House Committee on Finance (02/26/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Date:	02/26/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	11:09 AM to 01:02 PM	Becker K.	*
		Conti	X
Place:	LSB A	Garnett	X
		Kagan	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Pabon	*
	Representative Court	Priola	*
		Roupe	X
This Report was prepared by		Van Winkle	X
	Katie Ruedebusch	Wilson	X
		Foote	X
		Court	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB15-1136 HB15-1180 HB15-1132		Referred to Appropriations Amended, Referred to Appropriations Amended, Referred to Appropriations

11:09 AM

Representative Court, chair, called the meeting to order.

11:10 AM -- HB15-1136

Representative Navarro, sponsor, introduced House Bill 15-1136. Under current law, a military veteran who meets the statutory requirements for physical impairment may be issued one set of persons with disabilities (PWD) disabled veteran license plates that allow the driver to utilize PWD reserved parking. This bill allows for the issuance of two sets of PWD disabled veteran license plates per qualified disabled military veteran.

11:12 AM -- Mr. Ryan Parsell, representing the El Paso County Office of the Clerk and Recorder, testified in support of the bill. He stated that this bill benefits El Paso County's residents.

11:15 AM -- Mr. Tony Anderson, representing the Colorado Department of Revenue Division of Motor Vehicles, answered questions regarding the fiscal impact of the bill. Representative Navarro indicated that citizens must pay a $50 fee for the second set of license plates which in turn creates more cash fund revenue.


BILL:	HB15-1136
TIME:	11:15:59 AM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1136 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0.
SECONDED:	Priola
		VOTE
	Becker K.	Excused
	Conti	Yes
	Garnett	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Priola	Yes
	Roupe	Yes
	Van Winkle	Yes
	Wilson	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Court	Yes

FINAL YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:17 AM -- HB15-1180

Representatives Kraft-Tharp and Wilson, co-prime sponsors, introduced House Bill 15-1180. The bill recreates a sales and use tax refund for clean technology and medical device firms with 35 employees or less. The refund is for sales taxes paid on equipment used for research and development of clean technology or medical technology and is limited to $50,000 per taxpayer per year. Representative Kraft-Tharp noted that surrounding states have similar tax policies. She stated that this bill will help keep existing businesses in Colorado along with helping the industry grow. Representative Wilson noted that this industry contains small businesses that can be located in both urban and rural areas of Colorado.

11:25 AM -- Ms. Natalie Mullis, Chief Economist with Colorado Legislative Council, came to the table to answer questions regarding the fiscal note. She addressed questions regarding a fiscal note of a similar 2009 bill. She stated that the assumptions in the fiscal note are based on data available from both the Department of Revenue and the industry itself. Committee discussion ensued regarding past tax refund claimants and the fiscal implications of the bill.

11:34 AM -- Ms. Leah Lindahl, representing the Colorado Bioscience Association, testified in support of the bill. She noted that the industry consists of a large range of companies. She stated that there are around 300 bioscience companies in Colorado. She discussed the current federal medical device tax.

11:46 AM -- Mr. Brad Amman, Chief Financial Officer of CereScan, testified in support of the bill. He stated that CereScan employs 16 people and that this bill would help them expand. He noted that this bill would help off-set costs.

11:52 AM -- Mr. Chris Votoupal, representing the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association, testified in support of the bill. He stated that the bill would help keep Colorado's cleantech industry competitive with businesses in neighboring states.

11:53 AM -- Mr. Loren Burnett, representing e-Chramic Technologies, testified in support of the bill. He discussed his company's product that is based on research conducted at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He stated this bill would help the company attract investors, expand, and stay in Colorado.

12:08 PM -- Mr. Ed DeCecco, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to answer questions regarding the language of the bill and a proposed amendment. Representative Kraft-Tharp distributed Amendment L.002 (Attachment A).

12:13 PM -- Mr. Votoupal returned to the table to answer questions regarding whether the language in L.002 would include not just clean and medical technology companies, but also traditional energy companies.

12:22 PM -- Mr. Kevin Bronski, representing the Colorado Department of Revenue (department), came to the table to address questions about how provisions of the bill may be interpreted by the department. He stated that the department uses the plain meaning definition of "efficiency" when determining whether companies qualify for a tax refund. He noted that the department considers L.002 a clarifying amendment.

12:27 PM -- Mr. Larson Silbaugh, Colorado Legislative Council, came to the table to answer questions regarding the fiscal note. He noted that the fiscal note is based on information available from previous department refund data and other sources.


BILL:	HB15-1180
TIME:	12:31:19 PM
MOVED:	Wilson
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment A). The motion passed on a vote of 11-0. 15HouseFin0226AttachA.pdf
SECONDED:	Roupe
		VOTE
	Becker K.	Yes
	Conti	Yes
	Garnett	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Priola	Yes
	Roupe	Yes
	Van Winkle	Yes
	Wilson	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Court	Yes

YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB15-1180
TIME:	12:35:23 PM
MOVED:	Kagan
MOTION:	Adopt conceptual amendment. Strike "Business Affairs and Labor" and substitute "Finance." The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Foote
		VOTE
	Becker K.
	Conti
	Garnett
	Kagan
	Pabon
	Priola
	Roupe
	Van Winkle
	Wilson
	Foote
	Court

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


BILL:	HB15-1180
TIME:	12:38:14 PM
MOVED:	Priola
MOTION:	Adopt conceptual amendment to expand the tax refund for ten years. The motion failed on a vote of 5-6.
SECONDED:	Van Winkle
		VOTE
	Becker K.	No
	Conti	Yes
	Garnett	No
	Kagan	No
	Pabon	No
	Priola	Yes
	Roupe	Yes
	Van Winkle	Yes
	Wilson	Yes
	Foote	No
	Court	No

YES: 5 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB15-1180
TIME:	12:40:43 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion passed on a vote of 7-4. 15HouseFin0226AttachB.pdf
SECONDED:	Kagan
		VOTE
	Becker K.	Yes
	Conti	Yes
	Garnett	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Priola	No
	Roupe	No
	Van Winkle	No
	Wilson	No
	Foote	Yes
	Court	Yes

YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12: 42 PM -- Committee discussion ensued regarding the fiscal implications of tax expenditure bills, TABOR, and Colorado's budget.


BILL:	HB15-1180
TIME:	12:53:05 PM
MOVED:	Wilson
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1180, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Van Winkle
		VOTE
	Becker K.	Yes
	Conti	Yes
	Garnett	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Priola	Yes
	Roupe	Yes
	Van Winkle	Yes
	Wilson	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Court	Yes

FINAL YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:58 PM -- HB15-1132

Representative Becker, K., sponsor, introduced House Bill 15-1132 and distributed Amendment L.005 (Attachment C). The bill had previously been laid over by the committee for action only on February 25, 2015.

15HouseFin0226AttachC.pdf


BILL:	HB15-1132
TIME:	12:58:46 PM
MOVED:	Becker K.
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.005 (Attachment C). The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Becker K.	Yes
	Conti	No
	Garnett	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Priola	No
	Roupe	No
	Van Winkle	No
	Wilson	No
	Foote	Yes
	Court	Yes

YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB15-1132
TIME:	01:01:39 PM
MOVED:	Becker K.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1132, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Becker K.	Yes
	Conti	Yes
	Garnett	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Priola	Yes
	Roupe	Yes
	Van Winkle	No
	Wilson	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Court	Yes

Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:02 PM

The committee adjourned.