Joint Committee Committee on Joint Transportation (01/22/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON JOINT TRANSPORTATION

Date:	01/22/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	09:36 AM to 10:43 AM	Becker J.	X
		Buck	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Carver	X
		Cooke	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Coram	X
	Representative Tyler	Esgar	X
		Garcia	X
This Report was prepared by		Kraft-Tharp	X
	Matt Kiszka	Melton	X
		Mitsch Bush	X
		Moreno	*
		Neville P.	X
		Nordberg	X
		Scott	X
		Todd	X
		Winter	*
		Baumgardner	X
		Tyler	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Presentation from Legislative Staff Presentation on Transportation Financing Ptresentation from the Office of the State Auditor		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only

09:36 AM

Representative Tyler, Chair, called the meeting to order.

09:39 AM -- Presentation from Legislative Staff

Jason Gelender, Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS), and Erin Reynolds, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to present to the committee. Mr. Gelender introduced himself and fellow staff members who draft legislation and handle issues related to transportation and energy. He distributed a handout detailing OLLS (Attachment A), and summarized the services provided by the office and its bill drafters.

150122 AttachA.pdf

09:43 AM

Ms. Reynolds introduced herself and the members of Legislative Council Staff (LCS) who produce the fiscal notes for bills introduced by the General Assembly. She described the statutory responsibilities of LCS and its fiscal notes staff and spoke to changes made to the fiscal notes template for the 2015 session. (Attachment B)

150122 AttachB.pdf

09:46 AM -- Presentation on Transportation Financing

Greg Sobetski, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to present to the committee on transportation financing in Colorado. He distributed five documents to the committee (Attachments C-G) detailing transportation financing and infrastructure planning. Mr. Sobetski described the structure of the various bodies involved in transportation planning and financing in the state, speaking specifically to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Transportation Commission. Representative Mitsch Busch spoke to the local bodies also responsible for this, known as Transportation Planning Regions (TPR) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO). She also discussed the Statewide Transportation Advisory Committee, which provides advice to CDOT on the needs of the transportation system in Colorado and reviews and comments on all regional transportation plans submitted by TPRs and MPOs.

150122 AttachG.pdf

09:53 AM

Mr. Sobetski discussed the primary sources of revenue for transportation projects in the state, detailing the Highway Users Tax Fund (HUTF), federal funds, the aviation fund, and a variety of other cash funds. He spoke to past sources of transportation finance that have expired, such as Transportation Revenue Anticipation Notes (TRANs) bonds, the Senate Bill 97-001 diversions, and House Bill 02-1310 transfers. Mr. Sobetski then addressed the various sources of HUTF revenue from taxes and fees levied in the state. He responded to questions on how much transportation funding is spent on administration and design engineering by CDOT, cities, and counties.

10:03 AM

Mr. Sobetski referred to Figure 3 of Attachment C and discussed how HUTF revenues are distributed throughout cities, counties, and the state. He responded to questions on aviation funds, what aviation fund income consists of, the status of TRANs bond debt service, and whether a municipality could levy an excise tax to fund its own transportation project.

10:11 AM

Mr. Sobetski discussed Senate Bill 09-228, which authorizes new transfers of General Fund revenue to the HUTF and Capital Construction Fund under specific economic circumstances. He explained the circumstances surrounding personal income growth in the state that would trigger the transfers, as well as the impacts that the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) could have on these transfers.

10:21 AM

Mr. Sobetski responded to questions on the funds deposited into the HUTF, how these funds are distributed and spent, and the current state taxes levied on motor fuels. Committee discussion of motor fuel taxes ensued. Mr. Sobetski responded to questions on the funding received by the state from the federal government for federal motor fuel taxes, taxes levied on compressed natural gas and alternative fuels, and projects in the state that have been funded with Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery Act of 2009 (FASTER) revenue.

10:31 AM -- Presentation from the Office of the State Auditor

Michelle Colin, Managing Legislative Auditor, and Monica Bowers, Deputy State Auditor, came to the table to present on the Office of the State Auditor's (OSA) Annual Report of Audit Recommendations Not Fully Implemented(Attachment H). Ms. Bowers described the functions and statutory duties of the OSA and the structure of the report. Ms. Colin provided metrics on the recommendations made by the office from 2008 to 2013. She explained financial audit recommendations and the severity levels assigned to these recommendations by the OSA. She then talked to performance and information technology (IT) audits performed by the office, detailing the number of regular and high priority performance and IT audits outstanding for state agencies. Ms. Colin spoke to specific outstanding recommendations made by OSA for CDOT, and responded to questions on an OSA recommendation addressing CDOT's IT disaster recovery plan.

150122 AttachH.pdf

10:40 AM

The meeting was adjourned.