Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
| Date: | 04/02/2014 | ATTENDANCE |
 | | | |
| Time: | 01:42 PM to 04:37 PM | Becker | X |
| | DelGrosso | X |
| Place: | LSB A | Foote | X |
| | Joshi | X |
| This Meeting was called to order by | Kagan | X |
| Representative Court | Melton | X |
| Pabon | * |
| This Report was prepared by | Priola | X |
| Matt Kiszka | Saine | X |
| | Swalm | X |
| | Wilson | X |
| | Labuda | X |
| | Court | X |
| | X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call |
| Bills Addressed: | | Action Taken: | |
HB14-1327
HB14-1269
HB14-1325
SB14-051
SB14-123 | Amended, Referred to Appropriations
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Postponed Indefinitely
Referred to Appropriations
Referred to Appropriations |
01:42 PM -- HB14-1327
Representatives Murray and Williams came to the table to present House Bill 14-1327. They explained that the bill sets statewide policy concerning the deployment of broadband technology. Specifically, the bill:
• requires local government permitting of broadband facilities and certain wireless service facilities to adhere to new statutory deadlines, and to allow consolidation of applications for small cell networks;
• requires state and local government agencies, including coordination by the Department of Transportation, to provide notice of trenching activity to broadband providers, except in emergencies, and to regulate other aspects of trenching; and
• clarifies that broadband service providers may utilize public rights-of-way for broadband facilities to the same extent as other telecommunication providers.
The representatives responded to questions on the fiscal impact for the bill and the sales tax exemption included as a provision of the bill.
01:48 PM
Representative Murray explained Amendment L.006 (Attachment A), which she said removes the fiscal impact of the bill by eliminating the sales tax exemption provision.
01:49 PM
Alex Schatz, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to speak to the removal of the bill's fiscal impact by Amendment L.006. The representatives responded to questions on the sales tax exemption and committee discussion ensued.
01:52 PM
Representative Williams described Amendment L.007 (Attachment B), which addresses trenching in the bill. The representatives responded to questions on the amendment.
14HseFin0402AttachB.pdf
| |
| BILL: | HB14-1327 | |
| TIME: | 01:54:50 PM |
| MOVED: | Court |
| MOTION: | Refer House Bill 14-1327, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 12-1. |
| SECONDED: | Priola |
| VOTE |
| Becker | Yes |
| DelGrosso | Yes |
| Foote | Yes |
| Joshi | Yes |
| Kagan | Yes |
| Melton | Yes |
| Pabon | Yes |
| Priola | Yes |
| Saine | No |
| Swalm | Yes |
| Wilson | Yes |
| Labuda | Yes |
| Court | Yes |
| | |
YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS |
01:56 PM -- HB14-1269
Representatives Court and Williams came to the table to present House Bill 14-1269, which was considered for action only. They distributed an article on online sales tax fairness to the committee (Attachment C). Representative Court explained that Amendment L.009 (Attachment D), a strike-below amendment, further establishes the presumption of nexus under the bill and provides a fairer environment for small businesses in Colorado. Representative Williams explained that the amendment incorporates the feedback of the small business community from the bill's initial hearing in the House Finance Committee. Committee discussion and questioning of the presumption of nexus, as laid out by the amendment, ensued.
14HseFin0402AttachC.pdf 
14HseFin0402AttachD.pdf
02:02 PM
Esther van Mourik, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to speak to the specifics of Amendment L.009 and how it defines nexus. She responded to questions on nexus, and committee discussion ensued.
02:07 PM
John Vecchiarelli, Director of Taxation, Department of Revenue, came to the table to provide real examples of nexus within Colorado. Committee discussion ensued.
02:16 PM
Representative Court responded to a question on how legislation that is under consideration by the federal government could affect the legislation enacted by HB14-1269.
| |
| BILL: | HB14-1269 | |
| TIME: | 02:19:59 PM |
| MOVED: | Court |
| MOTION: | Refer House Bill 14-1269, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 7-6. |
| SECONDED: | Pabon |
| VOTE |
| Becker | Yes |
| DelGrosso | No |
| Foote | Yes |
| Joshi | No |
| Kagan | Yes |
| Melton | Yes |
| Pabon | Yes |
| Priola | No |
| Saine | No |
| Swalm | No |
| Wilson | No |
| Labuda | Yes |
| Court | Yes |
| | |
YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS |
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.pdf 
14HseFin0402AttachF.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 |
03:38 PM -- SB14-051
Representative Saine came to the table to present Senate Bill 14-051. She explained that the bill eliminates different standards of access to adoption records for adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents, as well as their descendants, based on the law in existence on the date the adoption was finalized. Generally, the bill retains current policy that adoption records are confidential from the general public, unless the requesting party is eligible under statute to access the records or the court finds good cause for their release. Current policy is also retained that allows eligible relatives of a deceased birth parent or a deceased adult adoptee to access adoption records concerning that person.
| |
| BILL: | SB14-051 | |
| TIME: | 03:40:12 PM |
| MOVED: | Saine |
| MOTION: | Refer Senate Bill 14-051 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 12-0, with 1 member excused. |
| SECONDED: | Joshi |
| VOTE |
| Becker | Yes |
| DelGrosso | Yes |
| Foote | Yes |
| Joshi | Yes |
| Kagan | Yes |
| Melton | Yes |
| Pabon | Excused |
| Priola | Yes |
| Saine | Yes |
| Swalm | Yes |
| Wilson | Yes |
| Labuda | Yes |
| Court | Yes |
| | |
YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS |
03:41 PM -- SB14-123
Representative Kagan came to the table and presented Senate Bill 14-123. He stated that Colorado is one of six states that does not require ongoing education and training for certified peace officers. He explained that the bill authorizes the Peace Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Board to promulgate rules for:
• certification of inspectors of vehicle identification numbers;
• annual in-service training requirements for certified peace officers; and
• any rules necessary to carry out the functions of the P.O.S.T. Board.
He added that the bill allows the P.O.S.T. Board to increase its certification fees from $125 to $150. The bill also allows the P.O.S.T. Board to expand the entities to whom it may make grants by including nonprofit organizations. The P.O.S.T. Board may deny certification to any person who is convicted of a municipal violation that is the equivalent of any of the state law violations that permit denial of certification. Finally, the registration fee (P.O.S.T. fee) paid by owners of Class A, B, or C vehicles will increase from $0.60 to $1.00. Representative Kagan responded to questions on which nonprofit organizations might receive grants under the bill and whether companies in the state that employ peace officers have ongoing requirements for education and training.
03:52 PM -- Chief John Jackson, representing the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, spoke in favor of the bill. He responded to a question on the need for ongoing training for peace officers in Colorado, and highlighted the importance of additional training. He outlined the situations that could arise from a lack of additional training for peace officers.
03:56 PM
Representative Kagan and Chief Jackson responded to questions on P.O.S.T. Board fee increases laid out in the bill, how the bill would affect the ongoing training of peace officers, and the sources of funding for the bill and the P.O.S.T. Board. Committee discussion ensued.
04:15 PM -- Nancy Lewis, representing the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA), spoke in favor of the bill. She stated that in her role as the Executive Director of COVA, she has seen first hand how important adequate training for peace officers can be.
04:18 PM -- Matthew Durkin, representing the Attorney General's Office, spoke in favor of the bill. He said that there is no profession in the state that is in more need of ongoing training than peace officers, and that such training will translate into saved lives. He responded to questions on the effectiveness of ongoing training requirements and how funding for the P.O.S.T. Board could affect the level of training of peace officers in the state. Committee discussion ensued.
04:30 PM
Representative Kagan made his closing comments on the bill, and stated that all counties in the state deserve to have a highly trained and professional police force protecting them. The committee discussed the merits of the bill.
| |
| BILL: | SB14-123 | |
| TIME: | 04:36:31 PM |
| MOVED: | Kagan |
| MOTION: | Refer Senate Bill 14-123 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 7-6. |
| SECONDED: | Court |
| VOTE |
| Becker | Yes |
| DelGrosso | No |
| Foote | Yes |
| Joshi | No |
| Kagan | Yes |
| Melton | Yes |
| Pabon | Yes |
| Priola | No |
| Saine | No |
| Swalm | No |
| Wilson | No |
| Labuda | Yes |
| Court | Yes |
| | |
YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS |
04:37 PM
The committee was adjourned.