Bill Summary for Bill Number HB09-1135

Date: 01/29/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1135

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment D). The motion Moved amendment L.004 (Attachment E). The motion Moved amendment L.005 (Attachment F). The motion Moved amendment L.007 (Attachment G). The motion Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-1135, as amended, to	Pass Without Objection Pass Without Objection Pass Without Objection Pass Without Objection PASS

10:39 AM -- House Bill 09-1135

Representative Judd, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1135, concerning the adjustment of fees imposed by counties in the state. He explained that the bill increases the amount of specified fees collected by county treasurers, clerks and recorders, and sheriffs. Representative Judd explained that the bill would establish uniform fees that will be adjusted by the executive director of the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) every other year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). He explained that the fees will be adjusted on a mathematical formula in 50-cent increments, and spoke to an amendment that will adjust this mathematical formula to round down. He talked about the authority for county treasurers, clerks and recorders, and sheriffs to collect fees and the need to clarify these powers in state law. He also explained that DOLA will maintain a public schedule of the fees and make the schedule available on the department's web site.

10:51 AM

Representative Judd responded to questions from the committee members concerning fees charged by counties. He explained that uniform fees already exist in law in regard to the amount that counties may collect and explained that the bill will adjust these fees according to the formula provided in the bill. He discussed the need to maintain uniform county fees throughout the state according to the formula established in the bill. Representative Judd responded to questions concerning the formula in the bill and the adjustment for the CPI. Committee discussion ensued concerning the CPI being used to adjust the county fees according to the bill.

11:08 AM

Joseph Gang, Boulder County Sheriff's Department, testified in support of the bill and discussed the need for county fees to adjust for inflation. He discussed specific expenses incurred by the sheriffs' departments and talked about the difficulty for county fees that are established in state law and have not been reset since 1996 to meet expenses. Mr. Gang responded to questions concerning alternative resources that are available to counties to help compensate for fees that do not meet the expenses incurred by counties.

11:18 AM

Bob Hullinghorst, Boulder County Treasurer, testified in support of the bill and discussed the need to increase fees for county treasurers that are currently established in state law. Mr. Hullinghorst talked about county departments using more county general funds and discussed the need to help compensate for fees that do not meet the expenses incurred by the county.

11:24 AM

Carol Snyder, representing the Colorado Public Trustees Association, and Pam Anderson, representing the Colorado County Clerks Association, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Snyder explained that public trustees operate solely off of processing fees, and she discussed a prepared amendment that addresses fees charged by public trustees. She explained the standard workload and processing for public trustees and talked about the need to implement uniform fees throughout the state.

11:30 AM

Ms. Anderson discussed the changes to county fee structures to assist county clerks and recorders and compensate for fees that do not meet the expenses incurred by county clerks and recorders.

11:35 AM

Ms. Snyder and Ms. Anderson addressed questions concerning the bill and the need to clarify county clerk and recorder fees in state law.

11:37 AM

Kymm Walter, representing the Land Title Association of Colorado, testified on the bill and distributed a handout to the committee concerning changes in recording fees established in Section 30-1-103(4) (Attachment C). He explained that recording fees were being charged pursuant to state law and talked about specific cases where counties are implementing extra recording fees that can confuse the processing of various land title documents. He discussed a prepared amendment that will provide clarity and uniformity for recording fees assessed by counties.

11:43 AM

Andy Karsian, representing Colorado Counties, Inc., testified on the bill and explained that this bill was a significant priority for counties throughout the state for the 2009 legislative session.

11:45 AM

Andrew MacDonald, Boulder County Sheriff's Department, testified on the bill and explained that the mileage rate in state law should be tied to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gas mileage estimation, rather than the CPI.

11:46 AM

Bruce Eisenhauer, Deputy Director, Department of Local Affairs, testified on the bill and talked about the CPI that is applied in the bill to adjust the county fees and described the department's role in adjusting the county fees. Mr. Eisenhauer and Representative Judd addressed questions from the committee members concerning the CPI and the adjustment of other fees addressed in the bill.


BILL:	HB09-1135
TIME:	11:54:35 AM
MOVED:	Middleton
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Tipton
		VOTE
	Acree
	Bradford
	Liston
	McKinley
	Middleton
	Schafer S.
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Waller
	Soper
	Peniston

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


BILL:	HB09-1135
TIME:	11:56:17 AM
MOVED:	Middleton
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.004 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Schafer S.
		VOTE
	Acree
	Bradford
	Liston
	McKinley
	Middleton
	Schafer S.
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Waller
	Soper
	Peniston

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


BILL:	HB09-1135
TIME:	11:57:05 AM
MOVED:	Waller
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.005 (Attachment F). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Schafer S.
		VOTE
	Acree
	Bradford
	Liston
	McKinley
	Middleton
	Schafer S.
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Waller
	Soper
	Peniston

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


BILL:	HB09-1135
TIME:	11:58:11 AM
MOVED:	Middleton
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.007 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Schafer S.
		VOTE
	Acree
	Bradford
	Liston
	McKinley
	Middleton
	Schafer S.
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Waller
	Soper
	Peniston

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


BILL:	HB09-1135
TIME:	12:04:15 PM
MOVED:	Schafer S.
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-1135, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 5-3-3 vote.
SECONDED:	Vigil
		VOTE
	Acree	Yes
	Bradford	Excused
	Liston	Excused
	McKinley	Excused
	Middleton	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	Yes
	Waller	No
	Soper	No
	Peniston	Yes

Final YES: 5 NO: 3 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:15 PM

The committee adjourned.