Date: 03/29/2010
Final
Presentation on the Long Bill --- Department of Revenue
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
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11:19 AM -- Presentation on the Long Bill - Department of Revenue
Representative Ferrandino and members of the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) began by going over the changes in the budget for the Colorado Department of Revenue. Representative Ferrandino began by discussing budget changes to the department. He noted that in the Long Bill Narrative, the Department of Revenue's FY 2010-11 appropriation was increased to $90.2 million from $73.7 million in the prior year. Representative Ferrandino continued by saying that the department increase of $16.4 million is resulting from staffing changes tied to the Division of Motor Vehicles for the operation of driver's license offices as a result of the sunset of Senate Bill 09-274.
Representative Ferrandino noted that another change in appropriations was related to the monitoring the Conservation Easement Program. He noted that the program's auditing function will see a $1.2 million and 3.7 FTE increase to address the backlog of conservation easement appraisals.
The committee discussed the marketing costs for the state lottery in the narrative. Representative Ferrandino responded by discussing the Colorado Lottery's role in marketing games of chance and the recent increase in lottery ticket sales.
The discussion moved to funding of the department's new income tax computer system called the Colorado Integrated Tax Architecture (CITA) project. Representative Ferrandino briefly discussed the department's funding for the project as the subject changed to state savings from state employee furlough days. Representative Ferrandino responded to the discussion by noting that for this year, there are eight furlough days. He closed by noting that for next year's budget, state employees will see a 2.5 percent reduction in pay.