House Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs (04/13/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE, VETERANS, & MILITARY AFFAIRS

Date:	04/13/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:48 PM to 03:22 PM	Casso	X
		Court	X
Place:	HCR 0112	DelGrosso	X
		Hullinghorst	X
This Meeting was called to order by		McCann	E
	Representative Todd	Miklosi	*
		Murray	X
This Report was prepared by		Nikkel	X
	Bo Pogue	Waller	X
		Labuda	X
		Todd	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Briefing by the Office of State and Veterans Nursing Homes HB10-1393		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:48 PM

The committee was called to order. A quorum was present.

01:49 PM -- Briefing by the Office of State and Veterans Nursing Homes

Ms. Viki Manley and Ms. Jenise May, Office of State and Veterans Nursing Homes within the Department of Human Services, briefed the committee on the facilities under the direction of the office. Committee members received a brochure on the nursing homes administered by the office (Attachment A). Ms. May responded to questions regarding her responsibilities. Ms. Manley provided background on the six facilities administered by the office, and the populations served by the facilities. Ms. Manley then discussed the office's budget, and the census for the six state veterans nursing homes. Ms. Manley next provided a brief history of the Trinidad State Nursing Home, and responded to questions regarding funding sources for Trinidad as compared to the five veterans facilities. Ms. May responded to questions regarding the pooling of operating budgets for the six facilities, and budget shortfalls experienced by the Trinidad facility.

01:59 PM

Ms. Manley provided clarification regarding use of moneys for operating expenses at the six nursing homes. Ms. Manley responded to questions regarding the use of moneys earmarked for veterans care to fund costs at the Trinidad facility. Ms. May responded to questions regarding recent efforts to offer the Trinidad facility for sale. Ms. May discussed available options for the future of the Trinidad facility, and responded to questions regarding the care of veterans living at that facility. Ms. May responded to further questions regarding funding needed to keep the Trinidad facility under state administration. Discussion ensued regarding operating costs and staffing levels at the Trinidad facility as compared to the five state veterans nursing homes.

02:10 PM

Ms. May responded to questions regarding operating moneys contributed by the Trinidad facility to the general operating fund of the six nursing homes. Ms. Manley responded to questions regarding the number of veterans residing at the Trinidad facility. Ms. May responded to questions regarding the ability of the state to sell the Trinidad facility. Representative Waller provided clarification on this issue. Ms. Manley provided clarification regarding budget shortfalls at the Trinidad facility since 1999. Discussion ensued regarding the potential repayment of losses to the operating fund for the six nursing homes if the Trinidad facility is sold to a private buyer. Discussion followed regarding the value of the Trinidad facility, and stipulations in the request for proposals issued pertaining to the sale of the home.

02:20 PM

Ms. Manley briefed the committee on the cemetery located on the State Veterans Nursing Home at Homelake campus.

02:21 PM -- House Bill 10-1393

Representative Nikkel, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 10-1393, concerning the information included in the web-based system that provides the public access to state financial information. Committee members received a legislative fact sheet pertaining to the bill (Attachment B). Representative Nikkel provided background on issues addressed in the bill, and explained the effect of the legislation. Discussion ensued regarding the process established in the bill for members of the public to challenge exclusion of data from websites by a state agency, and the potential for this process to result in lawsuits.

02:29 PM

The following persons testified regarding House Bill 10-1393:

02:29 PM -- Mr. Geoff Blue, representing Attorney General John Suthers, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Blue discussed the ability of state agencies to publish accounting information on the Internet, and the bill's provisions for excluding protected information from publication. Mr. Blue then addressed reservations pertaining to the process established in the bill for the public to challenge exclusion of protected information. Mr. Blue responded to questions regarding the bill's potential for generating increased requests under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) to discover protected information. Discussion ensued regarding current state practice for publishing information on state expenditures, and the potential for refining this process without legislation. Discussion followed regarding the statewide expenditure accounting system, and the potential for replacing the system. Mr. Blue deferred questions regarding a provision in the bill that shields the Chief Information Officer and State Controller from liability based on information published on the Internet under the bill.

02:40 PM -- Mr. David McDermott, the State Controller, testified in favor of House Bill 10-1393. Mr. McDermott weighed in on the reasons for creating the process for the public to challenge data exclusion, and estimated the number of CORA requests that will be initiated under the bill. Mr. McDermott then discussed the need to balance the public's right to know about state expenditures with the state prerogative to guard certain sensitive information. Mr. McDermott next discussed the basis for certain data exclusions.

02:50 PM

Mr. McDermott explained the reason for including an immunity clause in the bill for the state controller, and provided an example illustrating the need for the clause. Mr. McDermott responded to questions regarding the need for the immunity clause in the bill in light of governmental immunity laws. Representative Nikkel provided background on the process by which the immunity clause was included in the bill. Discussion ensued regarding the potential for amending the bill to remove the immunity clause. Mr. Blue returned to provide clarification regarding the need for the immunity clause.

03:01 PM

Discussion continued regarding the need for the immunity clause in House Bill 10-1393, considering protections provided by government immunity laws. Mr. McDermott provided background on the state expenditure accounting system, and the potential for upgrading the system.

03:12 PM

Discussion ensued regarding the cost to upgrade the state expenditure accounting system.

03:14 PM -- Ms. Dara Hessee, representing the Office of Information Technology, testified in support of House Bill 10-1393. Ms. Hessee explained how the bill will address privacy concerns, and creates a fair process by which the public can access state expenditure information.

03:17 PM -- Mr. Clark Bolser, representing the Department of Personnel and Administration, testified in support of the bill.

03:18 PM

The committee discussed prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment C).


BILL:	HB10-1393
TIME:	03:20:48 PM
MOVED:	Nikkel
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment C). The motion passed on a 5-4 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Casso
		VOTE
	Casso	Yes
	Court	Excused
	DelGrosso	No
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	McCann	Excused
	Miklosi	Yes
	Murray	No
	Nikkel	No
	Waller	No
	Labuda	Yes
	Todd	Yes

Not Final YES: 5 NO: 4 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:21 PM


BILL:	HB10-1393
TIME:	03:21:45 PM
MOVED:	Nikkel
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-1393, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendation. The motion passed on an 8-1-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Casso
		VOTE
	Casso	Yes
	Court	Excused
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	McCann	Excused
	Miklosi	Yes
	Murray	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	Labuda	No
	Todd	Yes

Final YES: 8 NO: 1 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:22 PM

The committee discussed its forthcoming schedule. The committee adjourned.