Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE, VETERANS, & MILITARY AFFAIRS

Date:02/25/2015
ATTENDANCE
Time:10:10 AM to 12:36 PM
Foote
X
Humphrey
X
Place:LSB A
Lontine
X
Neville P.
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Primavera
X
Representative Ryden
Tate
X
Thurlow
X
This Report was prepared by
Tyler
X
Jessika Shipley
Willett
X
Salazar
X
Ryden
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB15-1119
HB15-1130
HB15-1181
HB15-1126		Postponed Indefinitely
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Amended, Referred to Finance
Referred to Finance


10:10 AM -- HB15-1119

Representative Buck returned to the committee to continue the discussion of House Bill 15-1119 concerning a requirement that a local government that bans hydraulic fracturing (fracking) compensate oil and gas and royalty owners affected by the ban. The bill was originally heard by the committee on Wednesday, February 11, 2015.

10:12 AM -- Brett Moore, representing the Colorado Association of Royalty Owners, read a statement from Cristy Koenecke in support of the bill. Mr. Moore distributed a series of reclamation photos on behalf of Ms. Koenecke (Attachments A and B).

15HouseState0225AttachA.pdf15HouseState0225AttachA.pdf 15HouseState0225AttachB.pdf15HouseState0225AttachB.pdf

10:15 AM -- Maggie Burns, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Burns spoke about the bridal gown design business she owns and distributed information about women-owned businesses in Colorado (Attachment C). She shared her personal story about mineral rights and how those rights helped her start her company. She discussed a program through Colorado Mountain College that assists women with opening their own businesses.

15HouseState0225AttachC.pdf15HouseState0225AttachC.pdf




10:20 AM -- Stan Dempsey, representing the Colorado Petroleum Association, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Dempsey discussed local bans on fracking. He responded to questions from the committee about what the bill does and does not do.


10:31 AM

Committee discussion about the effect of the bill continued.

10:35 AM -- Jim Cole, representing Weld County and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Cole spoke about the pooling of mineral resources and required payments to individuals whose mineral rights are pooled. He responded to questions from the committee about protections for individual mineral rights owners.


10:41 AM

Committee discussion about the effect of the bill continued.


10:47 AM

Representative Buck wrapped up her presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.
BILL:HB15-1119
TIME: 10:52:56 AM
MOVED:Thurlow
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1119 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion failed on a vote of 5-6.
SECONDED:Humphrey
VOTE
Foote
No
Humphrey
Yes
Lontine
No
Neville P.
Yes
Primavera
No
Tate
Yes
Thurlow
Yes
Tyler
No
Willett
Yes
Salazar
No
Ryden
No
YES: 5 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL






BILL:HB15-1119
TIME: 10:53:13 AM
MOVED:Salazar
MOTION:Postpone House Bill 15-1119 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:Foote
VOTE
Foote
Yes
Humphrey
No
Lontine
Yes
Neville P.
No
Primavera
Yes
Tate
No
Thurlow
No
Tyler
Yes
Willett
No
Salazar
Yes
Ryden
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


10:53 AM

The committee took a brief recess.


10:57 AM -- HB15-1130

The committee returned to order. Representatives Nordberg and Ryden, co-sponsors, presented House Bill 15-1130. The bill aligns municipal election laws with the federal "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act" (UOCAVA) and the state "Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act" (UMOVA) that ensure United States military personnel and American civilians living abroad can vote. The bill adjusts dates to match the various deadlines and election requirements to conform with the UOCAVA and UMOVA. Amendments L.001 and L.003 (Attachments D and E) were distributed to the committee.

15HouseState0225AttachD.pdf15HouseState0225AttachD.pdf 15HouseState0225AttachE.pdf15HouseState0225AttachE.pdf

11:01 AM -- Wayne Williams, Colorado Secretary of State, testified in support of the bill. Secretary Williams spoke about the statutory authority of municipal clerks under current law. He commented that this bill protects the rights of service members overseas to vote in all elections.

11:04 AM -- Carol Tone, representing the League of Women Voters, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Tone expressed her opinion that the bill protects the right to vote in all elections.







11:05 AM -- Karen Goldman, representing the Colorado Municipal League, the Colorado Municipal Clerks' Association, and the City of Aurora, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Goldman thanked Representative Nordberg for his work on the bill.

11:07 AM -- Elena Nunez, representing Colorado Common Cause, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Nunez thanked all of the stakeholders for working together.

11:09 AM -- Chuck Broerman, representing the Colorado County Clerks' Association, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Broerman reiterated the testimony of prior witnesses.
BILL:HB15-1130
TIME: 11:11:48 AM
MOVED:Ryden
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Neville P.
VOTE
Foote
Humphrey
Lontine
Neville P.
Primavera
Tate
Thurlow
Tyler
Willett
Salazar
Ryden
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection





















BILL:HB15-1130
TIME: 11:12:28 AM
MOVED:Ryden
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.003 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Salazar
VOTE
Foote
Humphrey
Lontine
Neville P.
Primavera
Tate
Thurlow
Tyler
Willett
Salazar
Ryden
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


11:13 AM

Representatives Nordberg and Ryden wrapped up their presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation. Written statements of support from Mary Eberle and Margit Johansson were entered into the record (Attachments F and G, respectively).

15HouseState0225AttachF.pdf15HouseState0225AttachF.pdf 15HouseState0225AttachG.pdf15HouseState0225AttachG.pdf
BILL:HB15-1130
TIME: 11:15:25 AM
MOVED:Ryden
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1130, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:Neville P.
VOTE
Foote
Yes
Humphrey
Yes
Lontine
Yes
Neville P.
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Tate
Yes
Thurlow
Yes
Tyler
Yes
Willett
Yes
Salazar
Yes
Ryden
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


11:16 AM -- HB15-1181

The committee took a brief recess.


11:17 AM

The committee returned to order. Representative Keyser, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 15-1181. The bill allows a state income tax deduction for military income earned by a Colorado resident stationed outside the state on active military duty. To qualify, the service person's military home of record and state of legal residence must be located in Colorado. The state income tax deduction will be available for tax years 2016 through 2020.


11:29 AM

Representative Keyser continued his presentation of the bill. He responded to questions from the committee.













11:40 AM

Committee discussion of the bill continued.

11:44 AM -- Gary Force, representing the United Veterans Committee (UVC), testified in support of the bill. Mr. Force indicated that the UVC members voted unanimously to support the bill. He spoke about the practice of military service members changing their official state of residence to save money. He responded to questions from the committee about this practice.

11:49 AM -- Kara Wheeler, representing the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, testified in support of the bill.

11:51 AM -- Louis Pino, representing Legislative Council Staff, and Kevin Bronski, representing the Department of Revenue, came to the table to respond to questions about the fiscal note.


11:55 AM

Representative Keyser explained the effect of amendment L.002 (Attachment H).

15HouseState0225AttachH.pdf15HouseState0225AttachH.pdf
BILL:HB15-1181
TIME: 11:56:50 AM
MOVED:Salazar
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment H) The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Ryden
VOTE
Foote
Humphrey
Lontine
Neville P.
Primavera
Tate
Thurlow
Tyler
Willett
Salazar
Ryden
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection









11:57 AM

Representative Keyser wrapped up his presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.
BILL:HB15-1181
TIME: 12:06:29 AM
MOVED:Salazar
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1181, as amended, to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 8-3.
SECONDED:Ryden
VOTE
Foote
Yes
Humphrey
No
Lontine
Yes
Neville P.
No
Primavera
Yes
Tate
Yes
Thurlow
Yes
Tyler
No
Willett
Yes
Salazar
Yes
Ryden
Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


12:07 PM -- HB15-1126

Representative Rosenthal, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 15-1126. Beginning tax year 2015, this bill allows a full-time Colorado resident stationed outside the United States for civilian employment by the United States government to file as a nonresident on his or her Colorado income tax return. The taxpayer must have spent at least 305 days of the tax year outside of the country to qualify. If a spouse accompanies the individual he or she may also elect treatment as a nonresident individual. Representative Rosenthal stated that he would offer an amendment that strikes everything below the enacting clause if the bill moves onto the Finance Committee.


12:18 PM

Representative Rosenthal responded to questions from the committee about the current tax situation for federal employees serving overseas.

12:20 PM -- Paul Kullman, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Kullman spoke about his overseas professional experience with the U.S. Department of Commerce. He discussed the economic benefits the bill would potentially bring to the state of Colorado. He responded to questions from the committee.








12:27 PM -- Stephen Schlieman, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Schlieman is in the process of becoming a Foreign Service Officer. He stated that he would prefer to keep Colorado as his official state of residence.


12:31 PM

Representative Rosenthal wrapped up his presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.
BILL:HB15-1126
TIME: 12:35:01 PM
MOVED:Salazar
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1126 to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:Ryden
VOTE
Foote
Yes
Humphrey
No
Lontine
Yes
Neville P.
No
Primavera
Yes
Tate
No
Thurlow
No
Tyler
Yes
Willett
No
Salazar
Yes
Ryden
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


12:36 PM

The committee adjourned.