Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Date:09/03/2014
ATTENDANCE
Time:09:01 AM to 11:35 AM
Cadman
X
Court
X
Place:HCR 0112
DelGrosso
X
Grantham
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Heath
X
Representative Ferrandino
Hullinghorst
X
Lawrence
*
This Report was prepared by
Melton
*
Dave DeNovellis
Newell
X
Nicholson
X
Pabon
X
Priola
*
Renfroe
*
Scheffel
X
Szabo
*
Tochtrop
X
Carroll
X
Ferrandino
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
Amendment 67
Amendment 68
Proposition 104
Proposition 105		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only
Amended,
Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only
Amended,


09:02 AM -- Introductory Remarks

Speaker Ferrandino, chair, called the meeting to order.

Mike Mauer, director of the Legislative Council Staff, gave the committee some introductory remarks regarding the 2014 Colorado Blue Book. Copies of the meeting materials are posted online at the Legislative Council website. Mr. Mauer gave an overview of the Blue Book process and noted that it takes 12 votes, two-thirds of the committee membership, to make any changes to the analysis.

09:03 AM -- Amendment 67

Dave DeNovellis, Legislative Council Staff, discussed the proposed Blue Book analysis of Amendment 67 concerning the definition of person and child. He gave the committee an overview of each section of the analysis, including a summary and analysis of the proposed amendment, arguments for and against the amendment, and an estimate of its fiscal impact.





The following person testified on Amendment 67:

09:06 AM -- Drew Hymer, representing Personhood USA as a proponent of the amendment, discussed current law regarding the unlawful termination of a pregnancy. He discussed the law as it pertains to medical professionals and discussed language that he believes should be added to the Blue Book analysis related to this issue. Mr. Hymer suggested additional language the he would like to see added to the background section. He spoke about the second argument against and the measure's effect on treatment for certain medical conditions. Mr. Hymer suggested additional language that could be added to the first argument for. He discussed the analysis' language related to infertility and birth control. Mr. Hymer further discussed how the measure would be applied in cases of miscarriage, and discussed suggested changes to the arguments for, and suggested striking amendment 2.

09:16 AM

The committee did not amend the Amendment 67 Final Draft and the analysis will appear unchanged in the Blue Book.

09:19 AM -- Amendment 68

Josh Abram, Legislative Council Staff, discussed the proposed Blue Book analysis of Amendment 68 concerning horse racetrack casino gambling. He gave the committee an overview of each section of the analysis, including a summary and analysis of the proposed amendment, arguments for and against the amendment, and an estimate of its fiscal impact.

Mr. Abram responded to questions from the committee regarding whether public schools have recently received less state funding than in previous years, what the term "other funds" in the analysis refers to, and whether the estimated revenue numbers include revenue from existing gambling in Colorado. He discussed the writing team's decision to not use the term "General Fund" in the analysis and noted that the amendment's fiscal note goes into greater detail on the fiscal impact.


09:31 AM

The committee discussed the existing Limited Gaming Fund and the amount of money that is transferred to community colleges. Mr. Abram responded to committee questions about how the amendment differs from other statewide gambling measures regarding local authority. Senator Cadman noted that he would recuse himself from votes on the amendment under House Rule 21c.
BILL:Amendment 68
TIME: 09:41:52 AM
MOVED:Nicholson
MOTION:Amend Final Draft, page 3, line 26, after "revenue", insert "from the Limited Gaming Fund". The motion passed on a vote of 16-1, with one member excused.
SECONDED:Hullinghorst
VOTE
Cadman
Excused
Court
Yes
DelGrosso
Yes
Grantham
Yes
Heath
Yes
Hullinghorst
Yes
Lawrence
Yes
Melton
Yes
Newell
Yes
Nicholson
Yes
Pabon
Yes
Priola
Yes
Renfroe
Yes
Scheffel
Yes
Szabo
Yes
Tochtrop
No
Carroll
Yes
Ferrandino
Yes
YES: 16 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



09:45 AM

Todd Herreid, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to discuss how school funding is measured and where the funding levels have been since 2008.
BILL:Amendment 68
TIME: 09:47:15 AM
MOVED:Ferrandino
MOTION:Amend Final Draft, page 3, line 6, strike ", most public schools received less" and line 7, strike "state funding than in previous years". The motion passed on a vote of 12-5, with one member excused.
SECONDED: Court
VOTE
Cadman
Excused
Court
Yes
DelGrosso
Yes
Grantham
Yes
Heath
No
Hullinghorst
Yes
Lawrence
Yes
Melton
Yes
Newell
No
Nicholson
Yes
Pabon
No
Priola
Yes
Renfroe
Yes
Scheffel
Yes
Szabo
Yes
Tochtrop
No
Carroll
No
Ferrandino
Yes
YES: 12 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



09:52 AM

The committee discussed whether the Limited Gaming Commission currently receives General Fund money. Mr. Abram discussed different funding sources the commission might use to regulate horse racetrack casino gambling.
BILL:Amendment 68
TIME: 09:52:52 AM
MOVED:DelGrosso
MOTION:Amend Final Draft, page 4, line 35, after "funds", insert ", most likely the General Fund". The motion was withdrawn.
SECONDED:Court
VOTE
Cadman
Excused
Court
DelGrosso
Grantham
Heath
Hullinghorst
Lawrence
Melton
Newell
Nicholson
Pabon
Priola
Renfroe
Scheffel
Szabo
Tochtrop
Carroll
Ferrandino
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:



10:00 AM

The committee discussed whether Blue Book analyses confer legislative intent regarding statewide ballot issues.
BILL:Amendment 68
TIME: 10:00:51 AM
MOVED:Newell
MOTION:Amend Final Draft, page 4, line 35, after "funds", insert ", possibly the General Fund". The motion was withdrawn.
SECONDED:DelGrosso
VOTE
Cadman
Excused
Court
DelGrosso
Grantham
Heath
Hullinghorst
Lawrence
Melton
Newell
Nicholson
Pabon
Priola
Renfroe
Scheffel
Szabo
Tochtrop
Carroll
Ferrandino
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:

10:04 AM

Jery Payne, Office of Legislative Legal Services, and Mr. Abram discussed other state and local votes concerning gambling. Mr. Payne responded to committee questions about the amendment's provisions concerning local authority.


Clare Pramuk, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to discuss whether Amendment 64 allowed local governments to vote on whether to allow recreational marijuana businesses to open within city limits.
BILL:Amendment 68
TIME: 10:16:06 AM
MOVED:Newell
MOTION:Amend Final Draft, page 2, line 22, after "affirm", insert "or deny". The motion passed on a vote of 15-1 with two members excused.
SECONDED:Heath
VOTE
Cadman
Excused
Court
Yes
DelGrosso
Yes
Grantham
Yes
Heath
Yes
Hullinghorst
Yes
Lawrence
Yes
Melton
Yes
Newell
Yes
Nicholson
Yes
Pabon
Yes
Priola
Yes
Renfroe
Yes
Scheffel
Yes
Szabo
Excused
Tochtrop
No
Carroll
Yes
Ferrandino
Yes
YES: 15 NO: 1 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

10:34 AM

The Amendment 68 Final Draft will appear in the Blue Book with the committee amendments included.

10:35 AM -- Proposition 104

Larson Silbaugh, Legislative Council Staff, discussed the proposed Blue Book analysis of Proposition 104 concerning school board meeting requirements. He gave the committee an overview of each section of the analysis, including a summary and analysis of the proposed proposition, arguments for and against the proposition, and an estimate of its fiscal impact.


10:38 AM

Representative Szabo distributed a prepared amendment to the Proposition 104 Final Draft (Attachment A).
140903 AttachA.pdf140903 AttachA.pdf
BILL:Proposition 104
TIME: 10:39:36 AM
MOVED:Szabo
MOTION: Amend Final Draft, page 2, strike lines 9 and 10 and substitute "allows for greater understanding and necessary transparency of these proceedings for the general public and all involved parties, including school employees.". The motion failed on a vote of 9-8, with one member excused.
SECONDED:Priola
VOTE
Cadman
Yes
Court
No
DelGrosso
Yes
Grantham
Yes
Heath
No
Hullinghorst
No
Lawrence
Yes
Melton
Excused
Newell
No
Nicholson
Yes
Pabon
No
Priola
Yes
Renfroe
Yes
Scheffel
Yes
Szabo
Yes
Tochtrop
No
Carroll
No
Ferrandino
No
YES: 9 NO: 8 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

01:44 PM

The committee did not amend the Proposition 104 Final Draft and the analysis will appear unchanged in the Blue Book.



10:42 AM -- Proposition 105

Clare Pramuk, Legislative Council Staff, discussed the proposed Blue Book analysis of Proposition 105 concerning labeling genetically modified food. She gave the committee an overview of each section of the analysis, including a summary and analysis of the proposed proposition, arguments for and against the proposition, and an estimate of its fiscal impact.

The following people testified on Proposition 105:

10:47 AM -- Alan Lewis, representing Natural Grocers, and Jessica Campbell-Swanson, representing RBI Strategies, testified as proponents of Proposition 105. Ms. Campbell-Swanson noted that they would like to see the final draft amended concerning the exemptions in the summary and analysis section and in the second argument against concerning whether the proposition conflicts with existing labeling standards.

Ms. Campbell-Swanson and Mr. Lewis responded to committee questions regarding how labeling might affect food prices, how food labeling is currently regulated, what percentage of foods contain genetically engineered ingredients, and whether other states require labeling of genetically modified food.

11:02 AM

Mr. Lewis and Ms. Campbell-Swanson continued to respond to committee questions regarding how the proposition may affect companies that produce foods that are on the exempt and non-exempt lists, whether data exists showing the health effects of genetically engineered food, whether they foresee any conflicts with federal law, and whether countries that require labeling allow the United States to export food to them.

11:13 AM

Mr. Lewis stated that his consumers are very concerned with food and food marketing and discussed the change in attitude towards pesticides and lead-based paint.

11:22 AM

Ms. Pramuk responded to committee questions regarding whether the proposition exempts marijuana edibles from the labeling requirements. The committee discussed how the proposition differs from existing food labeling standards.



11:26 AM

Representative Szabo distributed a prepared amendment to the Proposition 105 Final Draft (Attachment B). The committee discussed the possible effect of the proposition on food prices and whether the analysis should say the proposition "could result in higher food prices" or "will result in higher food prices."

140903 AttachB.pdf140903 AttachB.pdf
BILL:Proposition 105
TIME: 11:27:07 AM
MOVED:Szabo
MOTION:Amend Final Draft, page 4, line 2, strike "could" and substitute "will", and page 4, line 4, strike "could" and substitute "will". The motion passed on a vote of 12-6.
SECONDED:Priola
VOTE
Cadman
Yes
Court
No
DelGrosso
Yes
Grantham
Yes
Heath
No
Hullinghorst
No
Lawrence
Yes
Melton
Yes
Newell
No
Nicholson
No
Pabon
Yes
Priola
Yes
Renfroe
Yes
Scheffel
Yes
Szabo
Yes
Tochtrop
Yes
Carroll
No
Ferrandino
Yes
YES: 12 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:34 AM

The Proposition 105 Final Draft will appear in the Blue Book with the committee amendment included.

11:35 AM

The committee adjourned