Date: 04/01/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1317

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment P). The motion
Moved to refer House Bill 09-1317, as amended, to
Pass Without Objection
PASS



02:12 PM -- House Bill 09-1317

Representative McKinley and Representative Pace, co-prime sponsors, presented HB 09-1303 concerning state lands sought to be acquired by the federal government associated with the expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver site. The bill sponsors provided the committee an Analysis of Alternatives Study (Attachment I), a study from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (Attachment J), and Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) Findings (Attachment K). Representative Pace and Representative McKinley answered questions from the committee.

090401AttachI.pdf 090401AttachJ.pdf 090401AttachK.pdf

The following individuals testified:

02:28 PM --
Harris Sherman and John Brejcha representing the Department of Natural Resources, explained their neutral position as a result of conflicting legal positions about the constitutionality of the bill. They discussed the precedent the bill may established and other issues related to land stewardship.

02:33 PM

The committee discussed memos from the Attorney General's Office and the Office of Legal Services that have conflicting opinions about the constitutionality of the bill (Attachments L and M) and an e-mail from the Senior Assistant to the Attorney General who wrote the Attorney General's memo (Attachment N).

090401AttachL.pdf 090401AttachM.pdf 090401AttachN.pdf

02:42 PM

The committee continued to discuss the legal opinions and the authority of the Attorney General under the bill. The committee also discussed a potential amendment to clarify the intent of the bill's language on page 2.

02:48 PM --
Mark Grueskin, representing himself, spoke in favor of the bill. He discussed the authority of the legislature and the history of challenges about the constitutionality of other legislative actions, including the recent Colorado Supreme Court decision affirming the mill levy freeze. He answered questions from the committee.

02:58 PM --
Tyrel Berry, representing Hoehne Future Farmers of America (FFA), spoke in favor of the bill. He described his family's history on land in the area. He expressed concern about the expansion of the maneuver site and how it would impact area farmers.

03:06 PM --
Kimmi Walter, representing Hoehne FFA, spoke in favor of the bill. She described her family's history of losing their land through eminent domain in the past as a result of army activities.

03:11 PM --
Patrick DaRan, representing Hoehne FFA, spoke in favor of the bill. He discussed his family's history owning land near army property.

03:14 PM --
Avery Hollingsworth, representing Kim FFA, spoke in favor of the bill. He stated that army expansion would be detrimental to families who ranch on the state land. He also stated that expansion would negatively impact the local economy.

03:19 PM --
Commissioner Keith Goodwin, Otero County Commissioner, spoke in support of the bill and indicated that the Pueblo County Commissioners also support the bill. He discussed the difficulty of succession planning in the face of the potential expansion of the training site.

03:22 PM --
Steve Wooten, representing the Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, spoke in favor of the bill. He explained the mission of the coalition. He also discussed the condition of the land on the Pinon Canyon maneuver site and how it has been managed by the Department of Defense in contrast to the stewardship practices of private land owners. Mr. Wooten referenced a report from Colorado State University titled: "Southeastern Colorado Survey of Critical Biological Resources" available at http://www.pinoncanyon.com/documents/BioExecSum.pdf.

03:31 PM --
Lon Robertson, President of Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, spoke in favor of the bill and discussed the importance of state lands in the region. He discussed the economic dynamics in the community and the importance of ranching state lands.

03:35 PM --
Larry Daves, Colorado Legal Services representing a land owner, spoke in favor of the bill. He discussed the authority of the General Assembly to regulate the State Land Board. He answered questions from the committee about who might challenge the statute if it were to pass.

03:41 PM --
Kennie Gyurman, representing himself, spoke in favor of the bill. He explained his family's history leasing land from the state. He described how selling the land to the Army would negatively impact to the community.

03:44 PM -- Linda Mahoney, representing herself, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed the spiritual and ecological importance of keeping the land in state ownership and undeveloped.

03:47 PM -- Commissioner James Vigil, representing the Las Animas Board of County Commissioners, discussed the threat of eminent domain and how this threat impacts the local economy. Commissioner Vigil also discussed some of his experiences in the military.

03:51 PM --
Commissioner Jim Montoya, representing the Las Animas Board of County Commissioners, spoke in favor of the bill. He discussed actions of the U.S. Congress related to keeping the lands in state ownership and discussed HB 07-1069. Commissioner Montoya distributed a letter from the Las Animas County Commissioners (Attachment O).

090401AttachO.pdf

03:55 PM --
Commissioner Gary Hill, representing the Las Animas Board of County Commissioners, spoke in favor of the bill.

03:58 PM -- Rebecca Goodwin, representing the Otero County Historic Preservation Board, spoke in favor of the bill. She described the historic importance of the land and why it is important for the community's economy.

04:07 PM --
Commissioner Kevin Karney, representing the Southern Colorado Economic District and Otero County, spoke in favor of the bill. He discussed the negative economic impact that expanding the training site would have on the community.

04:10 PM --
Representative McKinley read a statement from the Huerfano County Commissioners in support of the bill.

04:11 PM --
Terry Fankhauser, representing the Colorado Cattlemen's Association, spoke in support of the bill and discussed the importance of supporting the livelihood of ranchers in southeast Colorado. He answered questions from the committee.

04:14 PM -- Bob Kinsey, representing the Green Party of Colorado, spoke in favor of the bill. He explained the principles of the Green Party. He also discussed the importance of buying local agricultural goods and explained how this land allows the community to buy local goods.

04:17 PM --
Troy Bredenkamp, representing the Colorado Farm Bureau, spoke in support of the bill. He described the how state owned land impacts the local tax base, schools, and local economy.

04:19 PM --
Geoff Blue, Colorado Attorney Generals Office, clarified that Attorney General Suthers has not taken position on bill or on legality of the bill. He explained that the legal memorandum distributed earlier only represents the opinion of the document's author, and does not state unequivocally that the bill would be unconstitutional. He indicated that he felt that the bill would be defensible and that the Attorney General would defend the statute if the bill passed and was challenged. He answered questions from the committee.
BILL:HB09-1317
TIME: 04:27:24 PM
MOVED:Pace
MOTION:Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment P). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Solano
VOTE
Gardner C.
Hullinghorst
Labuda
Looper
McKinley
McNulty
Pace
Solano
Sonnenberg
Tipton
Vigil
Fischer
Curry
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

090401AttachP.pdf

04:30 PM

Representative Pace distributed section 24-19.8-101, C.R.S. (Attachment Q). Representative Labuda distributed a handout describing the authority of the State Board of Land Commissioners (Attachment R).

090401AttachQ.pdf 090401AttachR.pdf


04:35 PM

Kate Meyer, Office of Legislative Legal Services, explained language in the bill on page 3, line 24.


04:40 PM

The committee discussed their positions on the bill.
BILL:HB09-1317
TIME: 04:42:21 PM
MOVED:McKinley
MOTION:Moved to refer House Bill 09-1317, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on an 11-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Pace
VOTE
Gardner C.
Yes
Hullinghorst
Yes
Labuda
No
Looper
No
McKinley
Yes
McNulty
Yes
Pace
Yes
Solano
Yes
Sonnenberg
Yes
Tipton
Yes
Vigil
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Curry
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS