House Committee on Local Government (02/03/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Date:	02/03/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:36 PM to 04:55 PM	Acree	X
		Bradford	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Liston	X
		McKinley	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Middleton	*
	Representative Peniston	Schafer S.	X
		Tipton	X
This Report was prepared by		Vigil	X
	Raegan Robb	Waller	X
		Soper	X
		Peniston	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB09-1006 HB09-1110 HB09-1138 HB09-1162 HB09-1040		Postponed Indefinitely Amended, Referred to Appropriations Amended, Laid Over Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to Appropriations

01:36 PM

The chairm, Representative Penison, called the meeting to order.

01:36 PM -- House Bill 09-1006

Representative J. Kerr, prime sponsor of House Bill 09-1006, concerning sewer system rate users outside of the district boundary. He discussed the bill, cited a specific conflict involving the City of Littleton and a local sewer districts, and distributed a handout on the bill (Attachment A). Representative Kerr explained that these two groups had reached an agreement and asked the committee to lay the bill over to May 7, 2009.


BILL:	HB09-1006
TIME:	01:39:12 PM
MOVED:	Soper
MOTION:	Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1006 indefinitely. The motion passed 10-0-1.
SECONDED:	Tipton
		VOTE
	Acree	Yes
	Bradford	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	McKinley	Excused
	Middleton	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Peniston	Yes

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

01:42 PM -- House Bill 09-1110

Representative Scanlan, prime sponsor of House Bill 09-1110, concerning required rental real property information for county assessors, explained that under current law, personal property that is used as rental property is subject to additional property taxation. This bill clarifies existing law by requiring owners of rental property to provide identifying information of such properties to county assessors or to include the relevant information in advertisements for rental units. According to the bill, owners of furnished residential rental property or their agents must provide the schedule number for the property, the property owner’s name, or the address of the rental property to the county assessor by December 1, 2009, and in each subsequent year.

01:48 PM

Franklin Celico, Summit County, testified in support of the bill and discussed the definition of personal property tax and difficulties for counties to identify properties being used for rental properties. Mr. Celico explained that the bill would clarify the definition of rental agents in state law and addressed questions concerning the purpose of the bill.

01:52 PM

Mark Chapin, Eagle County Assessor, and Beverly Breakstone, Summit County Assessor, testified in support of the bill and discussed difficulty for county assessors to track residential properties that are renting their properties, but not reporting rental income accordingly. They discussed that this problem was injuring hotel, motels, and other rental properties that are complying with the county and discussed the advantage of not reporting themselves as rental property on personal property taxes.

01:58 PM

Mr. Chapin discussed the number of residential properties in Eagle County and the need for House Bill 09-1110 to help counties assesses the value of residential properties that would qualify as rental property.

01:59 PM

Mike Magliochetti, business owner, Summit County, testified in support of the bill and explained that the majority of rental properties do not comply with the sales tax license law. He explained that the bill will allow the Department of Revenue to enforce the sales tax license law on rental properties that are not complying with the proper reporting.

02:03 PM

Christine O'Donnell, Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association, testified in support of the bill pending certain amendments and explained that the bill would not prevent all private residences from becoming vacation rental properties. Ms. O'Donnell addressed questions concerning the prepared amendments.

02:07 PM

JoAnn Groff, Director, Division of Property Taxation, Department of Local Affairs, addressed the committee to answer question whether the bill would expand the authority of county assessors and the process for assessors to change rental property values. She explained that the bill would not expand the powers of county assessors and discussed the changes in property assessment and taxation for individuals that rent out their residential property.

02:12 PM

Representative Scanlan entered closing comments on the bill and discussed prepared amendments L.001 (Attachment B) and L.002 (Attachment C).


BILL:	HB09-1110
TIME:	02:13:57 PM
MOVED:	Liston
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Vigil
		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: TIE


BILL:	HB09-1110
TIME:	02:14:41 PM
MOVED:	Middleton
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment C). 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: TIE


BILL:	HB09-1110
TIME:	02:16:09 PM
MOVED:	Middleton
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1110, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed 11-0.
SECONDED:	Schafer S.
		VOTE
	Acree	Yes
	Bradford	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Middleton	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Peniston	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:18 PM -- House Bill 09-1138

Representative Curry, prime sponsor of House Bill 09-1138 concerning property interest and limit on rent control, explained that the bill is intended to be legislation for rent control in cities and counties in Colorado. She explained that the bill clarifies that local governments are permitted to enter into contracts with private owners to provide rent-controlled housing.

02:22 PM

Bill Callison, proponent, testified in support of the bill and discussed the history of rent control in the cities of Boulder and Telluride. Mr. Callison discussed the ability for local governments to limit rents and offer affordable housing in Colorado communities. He explained the bill would allow local governments to enter into contracts with private owners to provide rent-controlled housing. Mr. Callison addressed questions from the committee concerning the restrictions on contractors to agree with a rent control agreement with a local government. Questions and discussion between the committee members and Mr. Callison ensued.

02:43 PM

Representative Curry responded to questions from the committee concerning the issues of affordable housing being a matter of statewide concern. She explained that the bill would allow housing authorities and other governmental entities to enter into and enforce a contract to provide rent-controlled housing.

02:47 PM

Mr. Callison explained that the bill would prevent local governments from passing an ordinance that controls rent on private property, or restricts a private owner from providing rent-controlled housing. Mr. Callison and Representative Curry explained that the bill would prohibit ordinances, but allow voluntary contracts for rent-controlled housing. Mr. Callison addressed questions from the committee concerning the transfer of rental property that is already under a rent-controlled contract.

02:56 PM

Andrew Hamrick, Legal Counsel, Colorado Apartment Association, testified against the bill.

04:06 PM

Representative Curry entered closing comment on the bill and discussed prepared amendments L.001 (Attachment D) and L.002 (Attachment E).


BILL:	HB09-1138
TIME:	04:06:14 PM
MOVED:	Middleton
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (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:	HB09-1138
TIME:	04:07:50 PM
MOVED:	Vigil
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Middleton
		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

04:08 PM

The committee chair laid the bill over for the committee to take up for action only on Thursday, February 5th.

04:09 PM

The committee stood in a brief recess.

04:21 PM -- House Bill 09-1162

Representative Gerou, prime sponsor of House Bill 09-1162, concerning intergovernmental cooperation for wildfire mitigation, explained the bill and discussed the need for intergovernmental agreements for wildfire mitigation. She discussed specific examples where municipalities have parks and open space property outside of their boundaries for recreation and water supply purposes and the need to negotiate agreements for wildfire mitigation on this property.

04:25 PM

Representative Gerou discussed prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment G) and L.002 (Attachment H).


BILL:	HB09-1162
TIME:	04:27:45 PM
MOVED:	Acree
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Liston
		VOTE
	Acree
	Bradford
	Liston
	McKinley	Excused
	Middleton	Excused
	Schafer S.
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Waller
	Soper
	Peniston

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


BILL:	HB09-1162
TIME:	04:29:01 PM
MOVED:	Middleton
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment H). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Acree
		VOTE
	Acree
	Bradford
	Liston
	McKinley	Excused
	Middleton	Excused
	Schafer S.
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Waller
	Soper
	Peniston

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


BILL:	HB09-1162
TIME:	04:30:17 PM
MOVED:	Schafer S.
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1162, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 9-0-2.
SECONDED:	Bradford
		VOTE
	Acree	Yes
	Bradford	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Middleton	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Waller	Excused
	Soper	Yes
	Peniston	Excused

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


BILL:	HB09-1162
TIME:	04:27:45 PM
MOVED:	Acree
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection
SECONDED:	Liston
		VOTE
	Acree
	Bradford
	Liston
	McKinley	Excused
	Middleton	Excused
	Schafer S.
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Waller
	Soper
	Peniston

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

04:31 PM -- House Bill 09-1040

Representative Vigil, prime sponsor of House Bill 09-1040, concerning unfunded mandates on local governments, addressed questions from the committee concerning the fiscal note for the bill and the General Fund expenditure of $46,940 needed to implement the bill.

04:38 PM

Donald Christensen, Executive Director, County Sheriffs of Colorado, testified in support of the bill and talked about unfunded mandates that are placed on county sheriff's department by the state. He discussed specific unfunded mandates that have been placed on counties that have created significant financial burdens for counties to implement.

04:41 PM

Duane Fellhauer, Douglas County, testified in support of the bill and explained that unfunded mandates are prohibited in state law, but several mandates are passed do to local governments each year.

04:42 PM

Andy Karsian, Colorado Counties Inc., testified in support on the bill and explained that House Bill 09-1040 was a high priority for the counties in the state. He discussed state law that prohibits the state from passing unfunded mandates on to local governments and talked about several unfunded mandates that create significant costs for local governments. Mr. Karsian explained that Colorado Counties Inc. provides annual updates to counties throughout the state about recent legislation and new unfunded mandates.

04:48 PM

Representative Vigil entered closing comments on the bill and discussed prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment I), which would shift the reporting obligations from the State Auditor's Office to the Department of Local Affairs.


BILL:	HB09-1040
TIME:	04:49:33 PM
MOVED:	Middleton
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment I). 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:	HB09-1040
TIME:	04:50:11 PM
MOVED:	Tipton
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1040, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed 6-4-1.
SECONDED:	Vigil
		VOTE
	Acree	No
	Bradford	No
	Liston	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Middleton	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	Yes
	Waller	Excused
	Soper	Yes
	Peniston	No

Final YES: 6 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:55 PM

The committee adjourned.