House Committee on Business Affairs and Labor (02/02/2005)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LABOR

Date:	02/02/2005	ATTENDANCE

Time:	10:24 AM to 01:20 PM	Balmer	*
		Borodkin	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Butcher	*
		Carroll M.	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Coleman	X
	Representative Marshall	Knoedler	X
		Liston	*
This Report was prepared by		Massey	*
	Susan Liddle	McCluskey	X
		Paccione	X
		White	X
		Cerbo	X
		Marshall	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB05-1115 HB05-1162 HB05-1061		Amended and Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended and Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended and Referred to the Committee of the Whole

10:26 AM -- House Bill 05-1115

Representative Cerbo explained the provisions of HB 1115 which would allow an employee the right to access information in his or her personnel files maintained by a current or previous employer. He distributed a proposed amendment (L.001 - Attachment A).

The following individuals testified:

10:30 AM -- Margaret Funk, Colorado Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association, spoke in support of the bill and explained how this bill will benefit employees. She explained the work of her organization on behalf of employees that bring cases to them. She stated that at least 17 other states have a law like HB 1115. She responded to questions from the committee.

10:36 AM -- Steve Adams, Colorado ALF-CIO, spoke in support of the bill.

10:37 AM

Representative Cerbo concluded his remarks on the bill and offered the amendment.


BILL:	HB05-1115
TIME:	10:38:09 AM
MOVED:	Cerbo
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment A). He explained the amendment. The amendment passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Paccione
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Borodkin
	Butcher
	Carroll M.
	Coleman
	Knoedler
	Liston
	Massey
	McCluskey
	Paccione
	White
	Cerbo
	Marshall
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB05-1115
TIME:	10:39:08 AM
MOVED:	Cerbo
MOTION:	Moved to refer HB 1115, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 12-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Paccione
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCluskey	No
	Paccione	Yes
	White	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

10:41 AM -- House Bill 05-1162

Representative Borodkin explained the provisions of HB 1162 concerning energy efficiency standards for specified devices. She distributed a proposed amendment (L.001 - Attachment B) and a letter from the Mayor of Denver in support of the bill (Attachment C). She responded to questions from the committee.

The following individuals testified:

10:45 AM -- Howard Geller, Executive Director, South West Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions about what products are covered in the bill. He stated that the 15 products in this bill are not currently covered by federal standards. He responded to additional questions from the committee. Mr. Geller responded to a concern that an air conditioning manufacturer in Pueblo would have to retrofit their facility to meet these new standards.

10:58 AM -- Representative Borodkin also responded to the questions being raised by the committee about how the new standards would impact business in Colorado. Mr. Geller responded to a question about whether home buyers would see higher building costs under this bill stating that the products in the bill are for more commercial applications, thus he sees no potential increase in the cost of homes.

11:02 AM -- Dan Bihn, independent energy consultant, spoke in support of the bill. He responded to questions from the committee.

11:07 AM -- Scott Kelley, Colorado Lighting, Inc, a full-service electrical contractor and lighting distributor, spoke in support of the bill stating that his company installs a lot of energy efficient lighting.

11:10 AM -- Keith Arnold, the owner of a two restaurants in Colorado, spoke in support of the bill stating that the energy efficiencies in this bill will assist him in reducing his energy usage.

11:12 AM -- Rex Wilmouth, Colorado Public Interest Research Group (COPIRG), also representing the Consumer Federation of America, spoke in support of the bill.

11:14 AM -- JoAnn Groff, Colorado Retail Council, stated that her organization is not opposing the bill, rather they are neutral on it this year. She added that they are still researching two products that if they sense problems with them, they will bring to the bill sponsor to see if an amendment can be offered later on the bill if needed. Representative Borodkin responded to Ms. Groff and stated that she would be happy to work on amendments if the need arises.

11:19 AM

Representative Borodkin responded to additional questions from the committee. Mr. Geller returned to the table and helped answer some of the questions.


BILL:	HB05-1162
TIME:	11:21:33 AM
MOVED:	Borodkin
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment B). She explained what the amendment does. Representative Knoedler expressed concern with the amendment since he feels that a regulatory entity should be established to deal with these issues rather than requiring the legislature to revisit the issue whenever a change is needed. The amendment passed 10-3.
SECONDED:	Paccione
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	No
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	No
	Liston	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCluskey	No
	Paccione	Yes
	White	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Not Final YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB05-1162
TIME:	11:26:38 AM
MOVED:	Borodkin
MOTION:	Moved to refer HB 1162, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 12-1.
SECONDED:	Paccione
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	No
	Liston	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCluskey	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	White	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:30 AM

The committee recessed.

11:33 AM -- House Bill 05-1061

Representative Merrifield explained the provisions of HB 1061 which addresses landlord and tenant relations. He distributed a proposed amendment (L.002 - Attachment D) and a fact sheet on the bill (Attachment E). He responded to questions from the committee.

The following individuals testified:

11:42 AM -- Professor Christine Cimini, University of Denver School of Law, spoke in support of the bill. She responded to questions from the committee.

11:46 AM -- Tim Herrin, Colorado Apartment Association, spoke in opposition to the provisions of the bill concerning the time frame in which the security deposit must be returned. He responded to questions.

11:58 AM -- Representative Merrifield responded to questions.

11:59 AM

Recess.

12:05 PM

The following individuals testified:

12:05 PM -- Dana Lowry, Colorado Apartment Association and an independent owner of property in Colorado Springs, spoke in opposition to the bill addressing specifically the prohibition on the waiver of common law rights (he used the example of the presence of animals on the premises), the cap on the late fees, and the notice requirements.

12:10 PM -- Dan Levin, Colorado Apartment Association and the Apartment Association of Denver commented on the issue of billing back the utility bill to the resident, the cap on the late fees (he prefers 15 percent versus 10 percent). He responded to questions.

12:17 PM -- Andrew Hamrick, Colorado Apartment Association and representing a law firm that represents landlords, spoke in opposition to the bill. He expressed special concern for the waiver of common law rights that is addressed in the bill. He responded to questions. Representative Carroll discussed what common law is.

12:26 PM -- Dave Klimut, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, spoke in support of the bill.

12:29 PM -- Bob Inman, Jeffco Action Center, spoke in support of the bill, specifically touching on the late charge provision of the bill. He responded to questions.

12:34 PM -- Reverend Peter Morales, representing himself, expressed support for the bill and told a personal story of a problem he encountered with being charged late fees.

12:36 PM -- David Bolin, representing the Atlantis Community and the Center for People with Disabilities (CPWD), spoke in support of the bill especially the security deposit return within 30 days.

12:39 PM -- Leslie Ebert, Colorado Legal Services, spoke in support of the bill. He responded to questions.


BILL:	HB05-1061
TIME:	12:48:36 PM
MOVED:	Marshall
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment D). Ed DeCecco, Office of Legislative Legal Services, helped explain the proposed amendment. Representative White requested that the amendment be severed into two sections. The chair severed the amendment. The committee first voted on severed section 1 of the amendment --- page 1, lines 1-13, and page 2, lines 4-7. Severed section 1 passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Coleman
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Borodkin
	Butcher
	Carroll M.
	Coleman
	Knoedler
	Liston
	Massey
	McCluskey
	Paccione
	White
	Cerbo
	Marshall
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB05-1061
TIME:	12:54:40 PM
MOVED:	Marshall
MOTION:	Moved severed section 2 of the amendment --- page 1, lines 14-17 and page 2 , lines 1-3. There was considerable of discussion about section 2 of the amendment. Representative White moved, seconded by Representative McCluskey, to amend severed section 2 of L.002 to make the maximum late fee 15% instead of 10%. The amendment to severed section 2 passed 7-6.
SECONDED:	Carroll M.
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Borodkin	No
	Butcher	No
	Carroll M.	No
	Coleman	No
	Knoedler	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCluskey	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	White	Yes
	Cerbo	No
	Marshall	No
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB05-1061
TIME:	01:05:58 PM
MOVED:
MOTION:	The motion before the committee was the adoption of severed section 2, as amended by the White/McCluskey amendment. Severed section 2 passed 12-1.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	No
	Knoedler	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCluskey	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	White	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Not Final YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB05-1061
TIME:	01:11:11 PM
MOVED:	McCluskey
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.005.(Attachment F). There was discussion, Representative Merrifield asked for a no vote. Amendment L.005 was defeated on a 6-7 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Coleman
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Borodkin	No
	Butcher	No
	Carroll M.	No
	Coleman	No
	Knoedler	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCluskey	Yes
	Paccione	No
	White	Yes
	Cerbo	No
	Marshall	No
Not Final YES: 6 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB05-1061
TIME:	01:17:33 PM
MOVED:	Paccione
MOTION:	Moved to refer HB 1061, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. Representative Merrifield wrapped up his comments and asked for a favorable vote. The motion passed 8-5.
SECONDED:	Borodkin
		VOTE
	Balmer	No
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	No
	Liston	Yes
	Massey	No
	McCluskey	No
	Paccione	Yes
	White	No
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:19 PM

The committee adjourned.