House Committee on Finance (03/10/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Date:	03/10/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	11:12 AM to 04:57 PM	DelGrosso	X
		Frangas	X
Place:	LSB A	Gerou	X
		Kagan	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Kefalas	X
	Representative Judd	Labuda	X
		Roberts	X
This Report was prepared by		Summers	X
	Ron Kirk	Swalm	X
		Benefield	X
		Judd	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB10-1287 HB10-1072 HB10-1103 HB10-1209		Laid Over Postponed Indefinitely Amended, Referred to Appropriations Referred to Appropriations

11:12 AM -- House Bill 10-1287 - Concerning the Use of State Motor Vehicles

Representative Lambert, prime sponsor, explained that House Bill 10-1287, as amended by the House State Veterans & Military Affairs Committee, repeals a state agency's ability to waive reimbursement to the state for commuting. An exception from reimbursement is made for an officer or employee whose duties are routinely related to law enforcement and expose them to life-threatening situations.

Representative Lambert continued by saying that the bill also requires commuter program information to be reported each August to the Division of Central Services (DCS) within the Department of Personnel & Administration (DPA). He said that under the bill, any person who fails to reimburse the state for their participation in the commuter program before the annual August report is subject to a new civil penalty of twice the amount owed. The DCS is authorized to collect penalties and deposit them in a new Commuting Reimbursement Cash Fund.

The committee discussed the committee report by State Veterans & Military affairs and the definition of a vehicle being a state official work station. After a brief committee discussion, testimony was heard.

The following persons testified:

11:29 AM -- Ms. Roxanne Huber, Colorado Department of Revenue, discussed the department's position on employee reimbursements. Ms. Huber discussed how the definition of home office would be changed under the bill.

11:32 AM -- Mr. Bobby Juchem , Colorado State Patrol, responded to questions and expressed concerns about the bill's treatment of on-call responses by officers. In many circumstances, officers do work-related tasks on the commute to work.

The committee engaged in a discussion about the definition of "home-office" by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and whether it is consistent with the amended bill. The discussion continued and a representative from the Colorado Department of Transportation responded to the discussion.

11:49 AM -- Ms. Pamela Hutton, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), responded to committee questions regarding the bill. Ms. Hutton noted that the department has about 200 employees who use state vehicles as first responders. Ms. Hutton noted that when CDOT workers enter a vehicle when parked at a residence, it become a state-use vehicle by the first responder.

12:13 PM -- Ms. Caroline Smith, Joint Budget Committee Staff, responded to committee questions regarding revenue impacts in the bill.

12:15 PM -- Mr. Ed DeCecco, Office of Legislative Legal Services, responded to questions about the definition of commuting.

12:19 PM

The committee recessed.

01:34 PM

The committee reconvened.

01:34 PM -- Mr. James Welton, Colorado Department of Corrections, testified in opposition of the bill. Mr. Welton commented that many of the state vehicles that are used by the department's personnel are loaded with weapons and other public safety equipment. He noted that these employees are on 24 hour duty and use state vehicles to secure crime scenes (especially when the call is made by a first responder). He noted that given an employee's schedule, it is difficult to ask staff to pay for the use of vehicles under such circumstances.

01:42 PM -- Mr. Tim Hand, Colorado Department of Corrections, testified in opposition of the bill. Mr. Hand discussed the duty of department officials and types of equipment used in state vehicles. Mr. Hand closed by asking the committee to consider the mission of public safety when debating the bill.

01:49 PM -- Ms. Caroline Smith, Joint Budget Committee, distributed a packet of materials on the legislation (Attachment A) and responded to committee questions.

02:01 PM

Representative Judd laid over the bill to allow the prime sponsor time to respond to some of the concerns raised by the committee.

02:03 PM -- House Bill 10-1072 - Concerning a Budget Stabilization Fund

Representative Court, prime sponsor, commented on the background discussions that were taken up by the Interim Committee on Fiscal Stabilization that led to the first draft of the bill. She continued by noting that the funding for the bill was in question due to the most recent economic forecast and asked that the committee postpone the bill indefinitely.

Representative Gerou continued the discussion on the need for a rainy day fund. She closed by discussing the Interim Committee's issues that were brought up during the summer of 2009 and said that the state needs to begin saving for a stabilization fund as soon as possible.

Representative Court distributed a chart prepared by Legislative Council Staff (LCS) on reserve funds (Attachment B) and closed by asking the committee to postpone the bill indefinitely. The committee took the following action.


BILL:	HB10-1072
TIME:	02:09:02 PM
MOVED:	Labuda
MOTION:	Moved to postpone House Bill 10-1072 indefinitely. The motion passed on a 6-4 vote.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	No
	Frangas	Yes
	Gerou	No
	Kagan	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Roberts	Excused
	Summers	No
	Swalm	No
	Benefield	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:22 PM -- House Bill 10-1103 - Concerning A Relief Fund for Children with Catastrophic Medical Conditions

Representative Todd, prime sponsor, explained that House Bill 10-1103 was recommended by the Interim Committee on the Developmental Disability Waiting List. She continued saying that the bill creates the Relief Fund for Children with a Catastrophic Medical Condition. The purpose of the fund is to provide financial assistance to a child who meets the following conditions:

has a chronic illness;

has medical expenses for the illness that are not covered by insurance or a state or federal program; and

has expenses for this illness that exceed 10 percent of the first $100,000 of the family's income plus 15 percent of the income over $100,000.

After a brief committee discussion, witness testimony was heard.

The following persons testified:

02:24 PM -- Ms. Sara Carrasco, Family Voices, testified in support of the legislation and distributed a packet of materials in support of the legislation (Attachment C). Ms. Carrasco discussed the costs and challenges that parents face when they raise a child with a severe disability.

Attachment C can be viewed at State Archives

The committee engaged in a discussion regarding the fiscal note. Mr. Carrasco responded to questions about the bill.

02:54 PM -- Mr. Travis Berry, Colorado Competitive Council, testified in opposition of the bill. He closed by saying that the bill will shift health care costs to small businesses thus adding to the cost of employee coverage. He asked the committee to oppose the legislation.
.
03:00 PM -- Ms. Jane Ritter, Office of Legislative Legal Services, responded to committee questions regarding impacts in the bill.

03:03 PM -- Mr. Michael Lee, representing himself, testified in support of his bill and discussed his son's fatal genetic disease.

03:10 PM -- Ms. Emily Hobbs-Wright and Mr. Mark Wright, parents representing their family, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Hobbs discussed some of the challenges in obtaining financial assistance for medical expenses for their son before his passing. Mr. Hobbs discussed the issues that challenge parents that have children with catastrophic medical conditions and noted that the total costs to society are difficult to quantify. Ms. Hobbs closed by discussing the benefits of House Bill 10-1103 as a start to address the issues of paying for care tied to catastrophic medical conditions and urged the committee to support the legislation.

03:42 PM -- Ms. Lisa Schwartz, Family Voices, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Schwartz closed by discussing the number of families that would be affected by the legislation.

03:59 PM -- Ms. Val Saiz, Colorado Respite Coalition, testified in support of the bill.

04:04 PM

Representative Todd distributed amendments L.004 and L.005 and the following actions were taken by the committee.


BILL:	HB10-1103
TIME:	04:04:43 PM
MOVED:	Kefalas
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.004 (Attachment D). The motion passed on a 5-4 vote.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	No
	Frangas	Excused
	Gerou	No
	Kagan	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Roberts	Excused
	Summers	No
	Swalm	No
	Benefield	Yes
	Judd	Yes

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


BILL:	HB10-1103
TIME:	04:09:42 PM
MOVED:	Kefalas
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.005 (Attachment E). The motion passed on a 8-2.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Gerou	No
	Kagan	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Roberts	Excused
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	No
	Benefield	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Not Final YES: 8 NO: 2 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB10-1103
TIME:	04:15:17 PM
MOVED:	Frangas
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 10-1103, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 6-4.
SECONDED:	Kefalas
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	No
	Frangas	Yes
	Gerou	No
	Kagan	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Roberts	Excused
	Summers	No
	Swalm	No
	Benefield	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:43 PM -- House Bill 10-1209 - Concerning Certain Identification Documents Issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue

Representative Balmer, prime sponsor, explained that House Bill 10-1209 allows a current military service member or veteran to request a driver's license or identification card that has a military identifier. The identifier will indicate which branch of service the person belongs to and can only be acquired after payment of a $15 fee and presenting a valid military identification document. Representative Balmer closed by saying that once the direct and indirect costs associated with the bill are paid, all fee revenue is credited to the Highway Users Tax Fund.

The committee briefly discussed the $15 fee in the bill.

The following person testified:

04:51 PM -- Mr. Bill Skewes, Colorado Contractors Association, testified in support of the bill.


BILL:	HB10-1209
TIME:	04:52:19 PM
MOVED:	Kefalas
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 10-1209 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 6-4 vote.
SECONDED:	Summers
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Kagan	No
	Kefalas	Yes
	Labuda	No
	Roberts	Excused
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Benefield	No
	Judd	No

Final YES: 6 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:57 PM

Adjourn.