Senate Committee on Finance (01/13/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Date:	01/13/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	02:02 PM to 03:08 PM	Brophy	X
		Heath	X
Place:	SCR 354	Isgar	X
		King K.	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Scheffel	X
	Senator Sandoval	Hudak	X
		Sandoval	X
This Report was prepared by
	Elizabeth Hanson
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Introduction by Chair SB09-041		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Laid Over

02:02 PM -- Introduction by Chair

Senator Sandoval called the meeting to order and introduced herself. A quorum was present. She discussed a procedural memorandum that was handed out to all members of the committee (Attachment A). She mentioned that the committee members will also be receiving a notebook on issues relevant to legislation the committee will consider in the following months. Senator Sandoval also discussed the Senate bill routing table for the current session, and a calendar and list of upcoming legislation was distributed to all members of the committee (Attachment B).

02:11 PM -- Senate Bill 09-041

Senator Romer, prime sponsor, presented SB09-041. The bill allows the Department of Local Affairs to charge an administrative fee to entities that receive direct allocations of bonding authority as part of the Private Activity Bond (PAB) Ceiling Allocation Act. Senator Romer said the bill will need some additional work. He also spoke about a technical amendment he plans to offer at a later date. Senator Romer responded to several questions from Committee members, including questions about the amount of the fee and the economic impacts of the bill.

The following people testified on the bill:

02:19 PM -- Mr. Bruce Eisenhauer, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, testified in support of the bill. He spoke about getting the bonds into the market at the appropriate times and about finding parity for everyone paying bonding fees. He also stated that the fee issue would need to go through a rulemaking process in the future. He stated that previously, the department had been under the assumption that the authority existed under current law to charge a fee, but the Attorney General's office issued an opinion on the matter.

Mr. Eisenhauer responded to questions from the committee about the costs of funding the program, cash fund issues, raising fees during difficult economic times, and the impacts of bonding fees on student loans.

02:33PM -- Ms. Ann Watts, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, testified in support of the legislation. She discussed calculating the cap and issues of state authority. She also spoke about the Attorney General's decision and clarifying Colorado statutes to allow for different fees to be charged. Ms. Watts responded to questions from the committee about the current fees being paid by local governments, the groups that are affected, industrial development bonds, and the timing of when revenue is received by the department due to market conditions.

02:45 PM -- Ms. Joanne Weinstein, Denver City Attorney's Office, testified about the legislation. She stated that she was presenting a new perspective on behalf of local governments. She discussed several issues, including charging a fee in tough economic times and her concerns about the impact of fees on homebuyer programs.

02:53PM -- Ms. Watts returned to the table and answered questions from the bill sponsor and members of the committee about the amount of the fee, market conditions, family mortgage bonds, and the homebuyers that could be affected.

03:03 PM -- Mr. Ken Hougland, Housing Colorado, testified about the legislation. He stated that he is an advocate for affordable housing and many members of his organization utilize the specific program impacted by the legislation. He also raised concerns about the cap imposed in bill and understands the stakeholders will work these issues in the coming weeks.

03:05 PM

Public testimony was closed and Senator Sandoval laid the bill over.

03:07 PM

The committee adjourned.