Bill Summary for Bill Number HB09-1068

Date: 01/28/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1068

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1068 indefinitely. Refer House Bill 09-1068 to the Committee on Appro	PASS FAIL

11:01 AM -- House Bill 09-1068 - Concerning the Business Personal Property Tax

Representative Lambert, prime sponsor, distributed a fact-sheet on the bill (Attachment C) and explained that the elimination of Colorado's business personal property tax has been a priority on the business agenda of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry and other business-support organizations. He began by talking about the incentives to businesses in the bill and the gains that the state could see from new business development as the tax is phased-out.

The following persons testified:

11:10 AM -- Ms. Laura Oldright, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, distributed a handout on the bill (Attachment D) and testified in opposition toward the measure. Ms. Oldright noted that the loss of revenue to state and local governments would be difficult to absorb during a time of economic challenges. Ms. Oldright urged the committee to vote in opposition toward the bill.

The committee discussed the role of the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute in the formulation of tax policy. The discussion continued by the committee questioning whether phasing out the tax would not in fact stimulate the economy and pay for itself by generating more money for the state and local governments. Ms. Oldright pointed out that before the state reduce any additional incoming tax revenue, it should first address the current budget concerns tied to the recession.

Representative Lambert noted that the goal of the bill is to bring more businesses to the state and promote economic development. By lowering taxes on businesses, more companies will set up operations in the state.

11:28 AM -- Mr. Chris Mendez, Colorado Counties Incorporated, testified in opposition toward the bill and distributed a handout on property taxes collected by counties (Attachment E). Mr. Mendez said that although the tax is complex and burdensome, many counties depend upon the tax for the provision of basis services. He closed by discussing the state backfill requirement and urged the committee to oppose the bill.

11:35 AM -- Mr. Todd Herreid, Legislative Council Staff, responded to committee questions regarding county revenue issues in the bill.

The committee discussed the potential county services that would be cut should the tax be phased out by the bill. Mr. Herreid commented on the school finance and local government impacts in the bill that would result from out-of-state sales by companies based in Colorado.

11:42 AM -- Mr. Clarke Becker, Colorado Rural Development Council, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Becker discussed the incentives in the bill that would allow Colorado to be more competitive with other states. He closed by saying that the bill would be a benefit to small businesses in Colorado and asked the committee to support the legislation.

11:49 AM -- Mr. Tony Gagliardi, Nation Federation of Independent Business, testified in support of the bill. He noted that small businesses make up 98 percent of the businesses in Colorado that are adversely impacted by the tax. These are the businesses that are responsible for most of the new jobs that are created in the state. House Bill 09-1068 provides important incentives to these small businesses as the tax is phased out. Mr. Gagliardi closed by talking about the cumbersome compliance issues tied to the tax and said that the discussion on the phase-out of the tax needs to continue.

12:00 PM

Recess.

01:33 PM

Resume testimony.

01:34 PM -- Mr. Tony Gagliardi, Nation Federation of Independent Business, concluded his testimony by responding to committee questions about the effect of the phase-out of the tax on local government budgets.

01:36 PM

The bill was placed on the table for action and no amendments were offered.


BILL:	HB09-1068
TIME:	01:36:14 PM
MOVED:	Lambert
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1068 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion failed on a 5-6 vote.
SECONDED:	Roberts
		VOTE
	Apuan	No
	Benefield	No
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	No
	Kerr A.	No
	Lambert	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Frangas	No
	Judd	No

Not Final YES: 5 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB09-1068
TIME:	01:44:16 PM
MOVED:	Benefield
MOTION:	Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1068 indefinitely. The motion passed on a 6-5 vote.
SECONDED:	Judd
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	Gerou	No
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Lambert	No
	Roberts	No
	Summers	No
	Swalm	No
	Frangas	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS