Senate Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, & Energy (02/12/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, & ENERGY

Date:	02/12/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:31 PM to 04:47 PM	Baumgardner	X
		Cooke	X
Place:	RM 271	Donovan	X
		Guzman	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Hodge	X
	Senator Sonnenberg	Jones	X
		Scott	X
This Report was prepared by		Roberts	X
	David Beaujon	Sonnenberg	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Conf 15-Executive Director Department of Agriculture SB15-064 SB15-093 SB15-134 SB15-120		Refer to the Full Senate Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Postponed Indefinitely Postponed Indefinitely

01:33 PM -- Confirmation hearing for Department of Agriculture, Executive Director - Don Brown

John Salazar, Former Commissioner of Agriculture, introduced Mr. Brown and recommended his confirmation. (Attachment A)

150212 AttachA.pdf

01:35 PM

Don Brown, Governor's appointee to be the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, introduced his family and described his experience and interest in serving as the Executive Director.

The following person testified on the appointment:

01:40 PM -- Don Ament, Former Commissioner of Agriculture, recommended that Mr. Brown be confirmed at the Executive Director.


BILL:	Confirmation hearing for Department of Agriculture, Executive Director - D
TIME:	01:42:32 PM
MOVED:	Scott
MOTION:	Refer confirmation hearing for Department of Agriculture Executive Director, Don Brown, to the full Senate. The motion failed on a vote of 4-5.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	No
	Cooke	No
	Donovan	No
	Guzman	No
	Hodge	No
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes

YES: 4 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	Confirmation hearing for Department of Agriculture, Executive Director - D
TIME:	01:44:44 PM
MOVED:	Baumgardner
MOTION:	Moved to reconsider the prior motion to refer Don Brown to the full Senate. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Cooke	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Guzman	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes

YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Confirmation hearing for Department of Agriculture, Executive Director - D
TIME:	01:45:41 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Recommend the appointment of Don Brown be confirmed. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Cooke	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Guzman	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:47 PM -- SB15-064

The committee returned from recess. Senator Sonnenberg, sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 15-064 concerning the application of state water law to federal agencies and distributed Amendment L. 002 (Attachment B). This bill prohibits the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from placing conditions on special use permits, or for rights-of-way on federal land, that: demand that the owner of a water right or conditional water right assign partial or joint ownership of the water right to the USFS or the BLM; impose limitations on a water right that restrict the water right owner's ability to receive fair market value for the water right; impose limitations on the alienation of a water right; or impose restrictions that give the USFS or BLM full or partial control over the use of a water right. Further, the bill prohibits the State Engineer and division engineers in the Department of Natural Resources from cooperating with the USFS or the BLM in administering or enforcing the conditions identified above on special use permits, or for rights-of-way on federal land.

150212 AttachB.pdf

The following persons testified on the bill:

01:52 PM -- Jen Boulton, Colorado Trout Unlimited, Colorado Audubon, spoke in opposition to the bill.

01:57 PM

Jennifer Berman, Office of Legislative Legal Services, responded to questions from the committee about the bill's legislative declaration and other provisions.

01:59 PM -- Rob Harris, Western Resource Advocates, spoke in opposition to the bill.

02:06 PM -- Dianna Orf, Colorado Water Congress, spoke in support of the bill.

02:07 PM -- Kristnn Mosely, Colorado Water Congress, Eagle River Water and Sanitation District, Eagle River Water Authority, spoke in support of the bill and identified recent USFS directives that claim ownership of water rights based on the source of the water rights being on federal lands.

02:14 PM -- Dianna Orf, Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, spoke in support of the bill.

02:15 PM -- Donna Brosemer, City of Greeley, spoke in support of the bill.

02:18 PM -- Evan Goulding, Special District Association of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill.

02:20 PM -- Carlyle Currier, Colorado Farm Bureau, spoke in support of the bill.

02:22 PM -- Gary Moyer, Colorado Association of Conservation Districts, spoke in support of the bill.

02:26 PM -- James Eklund, Director, Colorado Water Conservation Board, spoke in support of the bill.

02:28 PM

Testimony was closed and Senator Sonnenberg closed his remarks on the bill.

02:28 PM

Senator Sonnenberg described the provisions of Amendment L. 002


BILL:	SB15-064
TIME:	02:29:29 PM
MOVED:	Scott
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.002. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner
	Cooke
	Donovan
	Guzman
	Hodge
	Jones
	Scott
	Roberts
	Sonnenberg

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


BILL:	SB15-064
TIME:	02:29:48 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 15-064, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 8-1.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Yes
	Cooke	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Guzman	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	No
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes

Final YES: 8 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

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.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.pdf

150212 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.pdf

150212 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.

04:06 PM -- SB15-134

The committee returned from recess. Senator Jones, sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 15-134 concerning energy cost-savings contracts for vehicle fleets and requested that it be postponed indefinitely.


BILL:	SB15-134
TIME:	04:08:27 PM
MOVED:	Jones
MOTION:	Postpone Senate Bill 15-134 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	Excused
	Cooke	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Guzman	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Roberts	Excused
	Sonnenberg	Yes

YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:09 PM -- SB15-120

Senator Jones, sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 15-120 concerning electric grid modernization plans and distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment H) that strikes everything below the enacting clause and creates the Grid Modernization Task Force. He also distributed a handout concerning smart meter deployment (Attachment I)

150212 AttachH.pdf

150212 AttachI.pdf

The following persons testified on the bill:

04:13 PM -- Sam Weaver, Cool Energy, spoke in support of the bill

04:16 PM -- Ted Rose, Gravity Renewables, spoke in support of the bill and discussed the small hydro project that his company operates. He also discussed grid modernization programs in New York and other states.

04:22 PM -- Troy Whitmore, United Power, spoke in opposition to the bill and identified smart grid technologies used by his company including smart meters, distributed generation, and other measures. He also provided information about United Power including a 2015 legislative update (Attachment J).

04:29 PM -- Geoff Hier, Colorado Rural Electric Association, spoke in opposition to the bill and identified smart grid technologies used by electric cooperatives. He also responded to questions from the committee about Amendment L.001.

04:35 PM -- Alice Jackson, Xcel Energy, spoke in opposition to the bill and identified grid modernization and demand management activities undertaken by her company.

04:37 PM -- Heidi Morgan, Black Hills Corp., spoke in opposition to the bill and identified grid modernization and demand management activities undertaken by her company.

04:41 PM

Testimony was closed and Senator Jones closed his remarks on the bill.


BILL:	SB15-120
TIME:	04:45:48 PM
MOVED:	Jones
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.001. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner
	Cooke
	Donovan
	Guzman
	Hodge
	Jones
	Scott
	Roberts
	Sonnenberg

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


BILL:	SB15-120
TIME:	04:46:10 PM
MOVED:	Jones
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 15-120, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion failed on a vote of 4-5.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	No
	Cooke	No
	Donovan	Yes
	Guzman	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Jones	Yes
	Scott	No
	Roberts	No
	Sonnenberg	No

YES: 4 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	SB15-120
TIME:	04:46:54 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Postpone Senate Bill 15-120 indefinitely 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

04:47 PM

The committee adjourned.