House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources (01/27/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Date:	01/27/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:37 PM to 02:53 PM	Baumgardner	X
		Curry	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Gardner C.	X
		Hullinghorst	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Looper	X
	Representative Fischer	McKinley	X
		Ryden	X
This Report was prepared by		Solano	X
	Lauren Ris	Sonnenberg	*
		Tipton	X
		Vigil	X
		Pace	X
		Fischer	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB10-1099 HB10-1060		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to Appropriations

01:37 PM -- House Bill 10-1099

Representative Pace, sponsor, presented his bill concerning the authorization to consume an alcohol beverage purchased at the Colorado State Fair at any location on the fairgrounds licensed for consumption. He explained that the bill allows any person who purchases an alcohol beverage at the Colorado State Fair to consume and possess the beverage at any location licensed for alcohol consumption within the fairgrounds boundary. However, the beverage may not be removed from the fairgrounds premises. Representative Pace distributed a letter from the Pueblo County Sheriff in support of the bill (Attachment A). Representative Pace answered questions from the committee.

The following individuals testified:

01:42 PM -- Chris Wiseman, General Manager of the Colorado State Fair, explained the need for the bill. He discussed how it will improve the use of security resources. Mr. Wiseman answered questions from the committee.

01:46 PM

Representative Pace clarified that the bill does not add any new locations at the State Fair where alcohol is currently available for purchase.

01:47 PM -- Vince Vigil, Chair of the Colorado State Fair Authority Board, spoke in support of the bill. He explained that this bill would be helpful from a customer service perspective. He also explained that the liquor licences at the fair would all not change.

01:48 PM

The Committee discussed whether the bill clearly prohibited alcohol consumption in parking lots.


BILL:	HB10-1099
TIME:	01:50:12 PM
MOVED:	Pace
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-1099 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 12-0.
SECONDED:	Sonnenberg
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:53 PM -- House Bill 10-1060

Representative Kagan, sponsor, described House Bill 10-10 creates a penalty for failing to make the required amount of severance tax withholding payments from income earned on oil and gas production. The penalty is equal to 10 percent of the payment owed or $50, whichever is the greater amount, plus interest owed on the delinquent payment. The bill also establishes a penalty for failing to file the annual report required by the Department of Revenue reflecting the amounts withheld and remitted to the department. This penalty is equal to 30 percent of the amount of withholding that should have been reflected in the report or $5,000, whichever is the lesser. Representative Kagan described an amendment he supports (Attachment B). He answered questions from the committee concerning the number of failures to pay severance tax withholding payments.

02:03 PM -- Richard Giardini, Department of Revenue (DOR), explained the bill further. He explained that royalty interest holders will not be affected. He also explained that the DOR does not know exactly how many payments have not been made. He discussed how the amendment would change the percentages of the penalties.

02:10 PM

The committee discussed the penalty amounts for failing to make payments. The committee also discussed a 2006 audit report of severance tax collections in the Department of Revenue. The committee continued to ask questions of Mr. Giardini about how penalty amounts were determined and the number of operators who are not paying their share of taxes.

The following individuals testified on the bill:

02:20 PM -- Stan Dempsey, Colorado Petroleum Association, indicated that the association is neutral on the bill and explained his support for the amendment. He noted that eight to ten companies pay the bulk of severance tax. He said that these companies are in close contact with the Department of Revenue and do not miss payments, so the bill would likely not affect them.


BILL:	HB10-1060
TIME:	02:24:23 PM
MOVED:	Looper
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment B) as amended (see vote below). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Tipton
		VOTE
	Baumgardner
	Curry
	Gardner C.
	Hullinghorst
	Looper
	McKinley
	Ryden
	Solano
	Sonnenberg
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Pace
	Fischer
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1060
TIME:	02:26:15 PM
MOVED:	Baumgardner
MOTION:	Moved the following amendment to L.002: Line 14, strike "twenty-five" and substitute "fifteen". After line 14 insert "Page 2 line 14, strike "thousand" and substitute "hundred". The committee discussed the amendment to the amendment. Mr. Dempsey spoke about the amendment.
SECONDED:	Sonnenberg
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	No
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Ryden	No
	Solano	No
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	No
	Pace	Yes
	Fischer	No
Not Final YES: 8 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB10-1060
TIME:	02:43:39 PM
MOVED:	Hullinghorst
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-1060, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED:	Pace
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	No
	Curry	Yes
	Gardner C.	No
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Looper	No
	McKinley	No
	Ryden	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:53 PM

The committee adjourned.