House Committee on Business, Labor, Economic, & Workforce Development (03/06/2014)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, LABOR, ECONOMIC, & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Date:	03/06/2014	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:33 PM to 02:58 PM	Exum	X
		Hamner	X
Place:	LSB A	Holbert	X
		Navarro	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Nordberg	X
	Representative Williams	Rosenthal	X
		Ryden	X
This Report was prepared by		Szabo	X
	Erin Vanderberg	Wright	X
		Kraft-Tharp	X
		Williams	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB14-1282 SB14-054 HB14-1279 SB14-080		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to Finance Amended, Referred to Finance Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:33 PM -- HB 14-1282

Representative Williams, chair, called the meeting to order. A quorum was present. Representative Pabon, sponsor, presented House Bill 14-1282, concerning the specification of what materials may be provided in a language other than English by an insurer to a customer. Under current law, an insurer that provides materials to a customer in a language other than English must also provide an English-language copy of the same materials to the customer. This bill limits the requirement to provide an English-language copy of materials to insurance policies, endorsements, and riders. Representative Pabon stated that this bill is a clean-up bill for House Bill 13-1233 and responded to questions from the committee.


BILL:	HB14-1282
TIME:	01:37:41 PM
MOVED:	Holbert
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 14-1282 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Kraft-Tharp
		VOTE
	Exum	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Navarro	Yes
	Nordberg	Yes
	Rosenthal	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Szabo	Yes
	Wright	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	Yes
	Williams	Yes

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

01:38 PM -- SB 14-054

Representative Pabon, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 14-054, concerning the ability of an alcohol beverage licensee to petition the licensing authority to pay a fine in lieu of a license suspension ordered by the licensing authority. Under current law, an alcoholic beverage licensee or permit holder may petition the state or local liquor licensing authority for permission to pay a fine in lieu of a suspension of 14 days or less under certain circumstances. This option is allowed no more than once every two years. This bill gives state and local liquor licensing authorities the ability to accept a fine in lieu of a suspension of any number of days so long as the license or permit has not been revoked during the previous two years. Representative Pabon responded to questions from the committee.

The following individuals testified on the bill:

01:48 PM -- Kevin Bommer, representing the Colorado Municipal League, testified in support of the bill.

01:48 PM -- Nick Hoover, representing the Colorado Restaurant Association (CRA), testified in support of the bill. Mr. Hoover responded to questions from the committee.

01:51 PM -- John Stonbraker, representing CRA, testified in support of the bill.

01:53 PM -- Margaret Moore, representing the Tavern League, testified in support of the bill.

01:54 PM -- David Reitz, representing the Tavern League, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Reitz responded to questions from the committee.

01:57 PM -- Jeanne McEvoy, representing the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, testified in support of the bill.

02:00 PM -- Patrick Maroney, representing the Liquor Enforcement Division in the Department of Revenue, came to the table to respond to questions from the committee.

02:03 PM

Representative Pabon made closing remarks.


BILL:	SB14-054
TIME:	02:03:27 PM
MOVED:	Kraft-Tharp
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 14-054 to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Williams
		VOTE
	Exum	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Navarro	Yes
	Nordberg	Yes
	Rosenthal	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Szabo	Yes
	Wright	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	Yes
	Williams	Yes

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

02:05 PM -- HB 14-1279

Representative Primavera and Representative Young, sponsors, presented House Bill 14-1279, concerning the creation of a state income tax credit to reimburse a business for personal property taxes paid in the state. Beginning January 1, 2014, for the next five income tax years, the bill creates a state income tax credit for businesses for the amount of business personal property tax paid in Colorado. The credit is equal to the amount of business personal property tax paid, less the value of the tax benefit received by the taxpayer from deducting these taxes from his or her federal taxable income. This is accomplished by multiplying the amount of business personal property tax paid times 100 percent minus the taxpayer's federal marginal income tax rate minus the state's income tax rate of 4.63 percent. The credit is available in tax year 2014 only to businesses with $25,000 or less of personal property, but this threshold is adjusted annually for inflation thereafter. The tax credit is refundable, meaning that any portion of the credit exceeding a taxpayer's income tax liability must be refunded to the taxpayer. To claim the credit, the taxpayer must submit a copy of his relevant property tax statement for his business personal property to the Department of Revenue (DOR). The sponsors distributed a fact sheet to committee members (Attachment A) and responded to questions.

140306 AttachA.pdf

The following individuals testified on the bill:

02:12 PM -- Ali Mickelson, representing the Colorado Fiscal Institute (CFI), testified against the bill. She distributed a copy of her testimony to the committee (Attachment B). Ms. Mickelson discussed the CFI's concerns with the bill, particularly that the bill will result in taxpayers in low property tax areas subsidizing the businesses that are in higher local property tax areas. She responded to questions from the committee.

140306 AttachB.pdf

02:21 PM -- Patrick Pratt, representing the South Metro Denver Chamber, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Pratt stated that his organization sees the business personal property tax as one of the most onerous taxes in the state.

02:23 PM -- Patrick Boyle, representing the Colorado Competitive Council, testified in support of the bill. He discussed his organizations many efforts to repeal the business personal property tax and the tax's relationship with the TABOR and Gallagher amendments. Mr. Boyle responded to questions from the committee.

02:28 PM -- Sandra Solen, representing the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance and the Colorado Technology Association, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Solen echoed the comments made by Mr. Boyle.

02:30 PM -- Pete Kirchof, representing Colorado Concern and the Denver South Economic Partnership, testified in support of the bill. He stated that the bill would help the state's business climate.

02:33 PM -- Mark Radtke, representing the Colorado Municipal League (CML), testified in support of the bill. Mr. Radtke stated that the bill satisfied CML's concerns about the loss of revenue to municipalities generated from the business personal property tax through its utilization of a tax credit.

02:34 PM -- Bill Clayton, representing Colorado Counties, Inc., testified in support of the bill. Mr. Clayton echoed the comments made by Mr. Radtke and stated that the bill was a creative solution to the issue of the business personal property tax issue. Mr. Radtke and Mr. Clayton responded to questions from the committee.

02:36 PM -- Loren Furman, representing the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, testified in support of the bill. She discussed the history of her and her colleagues work on the issue.

02:38 PM -- Tony Gagliardi, representing National Federation of Independent Business, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Gagliardi discussed past efforts in the vein of this bill.

02:42 PM -- Ed DeCecco, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to respond to questions from the committee.

02:46 PM

Representative Young distributed and discussed Amendment L.001 (Attachment C).

140306 AttachC.pdf


BILL:	HB14-1279
TIME:	02:47:50 PM
MOVED:	Kraft-Tharp
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.001 The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Holbert
		VOTE
	Exum
	Hamner
	Holbert
	Navarro
	Nordberg
	Rosenthal
	Ryden
	Szabo
	Wright
	Kraft-Tharp
	Williams

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

02:49 PM

The sponsors delivered closing remarks.


BILL:	HB14-1279
TIME:	02:49:17 PM
MOVED:	Kraft-Tharp
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 14-1279, as amended, to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Holbert
		VOTE
	Exum	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Navarro	Yes
	Nordberg	Yes
	Rosenthal	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Szabo	Yes
	Wright	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	Yes
	Williams	Yes

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

02:48 PM

The committee took a brief recess.

02:50 PM -- SB 14-080

Representative Fields, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 14-080, concerning the elimination of the list of certain additional qualifications that apply to property valuation appeal arbitrators. Under current law, each county clerk and recorder maintains a list of arbitrators who are qualified to take appeals from a county board of equalization's property valuation decisions. In addition to possessing experience in property taxation and holding a Colorado real estate appraiser license, individuals on the list must be a legal professional, former county assessor, real estate broker, or a member of the Institute of Real Estate Appraisers. This bill simplifies the qualifications for individuals to be listed as an arbitrator in property valuation cases. To serve as an arbitrator, the individual must be experienced in property taxation and hold a Colorado real estate appraiser license, but is not required to possess any additional qualifications. Representative Fields distributed a fact sheet on the bill (Attachment D) and responded to questions from the committee.

140306 AttachD.pdf

The following individual testified on the bill:

02:53 PM -- Corbin Sakdol, representing the Colorado Assessors' Association, testified in support of the bill. He discussed the reasons for the bill and stated that it is a clean-up bill. Mr. Sakdal responded to questions from the committee.

02:58 PM

Representative Fields made closing remarks.


BILL:	SB14-080
TIME:	02:58:55 PM
MOVED:	Kraft-Tharp
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 14-080 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Williams
		VOTE
	Exum	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Navarro	Yes
	Nordberg	Yes
	Rosenthal	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Szabo	Yes
	Wright	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	Yes
	Williams	Yes

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

02:58 PM

The committee adjourned.