House Committee on Business Affairs and Labor (01/21/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LABOR

Date:	01/21/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	10:23 AM to 02:33 PM	Balmer	X
		Bradford	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Gagliardi	E
		Liston	E
This Meeting was called to order by		Priola	X
	Representative Rice	Ryden	*
		Scanlan	*
This Report was prepared by		Soper	X
	Christie Lee	Stephens	X
		Casso	X
		Rice	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB09-1155 HB09-1012 HB09-1054		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

10:25 AM -- House Bill 09-1155

Representative Weissmann, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 1155 concerning title insurance and justifications to be filed with the commissioner of insurance. The bill requires that title insurance companies and agents file the actuarial justification for a new or amended title insurance rate or fee with the commissioner of insurance at the Department of Regulatory Agencies rather than at the company's or agent's principal office within the state. Representative Balmer asked some questions about the origination of the bill.

10:27 AM -- Richard Jones, President of the Land Title Association of Colorado, testified in support of the bill unamended.

10:28 AM -- Marcy Morrison, Colorado Insurance Commissioner, testified on the bill. She gave some history on the title industry and talked about the title council. The commissioner responded to questions from the committee.

10:32 AM

In response to a question from the chair, Representative Weissmann explained that there was a suggestion brought up by an interested party that had to do with a concern over differentiation between title companies and the various services they provide; however the sponsor did not feel that was a legislative issue. The insurance commissioner commented and stated that the title council is putting together their own ethical standards for title companies to follow.


BILL:	HB09-1155
TIME:	10:37:54 AM
MOVED:	Soper
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1155 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 8-0.
SECONDED:	Balmer
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Bradford	Yes
	Gagliardi	Excused
	Liston	Excused
	Priola	Yes
	Ryden	Excused
	Scanlan	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Stephens	Yes
	Casso	Yes
	Rice	Yes

Final YES: 8 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

10:38 AM -- House Bill 09-1012

Representative Rice and Representative Stephens, prime sponsors, presented House Bill 1012 concerning incentives provided by health insurance carriers to encourage voluntary participation in programs to promote health. This bill allows insurance carriers that provide individual and group health insurance plans in Colorado, to offer incentives for participation in wellness and prevention programs. Carriers are given flexibility in determining the types of programs offered as long as:

program participation is not a condition of coverage;
participation in the program is voluntary;
participants are not required to achieve a specific outcome to receive the incentive; and
the incentive is not used as a marketing device for the insurance plan.

10:46 AM -- Sheryle Hutter, representing the Colorado-Cross Disability Coalition, testified in support of the bill. She said she would like to make sure the bill does not discriminate against persons with disabilities.

10:47 AM -- Steve Dodder, representing the Colorado State Association of Health Underwriters, testified in support of the bill. He talked about wellness programs and the importance of incentives. Mr. Dodder responded to the prior witness' concern about persons with disabilities stating that the programs are based on participation not outcomes. There was a question as to why this is being placed in statute. Representative Rice explained that per state statute, insurance companies are limited as to what they can use to determine rates so it needs to be changed to allow this.

10:51 AM -- Ben Price, Executive Director for the Colorado Association of Health Plans, testified in support of the bill. He distributed a handout from the Metro Denver Health and Wellness Commission about incentive programs (Attachment A).

10:53 AM -- James Sugden, representing the Colorado State Association of Health Underwriters, testified in support of the bill.

10:54 AM -- Kelly Shanahan testified on the bill. She expressed some concerns, including her concern that premiums would increase in the short term to compensate for those enrolled in these types of programs until eventually utilization decreases and rates go down. Ms. Shanahan said she would like to see transparency, evaluation, and oversight of these programs. Her last concern dealt with privacy issues and whether those types of programs would comply with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). She gave an example of a mental health program that a person might not want his or her employer to know about.

10:59 AM -- Tony Gagliardi, representing National Federation of Independent Businesses, testified on the bill and believes it is a step in the right direction. He talked about small businesses with two to five employees and said a wellness program for them might be a local hospital staffer that comes and talks to the employees during lunch.

11:01 AM -- Marcy Morrison, Colorado Insurance Commissioner, testified on the bill and stated that the division would like to help with HIPPA concerns.

11:04 AM

Representative Rice explained and distributed the following amendments to the bill:

Amendment L.001 (Attachment B) talks about existing state or federal laws that may overlap;

Amendment L.002 (Attachment C) adds mental health to the list of programs; and

Amendment L.003 (Attachment D) adds the words "or rewards" after "incentives" throughout the bill because some companies use reward rather than incentive.


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	11:06:44 AM
MOVED:	Rice
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Stephens
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Bradford
	Gagliardi	Excused
	Liston	Excused
	Priola
	Ryden
	Scanlan
	Soper
	Stephens
	Casso
	Rice

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	11:07:02 AM
MOVED:	Rice
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Stephens
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Bradford
	Gagliardi	Excused
	Liston	Excused
	Priola
	Ryden
	Scanlan
	Soper
	Stephens
	Casso
	Rice

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	11:07:15 AM
MOVED:	Rice
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Stephens
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Bradford
	Gagliardi	Excused
	Liston	Excused
	Priola
	Ryden
	Scanlan
	Soper
	Stephens
	Casso
	Rice

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

11:07 AM

Representative Rice addressed some concerns that came up in testimony and said he would be happy to work with them and the insurance commissioner. Representative Stephens also said she would like to work on those issues and stated that with the increase in insurance rates this will help small business.


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	11:10:20 AM
MOVED:	Rice
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1012, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 9-0.
SECONDED:	Stephens
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Bradford	Yes
	Gagliardi	Excused
	Liston	Excused
	Priola	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Scanlan	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Stephens	Yes
	Casso	Yes
	Rice	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:36 PM

The committee was called back to order. All members were present, except Representative Gagliardi was still excused, and Represenative Scanlan was present after roll call.

01:33 PM -- House Bill 09-1054

Representative Looper, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 1054 concerning eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits for an individual who leaves employment to relocate to a new place of residence after the individual's active duty military spouse is killed in combat. During the 2008 session, House Bill 08-1180 was signed into law to extend unemployment insurance benefits to spouses of military personnel who are transferred as part of their military responsibilities. This bill further extends unemployment insurance benefits to the surviving working spouses of military personnel who live in Colorado, have a spouse who is stationed in Colorado and is killed in combat operations, and who relocates to a new place of residence from which it is impractical to commute to the same job.

01:36 PM

Representative Looper distributed a letter from the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce (Attachment E). She also introduced Bridgette Van Dusen and Tiffany Bader who both lost their spouses in the recent war in Iraq.

01:37 PM -- Bridgette Van Dusen, wife of CW3 Brian K. Van Dusen who was killed in Samarra, Iraq on May 9, 2003 while evading enemy fire during a mission to medically evacuate an Iraqi child that stepped on a land mine, testified in support of the bill and talked about her life as a military family member and wife (Attachment F). Ms. Van Dusen talked about her life after loosing her husband and the difficulty of providing for her children who were six and two years old at the time. She said she moved home to Kansas for three months for family support. Ms. Van Dusen explained that had the bill been in effect when her husband died, she could have taken more time to be with her family and her children would have been in a better situation deal with the loss of their father. Ms. Van Dusen talked about the importance of support. Representative Soper asked if she applied for unemployment insurance benefits. She said she was unaware that it was available. Representative Balmer asked whether the military system for helping surviving spouses was adequate. Ms. Van Dusen explained that her husband was the second name on the wall at Fort Carson and that at that time the military was not prepared to handle these situations at the time. She talked about the Casualty Officers she was assigned to and her experience with them; some good and some bad. She said she has been involved in improving the system since her husband's death.

01:50 PM

Representative Liston asked about the requirement that a unemployment insurance beneficiary look for a job. Chairman Rice stated that question would be better answered by the department who would testify later.

01:51 PM -- Tiffany Bader, wife of SSG Daniel Bader who was one of 16 soldiers killed in the downing of a helicopter in Nov. 2, 2003, testified in support of the bill. She said her daughter was 14 months old when he died. Ms. Bader talked about her employment with Albertsons she had since she was 16 prior to losing her husband. She said she became a manager at the age of 18 and become a state-wide trainer. She said she was on her way to corporate and had 17 years with the company. When her husband died, she gave up her management position and went to a part-time position and later left Albertsons. Ms. Bader explained that her daughter is 6 years old now and it is not an option to go back to her old job. Ms. Bader had a similar experience as the prior witness, her husband was number 12 on the wall at Fort Carson, and she said the military was not prepared to help her. She stated that if the bill were in effect at the time her husband died, it would have given her other options.

01:58 PM

There was a discussion about military protocol for surviving spouses and the changes that have been made since Ms. Van Dusen and Ms. Bader lost their husbands. Representative Balmer asked about her life insurance. Ms. Bader stated that half of it went to her daughter, and since her daughter was only 14 months old at the time her father died, she's had to pay alternate minimum tax on the money. A discussion ensued about the problems Ms. Bader has with her life insurance and how the committee could help talk with her congressional members.

02:05 PM -- Amber Nicodemus, the spouse of a survivor of repeat blast exposure resulting in head trauma, testified in support of the bill. She talked about her role in rehabilitating her husband and about those who have lost their spouse. Ms. Nicodemus said there have been 69 Colorado residents as of yesterday who have died in the war and said there will not be that many claims to the unemployment insurance fund if this bill passes.

02:11 PM -- Lorena Garcia, representing 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women, testified in support of the bill.

02:11 PM -- Jeff Clayton, legislative liaison of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, testified on the bill. Representative Liston asked about the job searching requirement for unemployment insurance benefits. Mr. Clayton explained that unemployment claimants must make five job contacts per week. There was a discussion about the number of job contacts and whether that can be changed. Mr. Clayton talked about Amendment L.001 (Attachment G).

02:21 PM -- Colonel Walter Paul, legislative liaison for the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, was asked by Representative Rice what the number of casualties in the National Guard has been in Colorado. Colonel Paul stated the National Guard has had three, one in Afghanistan, one in Kuwait ,and on recently in Iraq. Colonel Paul and Representative Looper responded to questions about other states that have removed the job search requirement and Colonel Paul said he would look into it. There was a discussion about extending the unemployment benefits to spouses who do not relocate. Representative Rice pointed out that the relocation requirement was in the title of the bill and it would have to be another bill.

02:29 PM

Representative Rice listed some possible amendments to the bill for second reading regarding waiving the job search requirement.


BILL:	HB09-1054
TIME:	02:31:25 PM
MOVED:	Balmer
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Liston
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Bradford
	Gagliardi	Excused
	Liston
	Priola
	Ryden
	Scanlan
	Soper
	Stephens
	Casso
	Rice

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1054
TIME:	02:31:53 PM
MOVED:	Balmer
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1054, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 10-0.
SECONDED:	Priola
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Bradford	Yes
	Gagliardi	Excused
	Liston	Yes
	Priola	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Scanlan	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Stephens	Yes
	Casso	Yes
	Rice	Yes

Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:33 PM

Adjourned.