Votes: View--> | Action Taken: |
Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment D) The motion pa Refer House Bill 14-1311, as amended, to the Commi | PASS PASS |
Amendment L.001 was distributed (Attachment C), along with an unofficial preamended version of the bill (Attachment D). The bill sponsors responded to questions on the transferability of the tax credit, the cap on the tax credit, and how the credit would work.
14HseFin0409AttachC.pdf 14HseFin0409AttachD.pdf
03:13 PM
Louis Pino, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to speak to a request for clarity on how the credit can be carried forward into future tax years. The bill sponsors responded to questions on qualifying projects needing to have rehabilitation costs that exceed 25 percent of the owner's original purchase price for the property, how much of the rehabilitation costs will be covered by the owner in relation to the tax credit, whether proof exists that reducing the cost of rehabilitating a building will increase the rate of rehabilitation, and the cap on the application fee imposed on a qualified commercial structure as laid out on pages 11 and 12 of the unofficial preamended version of the bill. Committee discussion of the application fee cap ensued.
03:28 PM -- Steve Turner, representing History Colorado, spoke in favor of the bill. He said that Colorado currently has a tax credit for rehabilitating historical property, but that it is minor in relation to similar programs in other states and in need of expansion. He stated that the existing tax credit is the only incentive for commercial project rehabilitation in rural areas, and that the bill could provide a large incentive and economic revitalization in such communities. He responded to questions on the existing tax credit, the availability of funding within existing statute for the preservation of historical buildings, the transferability of the tax credit and who it will benefit, and the standard age for a building to be considered historic.
03:45 PM
Mr. Turner responded to questions on whether the bill has a provision to address rural communities or areas that have experienced a natural disaster, which buildings would qualify for the tax credit, and the application fees for qualified residential structures as laid out on line 15 of page 12 of the unofficial preamended version of the bill.
03:51 PM -- Cathy Garcia, representing the Action 22 organization, spoke in favor of the bill. She stated that Action 22 is a regional advocate organization, and distributed a copy of some photographs of historic buildings in Colorado (Attachment E). Ms. Garcia said that the bill would create jobs in rural communities and help their economies grow.
3:56 PM -- John Batey, representing Downtown Colorado, Inc., spoke in favor of the bill. Mr. Batey said that financing tools are a critical piece of downtown development, that Denver is in need of more financing tools, and that the bill would provide this additional funding. He added that without increased financing, vacant buildings will become increasingly economically inviable for rehabilitation. He responded to questions on Downtown Colorado, Inc.'s process for rehabilitating buildings and finding tenants to occupy the buildings, and whether there are any safeguards built into the bill that will guarantee the use of a building after rehabilitation.
04:05 PM -- Dan Sheehan, representing Commerce Bank, spoke in support of the bill. He stated that the transferability of the tax credit is important in terms of financing for a potential rehabilitation project.
04:08 PM -- Brittany Morris Saunders, representing the Downtown Denver Partnership, spoke in favor of the bill. She said that the bill would support redevelopment and revitalization of buildings in downtown Denver and would preserve the inner city.
04:09 PM -- Meghan Storrie, representing the Colorado Municipal League, and Bill Clayton, representing Colorado Counties, Inc., spoke in favor of the bill. Ms. Storrie stated that the bill will incentivize the restoration of historic buildings in Colorado.
04:12 PM -- Scott Peterson, representing the Colorado Association of Realtors, spoke in support of the bill. He stated that the bill would allow property owners in the state to rehabilitate qualifying historic properties, which would have an immediate positive impact on surrounding communities and their economies.
04:15 PM -- Joe Kiely, representing the Town of Limon and the Economic Development Council of Colorado, spoke in favor of the bill. He told the committee that the bill would grow Colorado's economy. He responded to a question on the impact of the tornado that hit the town of Limon.
04:18 PM -- Rebecca Goodwin, representing Colorado Preservation, Inc., spoke in favor of the bill. She stated that the communities represented by her organization and the buildings within them would benefit greatly from the bill. She provided the committee with examples of how the bill would make a difference in rural Colorado and spoke to programs in other states that are helping ensure the preservation of historic buildings.
04:27 PM
Representative Dore explained Amendment L.001, which he stated removes all references to an appropriation from the Capital Construction Fund, limits the years the tax credit will be available, implements safeguards, sunsets the bill in FY19-20, and makes other changes. The committee discussed the amendment, and Representative Dore responded to questions on the amendment and the fiscal impact of the bill.
BILL: | HB14-1311 | |
TIME: | 04:35:00 PM | |
MOVED: | Court | |
MOTION: | Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The motion passed on a vote of 12-1. | |
SECONDED: | Melton | |
VOTE | ||
Becker | Yes | |
DelGrosso | Yes | |
Foote | Yes | |
Joshi | Yes | |
Kagan | Yes | |
Melton | Yes | |
Pabon | Yes | |
Priola | Yes | |
Saine | Yes | |
Swalm | Yes | |
Wilson | Yes | |
Labuda | No | |
Court | Yes | |
YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS |
BILL: | HB14-1311 | |
TIME: | 04:50:04 PM | |
MOVED: | Court | |
MOTION: | Refer House Bill 14-1311, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 10-3. | |
SECONDED: | Pabon | |
VOTE | ||
Becker | Yes | |
DelGrosso | Yes | |
Foote | Yes | |
Joshi | Yes | |
Kagan | Yes | |
Melton | Yes | |
Pabon | Yes | |
Priola | No | |
Saine | No | |
Swalm | Yes | |
Wilson | Yes | |
Labuda | No | |
Court | Yes | |
YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS |