Senate Committee on Local Government and Energy (05/04/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ENERGY

Date:	05/04/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:58 PM to 03:31 PM	Cadman	*
		Hodge	X
Place:	SCR 353	Kester	X
		Lundberg	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Newell	*
	Senator Foster	Foster	X
		Schwartz	X
This Report was prepared by
	David Beaujon
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB10-209 HB10-1349		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to Appropriations

01:59 PM -- Senate Bill 10-209

Senator Schwartz, prime sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 10-209 that changes how federal moneys collected from National Forest lands may be allocated by counties in anticipation of a U.S. Department of Interior decision related to these allocations.

The federal government makes annual payments to 43 counties to compensate for the tax exempt status of national forest lands. This compensation is provided through national forest payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and payments-in-lieu (PILT) taxes from the Department of the Interior. Counties can deposit the money into the county's Road and Bridge Fund or provide it to public schools in the county so long as certain conditions are met.

During the 2009 legislative session, House Bill 09-1250 established the current statutory formula for national forest payments, which allocates 25 percent to a county's road and bridge fund, 25 percent to the public schools in the county, and the remaining 50 percent of the funds are allocated by county representatives with equal participation from representatives of the board of county commissioners and the public schools in the county. Under certain circumstances, if the county provides more than the mandatory 25 percent of national forest payments to the public schools in the county, the PILT payment to the county may be reduced. By waiving the 25 percent minimum allocations of national forest payments, a county may provide schools more than 25 percent and will receive credit for such allocations to the schools in the calculation of the county's PILT payment. The bill repeals the allocation waivers on July 1, 2011, and only applies to the allocation of the federal fiscal year 2009 national forest payments. For counties that may have reduced PILT payments in FY 2010-11, this bill provides an opportunity to change the manner in which national forest payments are allocated to maximize the PILT payments.

The following persons testified on the bill:

02:02 PM -- Chip Taylor, Colorado Counties, Inc., spoke in support of the bill and described federal appropriations for payments in lieu of taxes and the federal Secure Rural Schools Act (Attachment A). He also described total federal payments to counties and schools in 2009 (Attachment B).

02:12 PM -- Bruce Eisenhauer, Deputy Director, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, spoke in support of the bill.

02:13 PM -- Paula Stephenson, Executive Director, Colorado Rural Schools Caucus, spoke in support of the bill.

02:15 PM

Senator Schwartz closed her remarks on the bill.


BILL:	SB10-209
TIME:	02:17:01 PM
MOVED:	Schwartz
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 10-209 to the Committee of the Whole, without amendment, and with a recommendation that it be added to the consent calendar. The motion passed on roll call vote of 7 to 0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cadman	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Kester	Yes
	Lundberg	Yes
	Newell	Yes
	Foster	Yes
	Schwartz	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:18 PM

The committee recessed.

02:18 PM -- House Bill 10-1349

Senators Schwartz and Tapia, co-prime sponsors, described the provisions of House Bill 10-1349 concerning renewable energy for State Parks and distributed Amendment L. 011 (Attachment C). Senator Schwartz also responded to questions from the committee about the bill.

The reengrossed bill creates the Re-energize Colorado Program in the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The program seeks to generate or offset 100 percent of the division's electrical consumption by 2020 with the use of energy resources on land owned, leased, or controlled by the division. Currently, a qualifying retail utility can waive some of the existing limits placed on net metering (the way retail credits are determined for a customer's electricity generation) and energy generated on a customer's property. To support the program's goal, the bill requires the Governor's Energy Office (GEO) to conduct a Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis to determine the optimum state park land for renewable energy development. The bill also authorizes the DNR to acquire lands that have the potential to support renewable energy generation development. The bill further directs the Public Utilities Commission to give the fullest possible consideration to approving projects developed under the Re-energize Colorado Program with particular attention to those projects that offer the prospect of job creation and local economic growth.

The following persons testified on the bill:

02:30 PM -- Jeff Lyng, Governor's Energy Office, spoke in support of the bill and explained that the GIS analysis would be paid for using federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He described how the bill would affect the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation operating budget and the cost of producing electricity using photovoltaic generation systems. He also responded to question from the committee about state laws concerning cost recovery by utilities for use of renewable energy generation, penalties if the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation fails to comply with the bill's requirements, and other issues.

02:44 PM

Senator Schwartz explained that page 8 of the reengrossed bill defines eligible energy resources as the same as those listed in the renewable energy standard (Section 40-2-12 (1) (a), C.R.S.).

02:45 PM -- Peter Minahan, Black Hills Energy, spoke in support of the bill if Amendment L. 011 (Attachment C) is adopted. He also described a solar energy project that may be constructed at Pueblo State Park if the bill becomes law.

02:50 PM -- Any White, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, spoke in support of the bill. He also responded to questions from the committee about the cost to implement the bill by the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation and the potential impact to scenic views in State Parks where the renewable energy generation systems may be built.

03:02 PM

Senator Tapia, prime sponsor, explained that Pueblo State Park is a possible site for a renewable energy generation facility.

03:07 PM -- Mr. Lyng returned to responded to questions from the committee about the possibility that State Parks could overdevelop renewable energy generation facilities to help raise revenue and resolve budget challenges.

03:19 PM

Senator Schwartz described potential oversight by the Capital Development Committee for the development of renewable energy generation facilities on State Park land.

03:21 PM -- Charlie Montgomery, Colorado Environmental Coalition, spoke in support of the bill and described how such projects could help educate the public about the renewable energy issues.

03:24 PM -- Geof Hier, Colorado Rural Electric Association, explained that his organization was opposed to the bill as introduced. However, Amendment L.005 that was adopted in the House and Amendment L. 011 (Attachment C) resolved his organization's concerns about the effect of the bill on customer rates.

Roy Palmer, Vice President, Xcel Energy, submitted a letter of support for the bill (Attachment D).


BILL:	HB10-1349
TIME:	03:28:00 PM
MOVED:	Schwartz
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L. 011 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cadman
	Hodge
	Kester
	Lundberg
	Newell
	Foster
	Schwartz
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1349
TIME:	03:28:38 PM
MOVED:	Schwartz
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-1349 to the Committee on Appropriations, as amended. The motion passed on a roll call vote of 5 to 2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cadman	No
	Hodge	Yes
	Kester	Yes
	Lundberg	No
	Newell	Yes
	Foster	Yes
	Schwartz	Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:31 PM

The meeting adjourned.