Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES & ENERGY
Date:02/16/2005
ATTENDANCE
Time:09:51 AM to 11:54 AM
Entz
X
Groff
X
Place:SCR 353
Hillman
X
Taylor
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Tochtrop
X
Senator Isgar
Grossman
X
Isgar
X
This Report was prepared by
Timothy Taylor
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
SB05-055
SB05-046
SB05-143		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Postponed Indefinitely
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole


09:52 AM -- Senate Bill 05-055

Senator Johnson gave an overview of the bill concerning limited distribution of raw milk, and described amendment L.009, a strike below the enacting clause amendment, that he would he was going to offer for the bill. Testimony on this bill was heard on January 20, 2005.


09:54 AM

Senator Grossman said that he thought section 1, part 5, page 3 of amendment L.009 is unconstitutional, and asked what Senator Johnson's opinion was about striking that language from the bill. Senator Johnson said that would be acceptable. Senator Hillman noted that individuals who had previously testified on this bill had expressed strong feelings about not liking pasteurized milk, and that should be considered for the bill.


09:58 AM

Senator Isgar asked whether testing requirements for raw milk were addressed in the bill. Senator Johnson said there is nothing in the bill requiring that, but that dairies distributing raw milk do test the milk, and disclose that to purchasers of the milk.




09:59 AM

Senator Entz asked about the bill addressing Grade A classification for raw milk. Senator Johnson said that was addressed in other drafted amendments for the bill, but felt it was beyond the scope of the bill at this time.
BILL:SB05-055
TIME: 10:00:39 AM
MOVED:Entz
MOTION:Moved to refer SB 05-055, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 7-0 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Entz
Yes
Groff
Yes
Hillman
Yes
Taylor
Yes
Tochtrop
Yes
Grossman
Yes
Isgar
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
BILL:SB05-055
TIME: 10:00:49 AM
MOVED:Entz
MOTION:Moved amendment L.009 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Entz
Groff
Hillman
Taylor
Tochtrop
Grossman
Isgar
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB05-055
TIME: 10:01:26 AM
MOVED:Hillman
MOTION:Moved to amend L.009, page 3, line 3, strike "disparages pasteurized milk," and substitute "implies approval or endorsement by the Colorado Department of Public Health," and to strike "dairy person" anywhere it is used in the bill. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Entz
Groff
Hillman
Taylor
Tochtrop
Grossman
Isgar
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


10:06 AM

Senator Isgar recessed the meeting.


10:09 AM

Senator Isgar called the meeting back to order.


10:10 AM -- Senate Bill 05-046

Senator Evans gave an overview of the bill that would create a Department of Water Resources, which would include the Office of the State Engineer, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and the Water Quality Control Commission, and what the new department's responsibilities would be.


10:15 AM

Senator Isgar asked whether there would be a need for additional staff if the new water department were created. Senator Evans said he thought additional staff would not be necessary, and reiterated what he viewed as the need for the creation of the new department.




10:19 AM

Senator Isgar stated that the general reaction from the water community in the state regarding this bill is that it would result in a major change, which would occur without much discussion or a consensus on the matter. Senator Evans concurred, and said that change happens slowly in the water community in Colorado. He acknowledged that the time is not right for the bill. Senator Isgar said the issue could be further considered during the interim. Senator Evans said he would not mind if the bill was postponed indefinitely if the issue was considered during the interim, and if he could provide input on that.
BILL:SB05-046
TIME: 10:24:14 AM
MOVED:Entz
MOTION:Moved to postpone indefinitely SB 05-046. The motion passed on a 6-0-1 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Entz
Yes
Groff
Excused
Hillman
Yes
Taylor
Yes
Tochtrop
Yes
Grossman
Yes
Isgar
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


10:31 AM -- Senate Bill 05-143

Senator Veiga gave an overview of the bill concerning implementation of the initiated measure calling for renewable energy standards.


10:34 AM

Senator Entz noted that he was going to offer an amendment, L.005 (Attachment E), that would exempt seasonal agricultural customers from paying an increased utility retail rate or surcharge. Senator Veiga indicated she was not in favor of the amendment. Senator Entz said that Amendment 37 (Renewable Energy Initiative) that passed last November was supported more by urbanites than the rural/agriculture community, yet the law was going to have a significant impact on the agriculture community. Senator Veiga said it did not matter who supported Amendment 37, but, rather, that it passed.



The following individuals testified:

10:36 AM -- Ray Clifton, Colorado Rural Electric Association (CREA), testified in favor of the bill.


10:43 AM

Senator Isgar asked who the one percent annual cap on retail utility rates would apply to, as noted in amendment L.006 (Attachment C), which was distributed to the committee. Mr. Clifton responded that, as he understands it, the cap would apply to all classes of retail customers. Senator Hillman asked who would cover administrative costs exceeding the one percent cap. Mr. Clifton said that it would have to be absorbed by the utility.


10:45 AM

Senator Hillman asked for clarification of the bill on page 7, line 2, addressing wholesale customers. Mr. Clifton responded.


10:48 AM

Senator Entz said he thought the one percent issue was clear, and that the retail customer would be paying the excess over that cap. Mr. Clifton said they do support agricultural customers, as that is a large part of their customer base, but that Senator Entz's amendment, L.005, has not achieved consensus from the various parties that were consulted on the implementation of Amendment 37.

10:51 AM -- Rick Gilliam of Western Resource Advocates, representing Coloradans for Clean Energy, and the main drafter of Amendment 37, testified in favor of the bill. He addressed some of Senator Entz's concerns on the bill, and spoke about the economic benefits the bill would bring to rural Colorado, through things such as wind power generation.


10:54 AM

Senator Entz said that there is no sure determination of what the rate increase will be when Amendment 37 is implemented, though Mr. Gilliam had indicated it would be below one percent. Mr. Gilliam said he thought the bill would not have a major impact on seasonal agricultural customers. Senator Veiga provided additional input on the one percent cap.


10:59 AM -- Robert Hix, Xcel Energy, testified in favor of the bill.

11:00 AM -- Richard Skorman, Vice-Mayor of Colorado Springs, and representing Colorado Springs Utilities, testified in favor of the bill.

11:05 AM -- Dave Lock, Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities (CAMU), testified in favor of the bill.

11:08 AM -- Rick Fanyo, representing Rocky Mountain Steel, and the Colorado Mining Association, testified in favor of the bill with amendment L.006.


11:12 AM

Senator Entz asked how a one percent utility rate increase would affect the Pueblo steel mill. Mr. Fanyo responded that it would increase costs for the mill by $300,000 a year.


11:17 AM

Senator Taylor asked what a seasonal agricultural customer would likely pay with the increased utility rates. Mr. Fanyo responded that he did not know what that would be, but that he did know that it would be no more than one percent of one's annual utility bill, under amendment L.006.

11:21 AM -- Dick Soash, Phelps Dodge Corporation, testified in favor of amendment L.006. He said, based on his research, that the rate increase for seasonal agricultural customers with the one percent cap would likely be, on average, an increase of fourteen dollars per month.


11:24 AM

Senator Veiga said that utilities could opt-out seasonal agricultural customers from any rate increase if they chose to do so.

11:27 AM -- Kent Singer, general counsel for CREA, testified regarding the one percent cap issue, and what that language is intended to do.

11:31 AM -- Matt Baker, Environment Colorado, said he would be willing to look at amendment L.005, and speak with Senator Entz about it. He also provided additional input on the one percent cap issue.

11:35 AM -- Mr. Clifton commented that exempting seasonal agricultural customers from a rate increase could be done, but that those costs would still have to be passed on somewhere else, and that decisions will have to be made by utilities on how to allocate those costs.




11:40 AM

Senator Veiga recommended approval of amendments L.002 (Attachment D), L.003 (Attachment B), and L.006 (Attachment C), but not L.005 (Attachment E).
BILL:SB05-143
TIME: 11:41:03 AM
MOVED:Grossman
MOTION:Moved to refer SB 05-143, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 7-0 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Entz
Yes
Groff
Yes
Hillman
Yes
Taylor
Yes
Tochtrop
Yes
Grossman
Yes
Isgar
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
BILL:SB05-143
TIME: 11:41:52 AM
MOVED:Entz
MOTION:Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Entz
Groff
Hillman
Taylor
Tochtrop
Grossman
Isgar
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:SB05-143
TIME: 11:42:21 AM
MOVED:Taylor
MOTION:Moved amendment L.006 (Attachment C), and insert "of the total electric bill" after "one percent" on line 4 of the amendment. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Entz
Groff
Hillman
Taylor
Tochtrop
Grossman
Isgar
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB05-143
TIME: 11:44:36 AM
MOVED:Entz
MOTION:Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Entz
Groff
Hillman
Taylor
Tochtrop
Grossman
Isgar
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:SB05-143
TIME: 11:45:16 AM
MOVED:Entz
MOTION:Moved amendment L.005 (Attachment E). The motion failed on a 4-3 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Entz
Yes
Groff
No
Hillman
Yes
Taylor
Yes
Tochtrop
No
Grossman
No
Isgar
No
Not Final YES: 3 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


11:54 AM

The meeting was adjourned.