House Committee on Transportation & Energy (04/22/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Date:	04/22/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:35 PM to 03:43 PM	Becker J.	X
		Buck	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Carver	X
		Coram	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Esgar	X
	Representative Tyler	Kraft-Tharp	X
		Melton	X
This Report was prepared by		Moreno	*
	Matt Kiszka	Neville P.	X
		Nordberg	X
		Winter	X
		Mitsch Bush	X
		Tyler	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Presentation from the Department of Natural Resources on Statewide Adaptati Presentation from the American Petroleum Institute on Oil and Gas Issues HB15-1345 HB15-1089		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Referred to the Committee of the Whole Postponed Indefinitely

01:36 PM -- Presentation from the Department of Natural Resources on Statewide Adaptation to Climate Change

Taryn Finnessey, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), came to the table to present to the committee on statewide adaptation and mitigation strategies to address the effects of climate change. Ms. Finnessey summarized House Bill 13-1293, which requires the state to collaborate on developing strategies to address climate change. She discussed the department's Climate Change in Colorado report and distributed an executive summary of the report (Attachment A). She also gave the committee a copy of the department's update in accordance with HB13-1293 (Attachment B). She discussed projected temperature increases and precipitation change projections. She detailed the Colorado Climate Change Vulnerability Study that the department released in February 2015, discussing how climate change will impact the electrical grid, airports, public health, and crops. She discussed efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change, such as the federal Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, oil and gas air quality rulemaking performed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, and the Colorado Climate Plan (CCP).

150422 AttachA.pdf

150422 AttachB.pdf

01:51 PM

Ms. Finnessey responded to committee questions on how far back DNR is studying climate change, causes for historical droughts in the state, the involvement of the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) in state climate change studies, when DNR is expected to complete the CCP, if the CCP will include solutions to climate change, and if CWCB is incorporating water conservation and storage into the CCP.

02:00 PM -- Presentation from the American Petroleum Institute on Oil and Gas Issues

Tracy Bentley and Dr. John Felmy of the American Petroleum Institute (API), and Jim Bennett of Ponderosa Advisors, came to the table to present to the committee on oil and gas issues. Dr. Felmy explained that the API is a trade association that was formed by the federal government in 1921 to address oil and natural gas industry issues and companies. He provided a history of oil production in the United States, and discussed: the changes in oil prices in the past 40 years; the shale oil resources that exist throughout the U.S.; how the U.S. is the largest producer of natural gas in the world; how world oil demand is still growing; the link between gasoline and crude oil prices; and other factors affecting the price of oil.

Dr. Felmy discussed oil and natural gas price, supply, and demand forecasts that are published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on a monthly basis. He said that Colorado competes with other states for oil and natural gas production, and that it is above the average for cost per foot for drilling. He spoke to lease production in the state, the impacts upon the economy of recent increases in natural gas production, the energy mix of the U.S. and which sectors demand the most energy, future U.S. and global energy demand, how renewable sources of energy will factor into the energy supply, and the potential for crude oil exports by the U.S.

02:32 PM

Mr. Bennett discussed U.S. natural gas and crude oil production in 2014, how oil and natural gas use have become more interconnected in the past five years, how lower natural gas prices slow crude production growth, how Rocky Mountain basins are predicted to lose market share in the crude market, how low crude oil prices will impact natural gas production, recent geographic changes in U.S. natural gas production, and the pipeline assets of the U.S.

02:47 PM

Mr. Bennett discussed the interplay between natural gas drilling and the price of crude oil, focusing on declining production rates in the Rockies region. He spoke to how supply and demand affect government revenue, how some counties in Colorado are dependent upon the property taxes paid by the oil and gas industry, and how recent reductions in natural gas production have affected industry employment. Mr. Bennett and Dr. Felmy responded to questions on whether there are incentives for the U.S. to export crude oil given market conditions and the Keystone XL pipeline.

03:03 PM -- HB 15-1345

Representative Rosenthal, prime sponsor, came to the table to present to the committee on House Bill 15-1345. Current law requires that a motorcyclist obtain a motorcycle endorsement on his or her driver's license. Motorcyclists and passengers are also required by current law to wear eye protection and, if under the age of 18, a helmet. The bill exempts motorcyclists and passengers of a three-wheel motorcycle from these requirements if the motorcycle has a top speed of 25 miles per hour, a windshield, and seatbelts (motorcycles meeting these criteria are also known as auto rickshaws or tuk-tuks).

Representative Rosenthal responded to committee questions on the intent of the bill.

03:09 PM -- Walid Mourtada and Colin Sommer, representing eTuk USA, spoke in favor of the bill. Mr. Mourtada said that the bill would allow tuk-tuks to operate more widely in the Denver downtown area. Mr. Sommer said that three-wheel vehicles are considered motorcycles under federal law and that the company is trying to bring tuk-tuks to the U.S., which are approved for use throughout most of the world. He discussed the need to re-categorize three-wheeled vehicles, such as tuk-tuks, in order to separate them from motorcycles. Mr. Mourtada responded to questions on where tuk-tuks would operate in Denver and if eTuk USA will operate on specific routes.

03:21 PM -- Dennis Haberstumpf, representing A Brotherhood Active Towards Education (ABATE) of Colorado, discussed the bill. He said that ABATE is concerned that motorcycle accident statistics could be skewed by tuk-tuk accidents and that the mis-classification of tuk-tuks as motorcycles needs to be rectified. He responded to questions on the state's Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program and data collection.

03:29 PM

Dave Hall, Legislative Liaison, Colorado State Patrol, came to the table to respond to questions on motorcycle accident statistics and the capability of the state patrol to separately track tuk-tuk accident statistics, and if there are other types of vehicle that are skewing motorcycle accident data. The committee discussed exploring this issue as part of the Transportation Legislative Review Committee in the 2015 interim.

03:35 PM

The committee took a brief recess.

03:37 PM -- Vanessa Medina Velasquez, representing herself, spoke to the bill.


BILL:	HB15-1345
TIME:	03:38:47 PM
MOVED:	Neville P.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1345 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Buck
		VOTE
	Becker J.	Yes
	Buck	Yes
	Carver	Yes
	Coram	Yes
	Esgar	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Moreno	Yes
	Neville P.	Yes
	Nordberg	Yes
	Winter	Yes
	Mitsch Bush	Yes
	Tyler	Yes

Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:40 PM -- HB 15-1089

Representative Mitsch Bush read a note from Representative Primavera, prime sponsor, regarding postponing HB15-1089 indefinitely. Letters of support for HB15-1089 were distributed to the committee (Attachment C).

150422 AttachC.pdf


BILL:	HB15-1089
TIME:	03:42:07 PM
MOVED:	Melton
MOTION:	Postpone House Bill 15-1089 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 10-3.
SECONDED:	Coram
		VOTE
	Becker J.	No
	Buck	No
	Carver	Yes
	Coram	Yes
	Esgar	Yes
	Kraft-Tharp	Yes
	Melton	Yes
	Moreno	Yes
	Neville P.	No
	Nordberg	Yes
	Winter	Yes
	Mitsch Bush	Yes
	Tyler	Yes

Final YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:43 PM

The committee adjourned.