Date: 04/21/2010
Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB10-1407
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES
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01:35 PM -- House Bill 10-1407
Representative Kagan, sponsor, presented HB 10-1407, concerning the creation of the Range Worker Advisory Council. The bill creates a 10 member Range Worker Advisory Council and specifies its composition. The council would be charged with studying and discussing issues concerning range workers in Colorado who are working under the federal H2A Agricultural Visa program. Representative Kagan discussed the process that lead to the development of the bill. He indicated that a donor has been identified to fund the expenses associated with the council. Representative Kagan answered questions from the committee and discussed concerns about the treatment of sheep herders.
01:52 PM
The committee and Representative Kagan continued to discuss some of the concerns regarding sheep herders, the herding industry, and the members of the advisory council. Representative Kagan explained that he has an amendment which would increase the number of members on the advisory council and another amendment that would lessen the number of times the council would be required to meet. Representative Tipton indicated that he had a similar amendment, which was distributed to the committee (Attachment A).
02:08 PM
Representative Kagan answered questions from the committee about the contracts under which H2A sheep herders come to the U.S. and their motivations for coming to Colorado.
02:14 PM
The committee discussed the Nonimmigrant Agricultural Seasonal Worker Pilot Program Advisory Council created under HB 08-1325, and whether the advisory council created in HB 10-1407 would be duplicative.
The following individuals testified on the bill:
02:19 PM -- Joe Wismann-Horther, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, spoke in support of the bill and explained his background working on immigration issues and discussed the need for the advisory council. He answered questions from the committee concerning some of the issues that the advisory council would address.
02:30 PM -- Mike Harper, Colorado Wool Growers Association, stated that his organization is neutral on the bill and described the importance of sheep herders to producers and explained that there has been some inaccurate information reported in the media about the working conditions of sheep herders.
02:35 PM -- Bonnie Brown, Colorado Wool Growers Association, explained that her organization has a neutral position on the bill, but that she would be opposed to amending the bill to limit the advisory council to sheep herders rather than range workers. She discussed some of her concerns with the Colorado Legal Services Initiatives report "Under Worked and Under Paid." She distributed a report concerning wage benefits provided to H2A sheep herders (Attachment B). Mr. Harper and Ms. Brown answered questions from the committee. Ms. Brown explained the roles of Mountain Plains and Western Range Associations, which bring in employees under the H2A visa program.
02:56 PM -- Joe Sparry, Colorado Wool Growers Association, discussed his experiences employing sheep herders under the H2A visa program. Mr. Sparry answered questions from the committee.
03:03 PM -- Tom Maneotis, High Country Lamb, described his experiences hiring sheep herders and the working conditions in South America. Mr. Maneotis answered questions from the committee concerning the treatment of sheep herders.
03:17 PM -- John Bartman, a sheep producer representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill and discussed some of his experiences hiring sheep herders and the process at the Department of Labor to bring in range workers to Colorado on an H2A visa.
03:34 PM -- Jeff Thormodsgaard, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, spoke in support of the bill and explained the need for the advisory council. He also expressed the need for greater discussion about issues relating to sheep herders and the sheep herding industry. Mr. Thromasgoard answered questions from the committee about the purpose of the advisory council and what the council could accomplish.
03:45 PM
Representative Curry explained that she believed that the advisory council could provide a public opportunity for wool growers to set the record straight about their treatment of their employees.
04:05 PM
Representative Fischer closed witness testimony and laid the bill over to a later date.