Date: 06/10/2014

Final
Local Government Panel

TRANSPORTATION LEGISLATION REVIEW COMMITTEE

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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03:05 PM -- Local Government Panel

Senator Todd called the meeting back to order and welcomed the Local Government Panel members to the table. The Local Government Panel includes Mr. Eric Bergman, Policy and Research Supervisor, Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI); Mr. Rich Mauro, Senior Policy and Legislative Analyst, Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG); and Mr. Mark Radtke, Legislative and Policy Advocate, Colorado Municipal League (CML).

Mr. Bergman began his presentation by providing background information on CCI. A handout was distributed to the committee members (Attachment K). He said that the state's county commissioners are responsible for the construction and maintenance of over 58,000 center line miles of county roads, and that the state's counties are also responsible for the construction and maintenance of over 3,100 county bridges. He said that road and bridge construction and maintenance, which also includes actions such as planning, engineering, grading, establishing drainage systems, and snow removal are overseen by county road and bridge departments. He discussed the funding sources for these activities.

14TLRC0610AttachK.pdf14TLRC0610AttachK.pdf

03:16 PM

Mr. Radtke began his portion of the presentation and distributed two handouts to the committee members (Attachments L and M). He discussed Attachment M, which provides a listing of the bridges in the state and their current conditions. He said that many bridges throughout the state are in poor repair. He discussed the Highway Users Tax Fund (HUTF) as the major source of funding for municipal transportation-related needs. He discussed the state of the HUTF and expressed his concern regarding enacted legislation that takes money away from the HUTF. Representative Kraft-Tharp asked for a listing of the 2014 legislation that impacted the HUTF.

14TLRC0610AttachL.pdf14TLRC0610AttachL.pdf 14TLRC0610AttachM.pdf14TLRC0610AttachM.pdf

03:20 PM

Mr. Mauro began his portion of the presentation and distributed two handouts to the committee members (Attachments N and O). He provided background information on DRCOG and described the role of the council, as the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Denver region. He said that more than 50 governments are represented in DRCOG's transportation planning process. He said that DRCOG's charge is to prepare a plan for the growth and development of the Denver-metro area. He discussed the forecasted growth for the region and talked specifically about the state's aging population. He talked about DRCOG's work with local governments to update zoning codes and regulations and to update and adopt best practices on ways to help the population "age in place."

14TLRC0610AttachN.pdf14TLRC0610AttachN.pdf 14TLRC0610AttachO.pdf14TLRC0610AttachO.pdf

Senator Jones asked how a project gets put onto the DRCOG list of priority projects. Mr. Mauro explained that DRCOG's partners, such as counties, municipalities, and CDOT, come to them with requests and then undergo a process to submit documents and other items for DRCOG's consideration.

Mr. Bergman responded to a question from Senator Jones about funding. Mr. Bergman talked about a poll conducted by CCI a couple of years ago concerning the gas tax. He said that the gas tax in Colorado has not been changed in the last 20 years, but that the polling responses to an increase were very unfavorable. He said that transportation funding is a Colorado problem. Committee discussion ensued about the polling results and transportation being low on the list of priorities for Colorado's citizens. Mr. Radtke stated that the TLRC can help the situation by ending the erosion of funds from the HUTF. Senator Jones commented on public-private partnership contracts. Mr. Bergman talked about the activities of MPACT 64.


03:45 PM

Senator Todd thanked the panelists for presenting. She made an announcement about a possible site tour field trip to Denver Union Station and to the Denver International Airport.


03:46 PM

The committee adjourned.