House Committee on Local Government (01/26/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Date:	01/26/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	03:36 PM to 04:20 PM	Acree	X
		Apuan	X
Place:	HCR 0111	Bradford	X
		Liston	E
This Meeting was called to order by		Massey	X
	Representative Peniston	McKinley	X
		Priola	X
This Report was prepared by		Schafer S.	X
	Raegan Robb	Vigil	*
		Soper	X
		Peniston	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB10-1095 HB10-1080		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole

03:37 PM

The committee chair, Representative Peniston, called the meeting to order.

03:38 PM -- House Bill 10-1095

Representative Gerou, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 10-1095, concerning a limitation on the authority of a fire protection district to charge fees for providing certain rescue services to those services provided at the scene of a motor vehicle accident. Representative Gerou explained that the bill clarifies law created by House Bill 09-1041, which allowed fire protection districts to fix fees for ambulance or emergency medical services and extrication, rescue, or safety services provided. She discussed cases in other states where large fees were recovered from individuals for search and rescue efforts and explained that House Bill 09-1041 was not intended to authorize fire protection districts to assess fees for search and rescue. Representative Gerou distributed handouts to the concerning the unintended consequences of House Bill 09-1041 (Attachment A), and examples of laws in other states that allow recovery of costs for search and rescue (Attachment B).

03:42 PM

Representative Gerou responded to questions from the committee concerning how additional fees are assessed by a fire protection district and recovered from drivers in auto accidents. Committee discussion ensued concerning how individuals pay for fees for ambulance, emergency medical services, and extrication from fire protection districts.

03:46 PM

Joe Ben Slivka, Colorado Search and Rescue, testified in support of the bill and discussed specific examples of providing search and rescue missions for hikers in Summit County. Mr. Slivka explained that organizations like the Summit County Rescue Group do not charge for standard search and rescue missions, but many hikers are under the impression that they will be charged.

03:51 PM

Howard Paul, Colorado Search and Rescue, testified in support of the bill and discussed problems where individuals who are lost or injured in the wilderness are reluctant to dispatch rescue teams in fear of being charged. Mr. Paul discussed a specific rescue mission in Clear Creek County where a couple hesitated to dispatch a search and rescue team, which delayed and complicated the rescue.

03:57 PM

Bruce Fosdick, President, Colorado Search and Rescue Board, testified in support of the bill.

04:01 PM

Peg Ackerman, County Sheriffs of Colorado, testified in support of the bill and discussed the statutory responsibility for county sheriffs to implement search and rescue teams for rescues within their jurisdiction. Ms. Ackerman explained why the bill was helpful in separating the authority between fire protection districts and county sheriffs.

04:03 PM

Paul Cooke, Executive Director, Colorado State Fire Chiefs' Association, testified in support of the bill and distributed a handout to the committee that provided background on House Bill 10-1095 (Attachment C). Mr. Cooke explained that fire protection distracts do not typically assist in search and rescue missions and spoke to the need for House Bill 10-1095 to clarify that fire protection districts would not be authorized to charge such fees.


BILL:	HB10-1095
TIME:	04:06:28 PM
MOVED:	Bradford
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-1095 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 10-0-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Massey
		VOTE
	Acree	Yes
	Apuan	Yes
	Bradford	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	Massey	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Priola	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Peniston	Yes

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

04:08 PM -- House Bill 10-1080

Representative Lambert, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 10-1080, concerning the expansion of duties of the Legislative Emergency Epidemic Response Committee (LEERC) to include preparation for disaster emergencies, changing the name of the committee, and allowing the committee to recommend legislation. Representative Lambert discussed the activities of the LEERC during the 2009 interim, and discussed the differences between the LEERC, which focuses on legislative functions during epidemic emergencies, and the Governor's Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee, which addresses statewide responses during an epidemic emergency. Representative Lambert discussed reasons for the expansion of duties of the LEERC, changing the name of the committee, and allowing the committee to recommend legislation.

04:16 PM

Representative Lambert responded to questions from the committee concerning the need for the LEERC to recommend legislation. He explained that the committee would recommend legislation pertain to the preparedness, response, and recovery by the General Assembly in the event of an emergency epidemic or disaster.

04:17 PM

Troy Bratton, Office of Legislative Legal Services, addressed questions from the committee concerning changes under House Bill 10-1080, which would authorize the LEERC to recommend legislation to the Legislative Council for approval as interim committee bills.


BILL:	HB10-1080
TIME:	04:18:50 PM
MOVED:	Massey
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-1080 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 9-0-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Priola
		VOTE
	Acree	Yes
	Apuan	Excused
	Bradford	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	Massey	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Priola	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Peniston	Yes

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

04:20 PM

The committee adjourned.

11:53 AM -- House Bill 10-1128

Representative Riesberg informed the committee the committee that the House Health and Human Services committee would not meet the week of February 15th through February 19th, 2010. Representative Looper presented House Bill 11