Date: 02/12/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB15-093

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, & ENERGY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 15-093 to the Committee of the WPASS



02:31 PM -- SB15-093

The committee returned from recess. Senator Sonnenberg, sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 15-093 concerning compensation to mineral owners. This bill requires local governments to compensate the owner of an interest in mineral rights (mineral owner) when a local ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation, or other official policy (local rule) reduces the fair market value (FMV) of the owner's mineral interest by at least 60 percent.

The following persons testified on the bill:

02:39 PM -- Jen Boulton, Colorado Trout Unlimited, Audubon Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill and discussed current law concerning the taking of property by a government.

02:43 PM -- Marilyn Hughes, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill.

02:45 PM -- Anne Harper, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about potential impacts related to oil and gas development near her home. She also distributed a picture of mineral development near her home (Attachment C) and responded to questions from the committee about the impact of the development on her property.

150212 AttachC.pdf150212 AttachC.pdf

02:55 PM -- Carl Erickson, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the forced pooling of his mineral right.

02:59 PM -- Jennifer Carroll, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the impact of mineral development on residential property values.

03:04 PM -- Geoff Deakin, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about oil and gas development near his home. He also responded to questions from the committee about efforts of local governments to notify affected homeowners about mineral development and potential measures to mitigate such impacts.

03:09 PM -- J.D. Ruybal, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill.

03:12 PM -- Scott Cardwell, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about oil and gas development near his home and its impact on property values.

03:15 PM -- Michell Smith, National Association of Royalty Owners, spoke in support of the bill and explained how Colorado law allows mineral rights to be severed from the surface estate. She also discussed the impact of drilling bans on royalty owners and responded to question from the committee about the effect of forced pooling on royalty owners and whether she signed a surface use agreement with a mineral developer.

03:23 PM -- Neil Ray, National Association of Royalty Owners, spoke in support of the bill and distributed a copy of his testimony (Attachment D and Attachment E).

150212 AttachD.pdf150212 AttachD.pdf150212 AttachE.pdf150212 AttachE.pdf

03:27 PM -- Eric Sutherland, representing himself, discussed recent legislation related to mineral rights and raised questions about the potential effect of the bill.

03:30 PM -- Carlyle Currier, Colorado Farm Bureau, spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the importance of royalty payments to agricultural producers.

03:34 PM -- Dan O'Connell, Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, spoke in support of the bill.

03:37 PM -- Stan Dempsey, Colorado Petroleum Association, spoke in support of the bill and responded to prior testimony expressing concern about the authority of local governments to regulate oil and gas development.

03:40 PM -- Keith Crichton, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill and discussed mineral rights that he owns.

03:42 PM -- Jim Cole, Colorado Oil and Gas Association, spoke in support of the bill and discussed the increase in property values in Weld County and how this increase has benefitted other property owners in the county. He also responded to questions from the committee about the potential for additional local moratoriums on oil and gas development.

03:47 PM -- Becky Brooks, Colorado Corn Growers, spoke in support of the bill.

03:49 PM -- Cindy Bargell, National Association of Royalty Owners, spoke in support of the bill and discussed current regulation of oil and gas development in Colorado. She also discussed the annexation of a property by the Town of Windsor that was leased for mineral development and responded to questions from the committee about the law concerning forced pooling.

The following persons submitted written testimony against the bill:

Bob Norris, representing himself, (Attachment F).
Maydean Worley, representing herself (Attachment G).

150212 AttachF.pdf150212 AttachF.pdf150212 AttachG.pdf150212 AttachG.pdf

03:56 PM

Testimony was closed and Senator Sonnenberg closed his remarks on the bill. The committee members closed their remarks on the bill.



BILL:SB15-093
TIME: 04:05:08 PM
MOVED:Sonnenberg
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 15-093 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 5-4.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Baumgardner
Yes
Cooke
Yes
Donovan
No
Guzman
No
Hodge
No
Jones
No
Scott
Yes
Roberts
Yes
Sonnenberg
Yes
YES: 5 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




04:06 PM

The committee recessed.