favorably Refer to the Full Senate Referred to Appropriations Amended, Referred to Appropriations Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:31 PM

The chairman, Senator Hodge, called the meeting to order, a quorum was present.

01:32 PM -- Confirmations of Members to the State Board of Parks and Outdoor Recreation

The appointees for membership of the State Board of Parks and Outdoor Recreation came to the table, introduced themselves, and discussed their interest in serving on the board. Copies of their applications were provided to the committee (Attachment A). Attachment A can be viewed at Legislative Council and State Archives. The appointees responded to questions from the committee concerning their interest serving on the board.


BILL:	Parks and Rec Members
TIME:	01:36:22 PM
MOVED:	Hodge
MOTION:	Moved to favorably refer the nominations of James C. Pribyl, Gary A. Butterworth, Laurie A. Mathews, and the redesignation of William G. Kane to the full Senate for confirmation to the Board of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. The motion passed 7-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy	Yes
	Gibbs	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Kester	Yes
	Schwartz	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Isgar	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:41 PM -- Senate Bill 09-154

Senator Hodge, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 09-154, concerning funding of personnel for the "Livestock Health Act." Senator Hodge explained that the bill allows the Commissioner of Agriculture to use continuous appropriations from the Veterinary Vaccine and Service Fund to hire staff and cover additional expenses.

01:42 PM

Dr. Keith Roehr, State Veterinarian, Department of Agriculture, testified on the bill and talked about the importance of adding additional FTEs for laboratory technicians to the Rocky Mountain Regional Animal Health Laboratory. He addressed questions from the committee and distributed a handout (Attachment B).

01:45 PM

Tiffany Brigner, Department of Agriculture, testified in support of the bill and talked about the need to purchase supplies and laboratory expenses with monies from the Veterinary Vaccine and Service Fund. She also discussed the importance to cover expenses from livestock disease tests for infectious or contagious disease control and eradication program.

01:49 PM

Dr. Lori Scott, testified in support of the bill and talked about the importance of using funding from the Veterinary Vaccine and Service Fund to hire staff and cover additional expenses in the Rocky Mountain Regional Animal Health Laboratory.


BILL:	SB09-154
TIME:	01:53:58 PM
MOVED:	Hodge
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-154 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy	Yes
	Gibbs	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Kester	Yes
	Schwartz	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Isgar	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:58 PM -- Senate Bill 09-174

Senator Kester, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 09-174, concerning pari-mutuel racing, described the challenges facing the pari-mutuel industry across the country. He explained that the bill eliminates the statutory cap on simulcast race days and authorizes the Colorado Racing Commission to make that determination. He also distributed Amendment L. 001 (Attachment C)

The following persons testified on the bill:

02:00 PM -- Eric Morgan, Colorado Greyhound Kennel Association, testified against the bill and discussed the economic challenges affecting the pari-mutuel industry. Mr. Morgan explained the different taxes imposed on greyhound racing and horse racing and explained that increasing the number of simulcast days would injure Colorado businesses. He talked about other legislation (House Bill 09-1095) that would have implemented a tax reduction for the pari-mutuel racing industry that was not successful. Mr. Morgan explained that the bill would allow racetracks to increase the number of simulcast races, without requiring live racing. He talked about the loss of live racing in the state, the loss to Colorado business, and explained that Senate Bill 09-174 would not require tracks to have live racing, which would eliminate live greyhound racing in the state.

02:18 PM -- Stephen Johnson, representing himself, testified against the bill and explained that the bill would permanently eliminate live racing in the state. Mr. Johnson talked about specific racetracks in the state that have closed and the injury to small businesses. Mr. Johnson addressed questions from the committee and distributed handouts to the committee (Attachment D and Attachment E).

02:24 PM -- Peggy Brummage, Greyhound Industry, testified against the bill and talked about the loss of live greyhound racing in the state and the injury to small businesses. She talked about the impact that simulcast racing has on the greyhound and horse racing industry.

02:27 PM -- Melvin Johnson, Greyhound Industry, testified against the bill, talked about the history of live racing in Colorado, and describe the impact of simulcast racing on live racing.

02:30 PM -- Gary Bryan, President, Colorado Greyhound Kennel Association, talked about the suffering racing industry in the state, and talked about the burden of shipping a large number of greyhounds out of the state for adoption or racing. Mr. Bryan addressed questions from the committee concerning greyhound racing in other states, off-track betting facilities, and the racing seasons in Colorado and other states.

02:38 PM -- Dan Hartman, Director, Division of Racing, Department of Revenue, addressed the committee's questions concerning the amount that racing facilities are taxed in the state and talked about the possibility of live greyhound racing to the committee. He talked about the taxation on simulcast facilities and the impact of Senate Bill 09-174 on live racing in the state.

02:45 PM -- Bruce Seymore, Mile High Racing and Entertainment, testified in support of the bill and explained that the bill would allow the racing industry to have a more flexible business model. He talked about the reasons that live racing has suffered, talked about the hardships to specific racetracks in the state, and explained that 19 dog tracks closed across the country since 2000. He also described the importance of off-track betting facilities in and live horse racing in the state, which is a $1.6 billion/year industry. Mr. Seymore addressed questions from the committee concerning off-track betting, simulcast racing, and the taxation on racing facilities.

02:59 PM -- Ray Teutesch, representing himself, testified in support of the bill and describe the importance of horse racing industry to the state of Colorado. He also distributed notarized letters of support for the bill from Mr. Jerry Slaughter, Harry Veruchi, George Wafer, and Reed Jenkins, (Attachment F).

03:04 PM -- Kathryn Keeley, Director, Arapahoe and Milehigh Race Park, testified in support of the bill and talked about the importance of the racing industry for small businesses in the state.

03:07 PM -- Reed Jenkins, Arapahoe Park, spoke in support of the bill and described the economic benefits provided by the racing industry.

03:11 PM -- Bill Alexander, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill and in opposition to the state paying for the regulation of the racing industry (Attachment G). He also described declining public interest in live greyhound racing and responded to questions about the taxes pertaining to the animal racing industry.

03:23 PM -- Red and Jerry's Entertainment Center, described the decline of public interest in live racing and spoke in support of the bill. He also described the economic benefits of simulcast racing.

03:27 PM -- Danny Williams, Mile Hi Entertainment, spoke in support of the bill and described the taxes and regulations that impact the economic viability of live racing. He also identified protections for the greyhound racing industry on Page 9 of the printed bill, lines 17 through 23. He also responded to questions from the committee regarding the effect of the bill on live racing facilities in the state and other issues.


BILL:	SB09-174
TIME:	03:50:02 PM
MOVED:	Kester
MOTION:	Moved to refer to Senate Bill 09-174 to the Committee on Appropriations, as amended. The motion passed on a vote of 5-2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy	No
	Gibbs	Yes
	Harvey	No
	Kester	Yes
	Schwartz	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Isgar	Yes

Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB09-174
TIME:	03:57:05 PM
MOVED:	Schwartz
MOTION:	Moved to amend Page 9 of the printed bill, line 23, after "TIME" insert "OR THE GROUP REPRESENTING THE MAJORITY OF GREYHOUND OPERATORS AS OF JANUARY 1, 2008.". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy
	Gibbs
	Harvey
	Kester
	Schwartz
	Hodge
	Isgar

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB09-174
TIME:	03:50:10 PM
MOVED:	Kester
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L. 001. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy
	Gibbs
	Harvey
	Kester
	Schwartz
	Hodge
	Isgar

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:52 PM

Mr. Williams returned to describe the effect of Amendment L. 001.

03:58 PM

Dan Hartman, Division of Racing, responded to questions about fees collected by the division.

04:01 PM

The meeting recessed.

04:03 PM -- Senate Bill 09-182

Senator Penry, sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 09-182 that exempts public or nonprofit search and rescue organizations from State Park fees when conducting training activities at a State Parks facility.

The following persons testified on the bill:

04:07 PM -- Kristopher Poskey, representing himself, described training requirements for members of search and rescue organizations and the need for realistic training opportunities that are available at State Parks. He also spoke in support of the bill.

04:11 PM -- Colonel Edward Phelka, Commander of the Colorado Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, described search and rescue activities of the Civil Air Patrol and he spoke in support of the bill.


BILL:	SB09-182
TIME:	04:19:36 PM
MOVED:	Brophy
MOTION:	Moved SB 09-182 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended, and with a recommendation that it be added to the consent calendar. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy	Yes
	Gibbs	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Kester	Yes
	Schwartz	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Isgar	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB09-182
TIME:	04:19:49 PM
MOVED:	Brophy
MOTION:	Moved to amend the printed bill, Page 3, strike lines 15 through 20, and Page 4, line 3, strike "open." and substitute "open, subject to availability.".. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy
	Gibbs
	Harvey
	Kester
	Schwartz
	Hodge
	Isgar

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

04:23 PM -- Senate Bill 09-165

Senator Isgar, sponsor, described the provision of Senate Bill 09-165 . Starting July 1, 2009, the introduced bill caps income to the Perpetual Base Account of the severance tax trust fund at $50 million per year and transfers up to $10 million per year that would otherwise be credited to the perpetual base account to the Small Communities Water and Wastewater Grant Fund. These moneys are continuously appropriated to the Department of Public Health and Environment. The bill directs the department to make grants from the fund to governmental and not-for-profit public water systems and counties representing unincorporated areas that serve a population of not more than 5,000 people for the planning, design, and construction of drinking water or water treatment systems. He also distributed Amendment L. 001 (Attachment H) and Amendment L. 002 (Attachment I). He explained that these amendments would eliminate the bill's fiscal impact (Attachment J).

04:26 PM

Senator Penry, sponsor, described the need to provide severance tax revenue for public drinking and wastewater projects.

The following persons testified on the bill:

04:29 PM -- Jim Moody, Colorado Contractors Association, spoke in support of the bill.

04:29 PM -- Levi Lowell, T. Lowell Construction, spoke in support of the bill and described the potential benefits to his company and communities that need help paying for drinking and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

04:33 PM -- Chris Treese, Colorado River Water Conservation District, spoke in support of the bill and described the challenge facing the Town of Red Cliff in Eagle County as it seeks to pay for a mandated wastewater treatment facility.

04:40 PM -- Shanna Koenig, Northwest Colorado Council of Government, spoke in support of the bill and described public drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs in northwest Colorado communities.

04:41 PM -- Kevin Bommer, Colorado Municipal League, spoke in support of the bill and described prior attempts to pass legislation to provide additional funding for public drinking water and wastewater infrastructure (Attachment K, Attachment L, and Attachment M). He also explained that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment administers state grant programs for drinking and domestic wastewater projects to communities with less than 5,000 people. Drinking water grant funds are used to plan, design, construct, upgrade, or consolidate water systems. Domestic wastewater treatment grant funds are used to construct or upgrade wastewater treatment facilities. Funding for these grants is prioritized annually by the Capital Development Committee and appropriated by the Colorado General Assembly. Both grant programs received an appropriation of $1.5 million for FY 2006-07. However, the grant programs has not received funding in FY 2002-03 through FY 2005-06 and FY 2007-08. Mr. Bommer also responded to questions from the committee about the bill.


BILL:	SB09-165
TIME:	04:49:58 PM
MOVED:	Isgar
MOTION:	Moved to refer SB 09-165 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0 with a recommendation that it be added to the consent calendar.
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


BILL:	SB09-165
TIME:	04:51:34 PM
MOVED:	Isgar
MOTION:	Amendment L. 002. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy
	Gibbs
	Harvey
	Kester
	Schwartz
	Hodge
	Isgar

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB09-165
TIME:	04:50:06 PM
MOVED:	Isgar
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L. 001. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy
	Gibbs
	Harvey
	Kester
	Schwartz
	Hodge
	Isgar

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

04:52 PM

Mr. Bommer returned to answer questions about Amendment L. 001.

04:55 PM

The meeting adjourned.