Bill Summary for Bill Number HB10-1107

Date: 02/02/2010

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB10-1107

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The motion Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment E). The motion Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment F ). The motion Moved to refer House Bill 10-1107, as amended, to	Pass Without Objection FAIL Pass Without Objection PASS

09:41 AM -- House Bill 10-1107

Representative Fischer, presented House Bill 10-1107 on limiting the inclusion of agricultural lands within urban renewal areas (URA). The bill makes several modifications to the procedures surrounding the actions of urban renewal authorities. No area that has been designated as an urban renewal area may contain any agricultural land with exceptions as stipulated in the bill. If agricultural land is included in a URA in accordance with the exceptions set forth in the bill, county assessors are required to value the agricultural land at its fair market value solely for determining the base amount of taxes to be paid to local governments. Urban renewal plans must include a legal description of the urban renewal area, including the legal description of any agricultural land proposed for inclusion within the URA. County assessors are also authorized to provide written notice to a municipality if the assessor determines that agricultural land has been improperly included in the URA. If the notice is not delivered within 30 days, inclusion of the land in the URA shall be incontestable in any suit or proceeding. Representative Fischer distributed Attachment A to the committee that shows tax increment finance (TIF) revenue by taxing entity.

The following individuals testified on the bill:

09:53 AM -- Mark Radtke, Colorado Municipal League (CML), spoke in support of the bill. He indicated that CML has worked for several years on the URA issue and believes that the bill with some amendments will address the issues. He explained that CML would support an amendment that added the creation of "primary jobs" as an exemption that allows agricultural lands to be included within URA.

09:57 AM -- Larry Atencio and Mike Tedesco, City of Pueblo, spoke in support of the bill. They spoke about how the City of Pueblo has benefited from urban renewal. He discussed some of the characteristics of Pueblo that make tools like URA important for brining jobs into Pueblo. They indicated support for an amendment that would include an exemption for the creation of primary jobs as an allowed use on agricultural lands. Mr. Atencio and Mr. Tedesco answered questions from the committee. The committee discussed the characteristics that define primary jobs.

10:04 AM -- Steve Johnson, Chair of the Board of Lairmer County Commissioners, spoke in support of the bill. He discussed some of the legislative history on this issue. He explained that URAs are created without the input of the counties or the state and how this impacts the county tax revenue.

10:10 AM -- Frank Lancastor, Lairmer County Manager, spoke in support of the bill. He distributed pictures of blighted agricultural land in URAs (Attachment B). He explained how current law encourages development of agricultural lands rather than depressed urban areas in need of clean-up.

10:15 AM -- Doug Hutchinson, Mayor of Fort Collins, spoke in support of the bill. He discussed the need for URAs and TIF and the importance of these tools for development. He discussed some of the exceptions in the bill where agricultural lands would be allowed in a URA.

10:17 AM -- Stephanie Thomas, Colorado Environmental Coalition and Colorado Audubon, spoke in support of the bill. She discussed how the bill corrects part of a problem in how TIFs are used. She explained some of the benefits in using TIF in urban areas. She discussed some of the exceptions in the bill that would allow TIFs for agricultural lands in URAs.

10:21 AM -- Benjamin Waters, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and the Colorado Farm Bureau, spoke in support of the bill. He explained the bill's benefit to farmers.

10:23 AM -- Paul Cooke, Executive Director of the State Fire Chief's Association, distributed Attachment C to the committee. He spoke in support of the bill and doscissed how the bill affects URA and TIF in fire protection districts. He explained that this impact is most significant in agricultural URAs because the infrastructure and services are limited for fire protection.

10:29 AM -- Coral Cosway, Colorado Chapter of the American Planing Association, spoke in support of the bill. She explained the importance of the urban renewal statute for planners because it encourages redevelopment that in areas wouldn't occur without incentives. She discussed the inability of infrastructure to keep up with development that occurs in URA agricultural areas.

10:32 AM -- Carolynne White, Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, Schreck, spoke in opposition to the bill. She discussed the original purpose of urban renewal statute and how it has evolved. She discussed several factors of blight that are not necessarily visible, such as problems with a land's title. She explained how the bill will make county assessors the enforcers of the law, if it passes as it is. She also discussed some concerns with the property tax increment. She questioned whether the bill would have a retroactive impact. She also discussed an existing definition in statute of "primary jobs." She answered questions from the committee.

10:51 AM -- Dick McLean, Mayor of Brighton, spoke in opposition to the bill. He discussed how the bill would negatively impact the community. He indicated that without URA, he believes that Vestas would not have come to Brighton.

10:54 AM -- Manuel Esquibel, Manager for the City of Brighton, spoke in opposition to the bill. He discussed how the bill would negatively impact job creation in Brighton.

11:03 AM -- Raymond Gonzales, Brighton Economic Development Authority, spoke in opposition to the bill. He discussed how this bill would negatively affect opportunities currently underway that would bring jobs into the community. Mr. Gonzales answered questions from the committee. He indicated that he would likely support the bill with the amendments.

11:07 AM

Bob Lackner, Legislative Legal Services, explained that the bill is not retroactive, he identified the applicability clause on page 11 of the bill.

11:12 AM

Representative Fischer, clarified that he thinks the bill would not negatively impact job creation.


BILL:	HB10-1107
TIME:	11:12:31 AM
MOVED:	Fischer
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Vigil
		VOTE
	Baumgardner
	Curry
	Gardner C.
	Hullinghorst
	Looper
	McKinley
	Ryden
	Solano
	Sonnenberg
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Pace
	Fischer

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1107
TIME:	11:15:25 AM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment E). The motion failed on a vote of 9-3.
SECONDED:	Baumgardner
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Curry	No
	Gardner C.	Excused
	Hullinghorst	No
	Looper	No
	McKinley	No
	Ryden	No
	Solano	No
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	No
	Pace	No
	Fischer	No

Not Final YES: 3 NO: 9 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB10-1107
TIME:	11:20:37 AM
MOVED:	Hullinghorst
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment F ). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Vigil
		VOTE
	Baumgardner
	Curry
	Gardner C.
	Hullinghorst
	Looper
	McKinley
	Ryden
	Solano
	Sonnenberg
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Pace
	Fischer

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

11:21 PM

Representative Sonnenberg discussed whether there was a need for safety clause in the bill.

11:22 PM

Representative Fischer offered closing comments on the bill.


BILL:	HB10-1107
TIME:	11:25:26 AM
MOVED:	Fischer
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-1107, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Hullinghorst
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Fischer	Yes

Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:27

The committee adjourned.