Date: 01/23/2012
Final
Briefing by the State Board of Land Commissioners
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
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03:35 PM -- Briefing by State Board of Land Commissioners Pursuant to Joint Rule 25
Bob Randall, Deputy Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and Bill Ryan, Director of the Colorado State Land Board, came to the table to brief the committee, pursuant to Joint Rule 25. They provided a number of handouts to the committee, including information about the land board, the Department of Natural Resources FY 2012-13 strategic plan, the FY 2010-11 investment and development fund report, the FY 2010-11 income and inventory report, and the FY 2010-11 transaction report (Attachments F through J).
Mr. Randall provided background on the Department of Natural Resources, which is a diverse and decentralized department with eight divisions that oversee many things including: oil and gas development, mining, water rights administration, land and mineral assets, and dam safety inspections, in the state. He stated that he hopes the additional reporting to the education committees will help raise awareness surrounding the work of the State Land Board.
03:37 PM
Mr. Ryan provided information about the history of the State Land Board, which is a perpetual, intergenerational public trust that supports public schools and public institutions. He stated that the board is the second largest landowner in the state, with 2.8 million surface acres and 4.0 million acres of mineral estate. He described the board's dual mission: to produce a reasonable and consistent income for the trusts, and to provide sound stewardship of the assets of the trusts. Mr. Ryan explained that the board's operations are funded from operations - not state moneys - and that trust lands are held by the state for a specific purpose and are not open to public access without authorization. Mr. Ryan discussed the State Land Board's revenue and noted that fiscal year 2010-11's revenue was $123 million, a record amount due to the Niobrara oil development.
Mr. Ryan responded to questions from the committee related to the conversion of lands into commercial properties.
03:47 PM
Mr. Ryan continued by discussing the impact that the State Land Board has on education. He stated that revenues are used for two programs: the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program and the School Finance Act. He provided information on the debt service obligation under BEST, which is currently $29 million. He also discussed the trust fund revenues that flow into the School Finance Act, which has provided about $130 million over the past 3.5 years to help close K-12 budget shortfalls. He also noted that, along with school trust lands, the public school permanent fund is a part of the corpus of the intergenerational trust. He said that the balance of the permanent fund is currently $600 million, and has not grown in the past three years.
Mr. Ryan responded to questions from the committee concerning local school districts' responsibilities under BEST.
The committee discussed the availability of natural resources such as oil. Mr. Ryan responded that the lands are rented out in a very strategic way.
04:00 PM
Mr. Randall referred the committee to the relevant portions of the Department of Natural Resources strategic plan (Attachment G) and discussed the State Land Board's goals and performance measures.
04:03 PM
Representative Massey invited Ted Hughes, BEST Director at the Colorado Department of Education, to come to the table to respond to committee questions about the BEST program. The committee discussed the funding of the BEST program and school district bonding and indebtedness requirements. Mr. Hughes directed the committee to the BEST program's webpage for more information: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdefinance/CapConstBEST.htm.