FIRST Conference Committee on HB15-1173 (04/21/2015)

STAFF SUMMARY OF FIRST MEETING OF

FIRST CONFERENCE COMMITTEE ON HB15-1173

Date:	04/21/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	08:01 AM to 08:31 AM	Hamner	X
		Baumgardner	X
Place:	HCR 0109	Rankin	X
		Cooke	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Todd	X
Representative Mitsch Bush		Mitsch Bush	X
This Report was prepared by
Matt Kiszka

08:01 AM -- HB15-1173

Representative Mitsch Bush, Chair, called the first meeting of the first conference committee on House Bill 15-1173 to order. A quorum was present. Representative Mitsch Bush summarized House and Senate amendments made to House Bill 15-1173 as it passed through the legislature.

She said that the rerevised version of the bill, as passed by the Senate, requires a study of the causes of closure and chain requirements on I-70 by the Transportation Legislation Review Committee.

A fact sheet and a summary of winter incidents on I-70 (Attachments A and B) were distributed to the committee by Representative Mitsch Bush. A draft committee report (CLHB 1173.001) was also distributed to the committee by Representative Mitsch Bush (Attachment C). She discussed reports on I-70 winter closures and congestion that had been presented to the Joint Transportation Committee and the Transportation Legislation Review Committee (TLRC) over the past year.

15ConfComm0421HB15-1173AttachA.pdf

15ConfComm0421HB15-1173AttachB.pdf

15ConfComm0421HB15-1173AttachC.pdf

08:08 AM

Representative Mitsch Bush discussed her proposed draft committee summary for the Conference Committee, which would accede to the amendments made to the bill by the Senate Transportation Committee. Senator Baumgardner discussed the information that had been presented to the TLRC, as seen in Attachment B, and why the TLRC had not produced legislation to address winter traffic congestion on I-70; and whether HB15-1173 is codifying existing statute and the authority the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) already has to close I-70 and enforce chain laws. Representative Mitsch Bush stated that under current statute, the only time CDOT can display that traction devices or chains are required is after CDOT has called the chain law into effect, but by then it is often too late because accidents have already happened. She discussed how she had introduced a different version of the bill to the TLRC in the 2014 interim that involved a lengthy stakeholder process.

Representative Rankin said that he had been persuaded of the bill's importance by committee testimony on the bill, that the bill is needed for clarification, education, and enforcement, and that the legislature does not need to study the issue further. Representative Hamner stated that closures of I-70 have been exacerbated in recent years, that I-70 is a huge economic driver for the state, that numerous stakeholder conversations have already happened to address the problem, and that raising awareness on the part of drivers who are using I-70 in the winter is critical. She expressed her support for the compromise suggested by Representative Mitsch Bush. Senator Todd stated that individuals living in the urban centers of Colorado need to be able to access the mountains via the I-70 corridor, spoke to misrepresentation of the intent of the bill and the idea that Colorado State Patrol will be policing drivers' tread depths, and said that the proposed draft committee report was a good solution to the differences between the House and the Senate on HB15-1173.

08:21 AM

Senator Baumgardner discussed his concerns about how the bill could impact out-of-state tourists in rental cars, reasons why serious closures of I-70 have occurred in the past other than inadequate tread depth or traction equipment, and how existing statute already dictates traction requirements and gives CDOT authority to call chain laws into effect. Representative Mitsch Bush discussed how incidents that lead to accidents or close I-70 happen before CDOT has enough information to call chain laws into effect. She said that CDOT cannot use signs to display statutory chain requirements unless the chain law has been called into effect, that a study had been completed showing that I-70 closures cost mountain communities up to $800,000 per hour of closure, and that HB15-1173 would make education and enforcement of chain laws more straightforward.

08:29 AM

The committee discussed the merits of the bill.


BILL:	HB15-1173
TIME:	08:29:57 AM
MOVED:	Rankin
MOTION:	Adopt draft conference committee report CLHB 1173.001 (Attachment C). The motion failed on a vote of 4-2 due to a lack of sufficient votes in both houses.
SECONDED:	Hamner
		VOTE
	Hamner	Yes
	Baumgardner	No
	Rankin	Yes
	Cooke	No
	Todd	Yes
	Mitsch Bush	Yes

Final YES: 4 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

08:31 AM

Representative Mitsch Bush explained that the motion failed, per Joint Rule 4 (b) of the Senate and House of Representatives, which requires that a majority of the members of each committee appointed by each house shall be necessary to approve a majority report of a conference committee. The committee adjourned.