Date: 02/09/2010

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB10-1158

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved to lay House Bill 10-1158 over to May 17. TPASS



09:50 AM -- House Bill 10-1158

Representative Gardner, sponsor, presented House Bill 1158, to clarify wind rights ownership. HB 10-1158 clarifies several aspects of the ownership and right to use wind that blows across real property. The bill allows wind rights to be "severed" or separated from the land and sold or leased, as mineral rights are. The bill specifies that the wind right belongs to the surface owner unless the right is separated from the surface property. If wind and surface ownership are separated, then the deed or lease must describe the scope of the wind owner's right to use the surface property in order to develop or use the wind. Representative Gardner explained that he intends to lay the bill over until after the session is over and ask Legislative Council to research the issue further.

09:55 AM -- Mario Nicolais, Hackstaff Gessler LLC, answered questions from the committee. He described situations where there was confusion over severed wind rights.


10:01 AM

The committee discussed whether wind rights should be allowed to be severed from the surface rights and how capturing wind would be defined. Representative Gardner clarified why he does not believe the bill is right for action.
BILL:HB10-1158
TIME: 10:06:33 AM
MOVED:Sonnenberg
MOTION:Moved to lay House Bill 10-1158 over to May 17. The motion passed on a vote of 11-1.
SECONDED:Baumgardner
VOTE
Baumgardner
Yes
Curry
Yes
Gardner C.
Yes
Hullinghorst
No
Looper
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Ryden
Excused
Solano
Yes
Sonnenberg
Yes
Tipton
Yes
Vigil
Yes
Pace
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS