Senate Committee on Transportation (02/19/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Date:	02/19/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	10:13 AM to 11:54 AM	Cooke	X
		Garcia	*
Place:	SCR 352	Todd	X
		Scott	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Baumgardner	X
	Senator Baumgardner

This Report was prepared by
	Mistia Zuckerman
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB15-1004 SB15-172		Referred to Appropriations Postponed Indefinitely

10:15 AM -- HB 15-1004

Senator Baumgardner, Chair, called the meeting to order. A quorum was present.

10:15 AM

Senator Todd introduced House Bill 15-1004. This bill, recommended by the Transportation Legislation Review Committee, creates a firefighter motorcycle special license plate and makes an appropriation. The license plate will be available to an applicant who provides documentation to the Department of Revenue (DOR) confirming that he or she is an active, volunteer, or retired firefighter. In addition to the standard motorcycle license plate fees, applicants must pay a one-time additional fee of $50. Of this fee, $25 is credited to the Licensing Services Cash Fund (LSCF) and $25 is credited to the Highway Users Tax Fund (HUTF). The plate will be available January 1, 2016. Senator Todd explained that other types of special license plate designs already have plates available for motorcycles.

10:16 AM -- Tim McChesney, representing Colorado Professional Fire Fighters (CPFF), testified in support of the bill. He said that he is both a professional firefighter and a motorcycle rider. He explained that a special license plate for firefighters is already available for passenger cars, trucks, recreational vehicles, and motor homes.

10:18 AM

Senator Todd provided closing comments on the bill.


BILL:	HB15-1004
TIME:	10:18:25 AM
MOVED:	Todd
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1004 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 4-0, with one excused.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cooke	Yes
	Garcia	Excused
	Todd	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Baumgardner	Yes


Final YES: 4 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

10:19 AM -- SB 15-172

Senator Jones, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 15-172. The bill requires the High-Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE) in the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to increase public notice of and participation in any public-private partnership (P3) involving the HPTE in the following ways:

• The HPTE must, in coordination with affected local governments, hold public town hall meetings throughout the P3 contracting process; specifically, at the project visioning stage, the request for proposal (RFP) preparation stage, and the initial RFP draft review stage.
• The HPTE must provide full and timely notice to state legislators, county and municipal governments, and the general public, and consider the feedback it receives.
• After entering into a P3, the HPTE must provide the terms of the agreement to the transportation committees of the General Assembly and post them on the CDOT website.
• The HPTE must also provide public notice of any change in the status of a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane.
• When considering a project related to HOV lanes, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, or managed lanes, the HPTE must evaluate the suitability of express bus service or bus rapid transit service in the project corridor and may consider funding bus service from user fee revenues.

In addition, the bill adds the executive director of the CDOT as an ex officio nonvoting member to the HPTE, and requires all new members (currently four Governor appointments and three Transportation Commission members) to be confirmed by the Senate. Members are limited to two four-year terms.

Finally, the bill allows the State Auditor to audit the HPTE.

Senator Jones discussed the HPTE's lack of communication with the public when it was pursuing a P3 agreement for the second phase of U.S. 36. He said that people have the right to know the details about future plans for public roads. He distributed Executive Order D2014-010 (Attachment A), Amendment L.002 (Attachment B), and a list of proposed projects from the Colorado Bridge Enterprise (CBE) (Attachment C).

150219 AttachA.pdf

150219 AttachB.pdf

150219 AttachC.pdf

10:26 AM

Senator Jones read a letter from a constituent, and gave an overview of Amendment L.002. He expressed concern that the HPTE was not meeting its statutory reporting requirements.

10:34 AM

Senator Scott asked Senator Jones about his conversations with the Governor's Office on the bill and Executive Order D2014-010. Senator Jones discussed laying the bill over.

10:37 AM -- Andy Karsian, representing CDOT, testified against the bill. He discussed CDOT's efforts to increase its number of town hall meetings and communications with the public. Mr. Karsian discussed CDOT's plans to fund the reconstruction of the viaduct on East I-70 with money from the CBE. He said that the viaduct represents 63 percent of the total bridge deck fees that need to be repaired in Colorado, which corresponds to the 63 percent of the CBE budget that will go to this one project. Senator Baumgardner asked for clarification on CDOT's actions.

10:54 AM -- Rodney Moss, representing Aon Risk Services, testified against the bill. He discussed the factors investors use to weigh risk when determining whether a P3 is a worthwhile investment. He described how P3s are a transference of risk, and discussed the negative effect that the requirements created under the bill could place on companies considering P3 opportunities Colorado.

11:03 AM -- Tony Milo, representing the Colorado Contractor's Association, testified against the bill. Senator Todd asked Mr. Milo to describe the impact of the bill and Amendment L.002 on contractors. He replied that the requirements increase uncertainty for investors.

11:07 AM -- Todd Ohlheiser, representing the Colorado Ready Mixed Concrete Association and the Colorado Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association (CSSGA), testified against the bill. He discussed how the state needs P3s or some other solution in order to fund transportation projects due to the state spending constraints of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).

11:10 AM -- Charles Ward, representing the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, testified against the bill. He said the chamber's mission is to put more people to work. He discussed the importance of roads to the economy and said that P3s offer the opportunity to accelerate needed transportation projects.

11:13 AM -- Miz Cordero, representing the Colorado Competitive Council, testified against the bill. He described Colorado's lack of investment in roads. He said that P3s are the only way to complete large infrastructure projects and that investors say that this bill goes too far.

11:16 AM -- Danny Katz, representing Colorado Public Interest Research Group (COPIRG), testified in support of the bill. He said that COPIRG supports how this bill will bring HPTE board nominees under review. He discussed the growing demand for alternative forms of transportation.

11:21 AM -- Cliff Smedley, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. He discussed issues with HPTE's contract with Plenary Roads for U.S. 36. Senator Todd asked what Mr. Smedley would want from a P3 contract. He said he would like to see it go through the public policy-making process so that the public could give its comments.

11:28 AM -- Garrison Bennet, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. He said that the contract with Plenary Roads was unknown to the public even days before it was signed. He described his experience seeing the angry people at packed town-hall meetings.

11:32 AM -- Mark Ruzzin, representing Boulder County, testified in support of the bill. He said that Boulder County agrees that P3s bring value to Colorado. He said that this bill would formalize the Governor's executive order. He said that county staff has not had an opportunity to review Amendment L.002.

11:35 AM -- Dru Whitledge, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. He said that the public needs to know that the actions of all representatives, elected or appointed, represent their constituents' best interests. He said he would like to see a website dedicated to each and every transportation project detailing all of the project expenses.

11:41 AM -- Alan Sobel, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. He discussed his experience at one of the town hall meetings for U.S. 36, when a representative of CDOT said that CDOT needed to check with Goldman Sachs before it could release information to the public.

11:43 AM

Senator Jones gave his closing comments on the bill. He discussed how he believes that P3s are coming to other areas of Colorado, and that constituents will demand a role in that process.


BILL:	SB15-172
TIME:	11:45:44 AM
MOVED:	Todd
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.002. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cooke
	Garcia
	Todd
	Scott
	Baumgardner


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

11:51 AM

Senator Baumgardner discussed his concerns with the bill.


BILL:	SB15-172
TIME:	11:52:02 AM
MOVED:	Todd
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 15-172, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion failed on a vote of 2-3.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cooke	No
	Garcia	Yes
	Todd	Yes
	Scott	No
	Baumgardner	No
YES: 2 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	SB15-172
TIME:	11:53:08 AM
MOVED:	Scott
MOTION:	Postpone Senate Bill 15-172 indefinitely using a reversal of the previous roll call. There was no objection to the use of the reverse roll call, therefore, the bill was postponed indefinitely. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cooke
	Garcia
	Todd
	Scott
	Baumgardner
Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:

11:54 AM

The committee adjourned.