House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources (03/10/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Date:	03/10/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:33 PM to 02:46 PM	Baumgardner	*
		Curry	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Gardner C.	X
		Hullinghorst	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Looper	X
	Representative Fischer	McKinley	*
		Ryden	X
This Report was prepared by		Solano	X
	Lauren Ris	Sonnenberg	X
		Tipton	X
		Vigil	*
		Pace	X
		Fischer	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB10-037 SB10-027 SB10-102		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:35 PM -- Senate Bill 10-037

Representative Casso, sponsor, presented SB10-037, concerning an increase in the amounts payable from the horse breeders' and owners' awards and supplemental purse fund for costs of administration. This bill increases the administrative fee cap on the Horse Breeders' and Owners' Awards and Supplemental Purse Fund from 5 percent to 10 percent.

01:36 PM -- Mark McGregor, president of the Colorado Thoroughbred Breaders Association, spoke in support of the bill, and explained that the bill would help his organization financially. He answered questions from the committee concerning the use of the fund.


BILL:	SB10-037
TIME:	01:41:35 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-037 to the Committee of the Whole, without amendment. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Baumgardner
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Excused
	Ryden	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Excused
	Pace	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:42 PM -- Senate Bill 10-027

Representative Roberts, sponsor, presented SB10-027 concerning a fine for the unauthorized diversion of surface water. She explained that the bill subjects persons who illegally divert surface water to the same $500 maximum per day fine that currently applies to the illegal diversion of groundwater and answered questions from the committee.

The following individuals testified on the bill:

01:45 PM -- Chad Wallace, Attorney General's Office, spoke in support of the bill and described how the bill would aide the enforcement process in the Attorney General's Office.
01:51 PM -- Geoff Blue, Attorney General's Office, responded to a question from the committee regarding the Senate amendment to the bill.

01:52 PM -- Dianna Orf, Colorado Water Congress, spoke in support of the bill and the Senate amendment.

01:54 PM

The committee discussed the need for a safety clause.

01:56 PM -- Mr. Blue came back to the table to explain that the Attorney General's Office only expects 5-10 cases a year as a result of this bill, and does not see an urgent need for a safety clause.


BILL:	SB10-027
TIME:	01:58:51 PM
MOVED:	Curry
MOTION:	Moved a conceptual amendment to strike the petition language in Section 2 and to add a safety clause.
SECONDED:	Looper
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	No
	Curry	Yes
	Gardner C.	No
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Excused
	Ryden	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
Not Final YES: 9 NO: 3 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB10-027
TIME:	02:01:17 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-027, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 12-0.
SECONDED:	Gardner C.
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Excused
	Ryden	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:03 PM -- Senate Bill 10-102

Representative Fischer, sponsor, presented SB10-102, concerning the certification of users of prescribed fire according to standards established by the Colorado State Forest Service. This bill requires the Colorado State Forester (CSF) in the Department of Higher Education to establish standards for training and for certification of prescribed fire users. The CSF will work with the Colorado Prescribed Fire Council, a nonprofit organization that works for appropriate and safe prescribed fire use, and may work with local fire jurisdictions.

The following individuals testified on the bill:

02:06 PM -- Richard Homann, Colorado State Forest Service, spoke in support of the bill. He explained that much of Colorado is comprised of forest dependant communities. In response to questions from the committee, he discussed the definition of certified burner designations.

02:11 PM -- Justin Whitesell, Colorado Perscribed Fire Council, spoke in support of the billand explained the history and mission of his organization. He explained the need for certification standards and explained that he views the standards as an educational opportunity. He discussed how the bill would affect private landowners and other parties interested in burning their land.

02:20 PM

The committee discussed the language of the bill in the context of the statute.

02:25 PM

Mr. Homann retruned to the table to address a question from the committee about whether the State Forest Service can already do the activities in the bill. He also discussed the purpose of designating certified or noncertified burners.


BILL:	SB10-102
TIME:	02:40:26 PM
MOVED:	Fischer
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-102 to the Committee of the Whole, without amendment. The motion passed on a vote of 9-4.
SECONDED:	Hullinghorst
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	No
	Curry	Yes
	Gardner C.	No
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	No
	Ryden	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:46 PM

The committee adjourned.