House Committee on Finance (05/01/2013)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Date:	05/01/2013	ATTENDANCE

Time:	02:38 PM to 05:23 PM	DelGrosso	X
		Foote	X
Place:	LSB A	Joshi	X
		Kagan	X
This Meeting was called to order by		May	X
	Representative Court	Melton	X
		Pabon	X
This Report was prepared by		Priola	X
	Ron Kirk	Saine	X
		Swalm	X
		Wilson	E
		Labuda	X
		Court	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB13-235 SB13-127 SB13-205 SB13-221 SB13-180 SB13-206 SB13-247 SB13-229 SB13-001		Referred to Appropriations Referred to Appropriations Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to Appropriations Referred to Appropriations Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to Appropriations

02:38 PM -- Senate Bill 13-235 - Concerning the State Veterans Trust Fund

Representative Levy, prime sponsor, explained the provisions of the bill. She noted that Senate Bill 13-235 requires a transfer of $3,860,429 from the General Fund to the Colorado State Veterans Trust Fund on July 1, 2013, to repay moneys borrowed for construction of National Guard armories.


BILL:	SB13-235
TIME:	02:41:13 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-235 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 12-0.
SECONDED:	Saine
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	May	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Priola	Yes
	Saine	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:42 PM -- Senate Bill 13-127 - Concerning the Older Coloradans Cash Fund

Representative Primavera, prime sponsor, explained that under current law 85 percent of sales and use taxes are allocated to the Old Age Pension Fund and 15 percent to the General Fund, except that $8 million is diverted to the Older Coloradans Cash Fund. The bill increases the diversion by $2 million to a total of $10 million per year.

The following persons testified:

02:48 PM -- Mr. Rich Mauro, representing the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), responded to questions about the Old Age Pension Fund and money distributed by the bill.

02:58 PM -- Ms. Jayla Sanchez-Warren, representing the DRCOG, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Sanchez-Warren discussed her role with DRCOG and the existing waiting list for senior services. In response to a question, Ms. Sanchez-Warren said that most of the clients served by her organization are not Medicaid eligible. She also discussed services provided by DRCOG that are not provided by Medicaid.

03:02 PM -- Mr. Ted Orf, representing the Associated Governments of Northern Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Orf concluded by describing the services provided by his organization to area seniors. Mr. Orf explained that the area served by his organization is predominately rural, and his organization tries to keep seniors out of nursing homes. Mr. Orf responded to a question from the committee about the distance travelled to provide services to seniors in the service area covered by his organization.

03:08 PM -- Mr. Bob Semro, representing the Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill and distributed a handout on his presentation (Attachment A). Mr. Semro provided some data about the cost of various services provided to seniors by Medicaid as compared to other programs. In response to a question from the committee, Mr. Semro shared a personal story about the services he used to care for his aging parents.

13HseFin0501AttachA.pdf

03:14 PM -- Mr. John Zabawa, representing the Seniors Resource Center, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Zabawa talked about the services provided by his organization. He also discussed the costs associated with providing in-home care services to seniors. In response to a question, Mr. Zabawa said the Seniors Resource Center is a private, non-profit organization, and discussed how the organization is funded.

03:18 PM -- Mr. Dale Elliott, representing Volunteers of America, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Elliott briefly described the types of clients served by his program. He also described the expected impact of additional funding for the Older Coloradans Cash Fund on the number of meals served to seniors by his organization.
03:23 PM -- Ms. Jean Nobles and Ms. Linda Worrell, representing the AARP, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Nobles talked about the financial need to provide services for aging Coloradans. Ms. Worrell distributed a white paper for Colorado policy makers about long-term care for aging Coloradans (Attachment B). She said the bill is an investment in the future.

13HseFin0501AttachB.pdf

03:36 PM -- Mr. Frank Lay, representing the Seniors Resource Center, testified in support of the bill.

03:40 PM -- Ms. Vivian Stovall, representing the Colorado Commission on Aging, distributed a letter of support (Attachment C) to Senate Bill 13-127 and testified in support of the bill.


BILL:	SB13-127
TIME:	03:42:07 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-127 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 7-4.
SECONDED:	Melton
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Joshi	No
	Kagan	Yes
	May	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Pabon	Excused
	Priola	No
	Saine	No
	Swalm	No
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:45 PM -- Senate Bill 13-205 - Concerning Medicaid False Claims

Representative Gardner and Representative Young, prime sponsors, explained the provisions of the bill. Representative Gardner noted that Senate Bill 13-205 makes a number of technical changes to align the Colorado Medicaid False Claims Act with the federal False Claims Act in order to qualify for an additional share of state recoveries for false or fraudulent Medicaid claims. Among these changes, the bill requires that civil penalties be calculated in accordance with federal law and increases the range for penalties to between $5,500 and $11,000 from the current levels of between $5,000 and $10,000.


BILL:	SB13-205
TIME:	03:49:14 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-205 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0.
SECONDED:	Melton
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Foote	Excused
	Joshi	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	May	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Pabon	Excused
	Priola	Yes
	Saine	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:51 PM -- Senate Bill 13-221 - Concerning Conservation Easements

Representative Ryden, prime sponsor, explained Senate Bill 13-221 and distributed a fact sheet on the bill (Attachment C). She continued by explaining that the bill requires that the Division of Real Estate (division) in the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) create an application and certification process for landowners seeking to claim an income tax credit for a conservation easement. Beginning with income tax year 2014, a claim for the tax credit must be pre-certified by the division.

The committee engaged in a discussion of legislation passed in 2010 that initially gave the division a role in the process of claiming state income tax credits for conservation easement donations. After a brief committee discussion, the committee heard testimony.

The following persons testified:

03:56 PM -- Mr. Gregory Fugate, representing the Office of the State Auditor, and Mr. Jordan Beezley, Division of Real Estate, DORA, responded to questions about the bill and a recent audit of the conservation easement program.

04:02 PM -- Ms. Debbie Van Wyke, Colorado Department of Revenue, responded to questions about the process of resolving prior disputed state income tax credits under the conservation easement program.

04:13 PM -- Mr. Greg Yankee, representing the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts, testified in support of the bill and commented on the benefit of the program to the state.


BILL:	SB13-221
TIME:	04:15:40 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L.002 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection. 13HseFin0501AttachD.pdf
SECONDED:	Melton
		VOTE
	DelGrosso
	Foote
	Joshi
	Kagan
	May
	Melton
	Pabon
	Priola
	Saine
	Swalm
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda
	Court

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB13-221
TIME:	04:18:59 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-221, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Saine
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	May	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Pabon	Excused
	Priola	Yes
	Saine	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:23 PM -- Senate Bill 13-180 - Concerning the Occupation Therapy Practice Act

Representative Singer, prime sponsor, explained that Senate Bill 13-180 implements the recommendations contained in the sunset review and report on the Occupational Therapy Practice Act. After a brief committee discussion, the committee took the following action:


BILL:	SB13-180
TIME:	04:27:57 PM
MOVED:	Melton
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-180 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:	Foote
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	No
	Foote	Yes
	Joshi	No
	Kagan	Yes
	May	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Pabon	Excused
	Priola	No
	Saine	No
	Swalm	No
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:36 PM -- Senate Bill 13-206 - Concerning CollegeInvest Savings Accounts

Representative Priola, prime sponsor, explained the provisions of the bill. He noted that Senate Bill 13-206 requires that the Department of Revenue collaborate with the Department of Higher Education to modify the state individual income tax return form to permit an individual taxpayer to make a direct deposit of his or her state tax refund to a college savings plan administered by CollegeInvest. The form must also include a means to obtain information describing CollegeInvest savings plans and how to establish one. The tax form must be modified for tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2013.


BILL:	SB13-206
TIME:	04:39:07 PM
MOVED:	Priola
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-206 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 8-3.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	No
	Foote	Yes
	Joshi	No
	Kagan	Yes
	May	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Pabon	Excused
	Priola	Yes
	Saine	No
	Swalm	Yes
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:41 PM -- Senate Bill 13-247 - Concerning Debt Collection Services

Representative Court, prime sponsor, distributed a fact sheet on Senate Bill 13-247 (Attachment E) and explained that it clarifies the type of debt collection services offered by the Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA). These requirements include sending a notice to a person of his or her debt and the option to request a hearing before certifying a debt to the Department of Revenue (DOR) to be offset against a tax refund.

13HseFin0501AttachE.pdf

The following persons testified:

04:45 PM -- Mr. Jack Wylie and Mr. Greg Mechem, representing DPA, responded to questions about the debt collection process administered by DPA under the bill.


BILL:	SB13-247
TIME:	04:53:53 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-247 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 8-3.
SECONDED:	Kagan
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Joshi	No
	Kagan	Yes
	May	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Pabon	Excused
	Priola	No
	Saine	No
	Swalm	Yes
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:55 PM -- Senate Bill 13-229 - Concerning Statutory Provisions Related to Criminal Proceedings

Representative Kagan, prime sponsor, explained that Senate Bill 13-229 narrows the title of the bill to the subject of part-time deputy district attorneys (DAs). The bill allows a DA to appoint one or more part-time deputy DAs, who do not practice criminal defense in the jurisdiction or are employed by the Colorado District Attorneys Council, to fulfill the duties of the DA without county commissioner approval. It removes a requirement that a part-time DA be paid by the county he or she serves, and allows this cost to be shared within the judicial district.


BILL:	SB13-229
TIME:	04:57:10 PM
MOVED:	Kagan
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-229 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 8-3.
SECONDED:	Labuda
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Joshi	No
	Kagan	Yes
	May	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Pabon	Excused
	Priola	No
	Saine	No
	Swalm	Yes
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:59 PM -- Senate Bill 13-001 - Concerning the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit

Representative Kagan, prime sponsor, explained the provisions of the bill. He noted that Senate Bill 13-001 makes the refundable Colorado earned income tax credit, currently a TABOR refund mechanism, permanent beginning the first tax year immediately after it is next used to refund a TABOR surplus. In addition, the bill creates a refundable Colorado child tax credit, effective upon passage by Congress of the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (or similar legislation) and passage by the General Assembly of legislation similar to House Bill 13-1295, which simplifies the collection of sales taxes from out-of-state retailers to meet the requirements of the Marketplace Fairness Act. Representative Kagan noted that the federal Marketplace Fairness Act is a bill that requires out-of-state retailers to collect and remit sales taxes to states that have met minimum simplification requirements for sales tax administration.

The committee engaged in a discussion on the bill's fiscal impact and took the following action:


BILL:	SB13-001
TIME:	05:18:26 PM
MOVED:	Kagan
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-001 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 7-5.
SECONDED:	Pabon
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	No
	Foote	Yes
	Joshi	No
	Kagan	Yes
	May	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Priola	No
	Saine	No
	Swalm	No
	Wilson	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:23 PM

The committee adjourned.