House Committee on Finance (01/21/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Date:	01/21/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	10:23 AM to 02:51 PM	Apuan	X
		Benefield	X
Place:	LSB A	Gerou	X
		Kefalas	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Kerr A.	X
	Representative Judd	Lambert	X
		Roberts	X
This Report was prepared by		Summers	X
	Ron Kirk	Swalm	X
		Frangas	X
		Judd	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB09-1043 HB09-1013 HB09-1095		Referred to Appropriations Referred to Local Government Amended, Laid Over

10:23 AM -- House Bill 09-1043 - Concerning An Income Tax Checkoff for the Make-A-Wish Foundation

Representative Ryden, prime sponsor, briefly explained the provisions of House Bill 09-1043 and discussed the history of the Checkoff Colorado Program.

The following person testified:

10:25 AM -- Ms. Joan Mazak, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado, distributed a packet of materials on the foundation and testified in support of the bill (Attachment A). Ms. Mazak gave the committee a brief overview of the foundation and the services that it provides to children who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.

10:32 AM

After a brief committee discussion, the bill was placed on the table for action and no amendments were offered.


BILL:	HB09-1043
TIME:	10:33:40 AM
MOVED:	Benefield
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1043 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 10-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Summers
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Lambert	No
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Judd	Yes

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

10:35 AM -- House Bill 09-1013

Representative Sonnenberg, prime sponsor, briefly explained the provisions of the bill and distributed a handout on House Bill 09-1013 (Attachment B). He explained that the bill allows fire districts or other emergency service districts to utilize taxes that would otherwise go to Urban Renewal Authorities (URAs) under Tax Increment Financing (TIF) obligations to pay for increased service demands in their jurisdictions.

The following persons testified:

10:39 AM -- Ms. Erin Goff, Colorado Municipal League, testified in opposition toward the bill and discussed the "increment" revenue that would be lost to URAs. She continued the presentation by discussing how TIF works as a funding mechanism for urban redevelopment. Ms. Goff closed by saying that there is an incentive for URAs to negotiate with fire districts within a district to allow districts to continue collecting the increment revenue under TIF obligations.

The committee engaged in a brief discussion regarding whether House Bill 09-1013 would impair an existing contractual obligation between a URA and a fire district given a TIF contract. Representative Sonnenberg responded by saying that the bill only affects increment taxes that are realized in property tax year 2009 and years thereafter.

10:59 AM -- Mr. Brian Martens, Windsor - Severance Fire Station 1, testified in support of the bill and began by saying that URAs have a negative impact on the funding of essential services provided by fire and ambulance districts. He said that fire and emergency services nonpayment of TIF revenue to URAs in the bill would have a minimal impact on the total dollars that URAs receive from TIF. Mr. Martens closed by saying that the Windsor Fire Department's share of the $4.5 million in property tax revenue that was paid to the URA in Windsor has cost the fire department an estimated $250,000 annually and is needed by the department to help fund the growing costs of providing emergency services.

11:12 AM -- Mr. Evan Goulding, Special Districts Association, testified in support of the bill and gave the committee a brief overview of TIF. State law authorizes URAs to use TIF for projects that improve blighted areas. TIF allows an authority to issue and repay redevelopment bonds by using the "increment" of increased taxes collected within the TIF district after improvements are made. For TIF purposes, to determine the increment amount of property tax revenue, the base valuation is certified by the county and is equal to the total assessed valuation within the TIF district prior to the approval of the redevelopment plan. As phases of redevelopment are completed, the county reassesses the properties in the TIF district. Over time, improvements add to the property tax base. The revenue that is attributed to the growing tax base becomes the incremental revenue that is used by the authority for debt service on the bonds that are used to finance the redevelopment project.

Mr. Goulding continued by saying that the concern with TIF, is that is freezes the level of property tax revenue that a special district providing emergency services can take in until the URA project is completed. These projects are long-term and do not allow a fire district's revenue to grow as the corresponding costs of providing emergency services grow. He closed by strongly urging the committee to support the bill.

11:25 AM -- Mr. Chris Mendez, Colorado Counties Inc., testified in support of the legislation and the expansion of the receipt of notice arbitration above the current statutes. He closed by saying that there may be a need to amend current law to give special districts more flexibility in terms of financing the services they provide.

11:28 AM -- Mr. Bob Lackner, Office of Legislative Legal Services, responded to committee questions about the effective date of the bill and the application of the bill to property taxes that accrue to URAs during property tax year 2009. Mr. Lackner closed by saying that the bill does not have retroactive impacts.

11:30 AM

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


BILL:	HB09-1013
TIME:	11:31:31 AM
MOVED:	Lambert
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1013 to the Committee on Local Government. The motion passed on a 9-2 vote.
SECONDED:	Summers
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr A.	No
	Lambert	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Judd	No

Not Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:40 AM -- House Bill 09-1095 - Concerning Measures to Encourage Live Greyhound Racing

Representative Baumgardner, prime sponsor, explained that House Bill 09-1095 reduces the state tax on pari-mutuel wagering on greyhound racing from 4.5 percent to 0.75 percent. The bill also increases the allowable number of greyhound simulcast days per state fiscal year when live racing occurs from 250 to 360.

The following persons testified:

11:42 AM -- Ms. Charmaine Settle, Grey2K USA, testified in opposition toward the bill and distributed a handout entitled Cages of Confinement (Attachment C).Ms. Settle discussed the warehouse style kennels that greyhound racing dogs are kept in for up to 20 hours per day. She commented on photos that were taken at the Cloverleaf Racetrack Park Auction in 2008 that show pictures of greyhounds in confinement. Ms. Settle closed by talking about the serious injuries that greyhounds suffer every year and stated that these dog tracks should be shut down to curb the further abuse of these animals. She urged the committee to table the bill.

11:51 AM -- Mr. William Alexander, testified in opposition of the bill and distributed a handout showing the declining tax revenue from greyhound racing in Colorado (Attachment D).

11:59 AM

Recess.

01:41 PM -- (Resume testimony)

Mr. Alexander closed his testimony that he began before the recess by saying that if greyhound racing continues, the state will see a net tax decline as taxes were down 10 percent per year from 2002 through 2007. Dog tracks are shutting down in other states as racing revenue continues to decline.

01:48 PM -- Mr. Bruce Seymour, Mile High Racing and Entertainment, testified in opposition toward the bill. He commented that this bill cannot bring back racing to the state. Mr. Seymour closed by saying that the industry needs flexibility to create broadcasting circuits to bring racing events to more locations in Colorado.

01:53 PM -- Mr. Chad Hills, Focus on the Family, testified in opposition toward the bill and distributed a packet of materials to the committee from the organization (Attachment E). Mr. Hills noted that gambling addiction is harmful to families and this bill has the potential to expand gambling. He closed by noting that racing events have been on the decline for years and urged the committee to vote against the bill.

(There is a DVD that goes with this attachment and it can be viewed at Archives.)

02:01 PM -- Mr. Mike Stabler, Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, testified in opposition toward the bill and distributed a letter of opposition from the Colorado Humane Voters League (Attachment F).

02:03 PM -- Ms. Holly Tarry, Humane Society of the United States, testified in opposition toward the bill. She closed by saying that the dog racing industry is inherently dangerous to the health of greyhounds and should be shut down.

02:04 PM -- Mr. Eric Morgan, Colorado Greyhound Kennel Association, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Morgan closed by saying that the greyhound industry is taxed at a rate that is six times as much as other racing events. This bill will help keep the racing industry in Colorado. The committee engaged in a brief discussion about racing events in Colorado and Mr. Morgan responded to technical questions about the industry.

02:25 PM -- Ms. Judith Lutsky, testified in support of the bill and discussed the good care that greyhounds receive in Colorado from the racing industry. She closed by talking about the excellent care that her personal greyhounds receive and reiterated that the industry does care about the health and welfare of its racing dogs.

02:29 PM -- Mr. Stephen Johnson, representing himself, testified in support of the bill and noted that the racing industry have been a part of Colorado's history for the past 60 years. He closed by urging the committee to support the bill as it would keep the industry alive.

02:36 PM -- Mr. Gary Bryan, Colorado Greyhound Kennel Association, testified in support of the bill.

02:41 PM

As testimony concluded, the Chair placed the bill on the table and distributed amendment L.001 (Attachment G). Representative Judd noted that the amendment places a sunset provision in the bill of July 1, 2019. He noted that the provision will allow the General Assembly to look at whether the rate reduction in the bill is achieving its desired effect. After the following votes were taken, the bill was pulled off the table and rescheduled in the House Finance Committee for Monday, January 26, 2009, upon adjournment.

BILL: HB09-1095

TIME: 02:41:28 PM

MOVED: Judd

MOTION: Moved amendment L.001 (the amendment sunsets the rate change July 1, 2019). The motion passed on a 10-1 vote.

SECONDED: Frangas

VOTE

Apuan
Yes

Benefield
Yes

Gerou
Yes

Kefalas
No

Kerr A.
Yes

Lambert
Yes

Roberts
Yes

Summers
Yes

Swalm
Yes

Frangas
Yes

Judd
Yes

Not Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

BILL: HB09-1095

TIME: 02:44:36 PM

MOVED: Frangas

MOTION: Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1095 indefinitely. The motion failed on a 5-6 vote.

SECONDED: Kefalas

VOTE

Apuan
No

Benefield
No

Gerou
No

Kefalas
Yes

Kerr A.
Yes

Lambert
Yes

Roberts
No

Summers
Yes

Swalm
No

Frangas
Yes

Judd
No

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

BILL: HB09-1095

TIME: 02:49:41 PM

MOVED: Roberts

MOTION: Moved to refer House Bill 09-1095 as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion failed on a 4-7 vote.

SECONDED: Benefield

VOTE

Apuan
No

Benefield
Yes

Gerou
Yes

Kefalas
No

Kerr A.
No

Lambert
No

Roberts
Yes

Summers
No

Swalm
No

Frangas
No

Judd
Yes

Not Final YES: 4 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

02:51 PM

Adjourn.


BILL:	HB09-1095
TIME:	02:41:28 PM
MOVED:	Judd
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (the amendment sunsets the rate change July 1, 2019). The motion passed on a 10-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Frangas
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	No
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Lambert	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Not Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS