Date: 04/02/2014

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB14-1325

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Postpone House Bill 14-1325 indefinitely. The moti
Refer House Bill 14-1325 to the Committee on Appro		PASS
FAIL



02:21 PM -- HB14-1325

Representative Fischer came to the table to present House Bill 14-1325. He explained that the bill amends statute created by HB09-1035, and clarifies that a qualified clean technology or medical device manufacturer may claim a refund for sales and use taxes paid in calendar year 2009 on property used for research and development. The bill also extends the repeal date of the refund from July 1, 2014, to December 31, 2015, allowing a refund for sales and use taxes paid in 2014. He responded to requests for clarification on the tax exemption's effective dates as laid out by the bill.


02:27 PM

Esther van Mourik, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to speak to questions on current statute surrounding the tax refund, and how the bill would alter it. Committee discussion ensued.


02:34 PM

Representative Fischer responded to a question on the refund limit that a single business may claim for the tax refund. Larson Silbaugh, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table and spoke to the effective dates for which the tax exemption can be claimed by a business. Committee discussion of the fiscal impact of the bill ensued.


02:43 PM

Committee questioning and discussion of the effective dates of the tax refund continued.

02:50 PM -- Tom Teynor, representing Coolerado Corporation, and Chris Votoupal, representing the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association, spoke in favor of the bill. They responded to questions on why the existing sales tax refund had not yet been claimed by any businesses in the state. Mr. Teynor responded to a question on how much of a refund his company could claim for each tax year, going back to 2009, if the bill passed. Mr. Votoupal answered questions on how the refund might be utilized in the cleantech industry, how impactful it could be, and how much of a refund businesses can currently claim under statute.


03:00 PM

 The witnesses responded to questions on why companies had not claimed the tax refund as of 2014. Committee discussion ensued.


03:07 PM

John Vecchiarelli, Department of Revenue (DOR), came to the table to clarify DOR's obligations in regards to the tax refund.

03:11 PM -- Leah Lindahl, representing the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA), spoke in favor of the bill. She stated that the CBSA worked with the legislature to establish the tax refund in 2009 to assist medical device companies. Jeff Castleberry, representing EndoShape, spoke in favor of the bill. He stated that his company looks forward to utilizing the tax refund. The witnesses responded to questions on how the bill will help companies within the cleantech and biotech industries when they become aware of the availability of the tax refund. The witnesses submitted written testimony for the record (Attachments E and F).

14HseFin0402AttachE.pdf14HseFin0402AttachE.pdf 14HseFin0402AttachF.pdf14HseFin0402AttachF.pdf

03:19 PM

Mr. Votoupal responded to questions on existing and proposed legislation that could benefit members of the cleantech and advanced industries in Colorado.


03:26 PM

Representative Fischer made his closing comments on the bill.


03:30 PM

The committee took a brief recess.


03:31 PM

The committee discussed the merits of the bill.
BILL:HB14-1325
TIME: 03:35:52 PM
MOVED:Court
MOTION:Refer House Bill 14-1325 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion failed on a vote of 4-8, with 1 member excused.
SECONDED:Melton
VOTE
Becker
No
DelGrosso
No
Foote
Yes
Joshi
No
Kagan
No
Melton
Yes
Pabon
Excused
Priola
No
Saine
No
Swalm
No
Wilson
No
Labuda
Yes
Court
Yes
YES: 4 NO: 8 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:HB14-1325
TIME: 03:36:50 PM
MOVED:Labuda
MOTION:Postpone House Bill 14-1325 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 9-3, with 1 member excused.
SECONDED:Saine
VOTE
Becker
Yes
DelGrosso
Yes
Foote
No
Joshi
Yes
Kagan
Yes
Melton
No
Pabon
Excused
Priola
Yes
Saine
Yes
Swalm
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Labuda
Yes
Court
No
YES: 9 NO: 3 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS