House Committee on Local Government (04/04/2006)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Date:	04/04/2006	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:32 PM to 02:58 PM	Berens	X
		Cerbo	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Curry	X
		Decker	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Massey	X
	Representative Hodge	Merrifield	X
		Soper	*
This Report was prepared by		Stafford	X
	Carl Jarrett	Stengel	X
		Lindstrom	X
		Hodge	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB06-068 SB06-047 SB06-052		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to Finance Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:33 PM -- Senate Bill 06-068

Representative Frangas, bill sponsor, re-introduced the bill to the committee (for prior testimony and discussion on the bill, see Staff Summary of Meeting, dated March 21, 2006). Representative Frangas explained the provisions of prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment A) that were drafted in response to testimony received at the prior hearing. The amendment strikes a provision that allows local governments to adopt ordinances or resolutions specifying the terms and conditions for the transfer of a liquor license.

01:37 PM

Pete Meersman, Colorado Restaurant Association, spoke in support of the proposed amendment. He indicated he is not sure that, as amended, the bill does anything not currently allowed in regulations.

Representative Frangas responded that the regulatory process is arbitrary and the statutory process will be statutory and non-arbitrary.

01:42 PM

Councilman Rick Garcia, Denver City Council, spoke in support of the bill. Councilman Garcia agreed with prior testimony regarding the effect of the bill as amended noting it provides local licensing authorities assistance in deciding whether or not to approve a license transfer. He agreed that current licensing codes are a bit vague and the bill as amended would provide more direction.

Committee members discussed the need for and the effect of the bill.

01:51 PM

Richard Kisseberth, Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke to the association's role in notifying neighbors of applications for and changes in liquor licenses. He noted that under current law, the only basis on which community organizations can challenge the transfer of a license is the moral character of the transferee and that organizations do not feel qualified to make such a judgment. He asked for some kind of assurance that such organizations be able to provide input into transfer applications based on some factor other than moral character without necessitating additional hearings and indicated the bill appears to do that.

01:57 PM

Judy Montero, Denver City Council, spoke in support of the bill as amended by the proposed amendment.

01:59 PM

Kevin Bommer, Colorado Municipal League, spoke in support of the bill. He noted that Colorado Counties, Inc. also supports the bill. In response to a committee question regarding the scope of the issue given that the testimony has been limited to individuals from the City and County of Denver, Mr. Bommer noted that other municipalities have raised issues regarding the factors to be considered in liquor license transfers. He responded to testimony at the prior hearing regarding how the bill might affect the sale of a property and noted that the transfer hearing process would not take place until after the property had already been sold. In response to an additional question regarding the language "ANY ANALOGOUS SUCCESSOR RULE," Mr. Bommer indicated this is standard language that prevents rules from being found null and void if they are amended and the citations change in the future.


BILL:	SB06-068
TIME:	02:10:08 PM
MOVED:	Lindstrom
MOTION:	Prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment A). The motion carried without objection.
SECONDED:	Merrifield
		VOTE
	Berens
	Cerbo
	Curry
	Decker
	Massey
	Merrifield
	Soper
	Stafford
	Stengel
	Lindstrom
	Hodge
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

02:10 PM

Representative Frangas provided closing comments on the bill.


BILL:	SB06-068
TIME:	02:12:47 PM
MOVED:	Cerbo
MOTION:	Refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on an 8-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Lindstrom
		VOTE
	Berens	No
	Cerbo	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Decker	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Stafford	No
	Stengel	No
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:14 PM -- Senate Bill 06-047

Representative Riesberg, bill sponsor, explained the history of SB 06-047 and the provisions of the bill that allow voters to increase sales taxes to create health care service districts.

02:18 PM

Carrie Curtiss, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, spoke in support of the bill. She spoke to the degree to which consumers in Colorado lack access to health care and to the effects of the uninsured on consumers and providers. She spoke to the bill's provisions that allow local communities to decide whether to, and how much to dedicate in funding towards health care and where those resources will be directed.

02:22 PM

Janet Stephens, Colorado Health and Hospital Association, spoke in support of the bill. She spoke to the importance of the bill to access to health care in both rural and urban areas of the state.

02:25 PM

Chris Howes, Colorado Retail Council, responded to a committee question regarding the bill's requirement that a proposed district include entire municipalities or counties, noting that originally, the bill allowed portions of municipalities and counties to be included in a proposed district. He also indicted that the number of taxing districts in the state now totals more than 260.

02:34 PM

Representative Riesberg provided closing comments on the bill.


BILL:	SB06-047
TIME:	02:35:25 PM
MOVED:	Merrifield
MOTION:	Refer the bill to the Committee on Finance. The motion carried on an 8-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Soper
		VOTE
	Berens	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Decker	No
	Massey	No
	Merrifield	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Stafford	Yes
	Stengel	No
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:36 PM -- Senate Bill 06-052

Representative White, bill sponsor, explained the provisions of SB 06-052 to exempt entities from the current statutory limit on sales taxes to be collected and used for preservation of open space and parks. He spoke to the need for funding sources for preservation of open spaces and parks and provided information on a similar bill from last legislative session that was vetoed by the governor. He explained the differences between SB 06-052 and last year's bill.

02:40 PM

Frank Lancaster, Larimer County, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke to the permissive nature of the bill in giving the voters the say in whether to increase the sales tax beyond the current limit and to the changes from last year's bill.

02:41 PM

Kevin Tanski, Teller County, spoke in support of the bill. He read a statement from the Teller County Commission (Attachment B). He spoke to current open space and recreation projects in Teller County and to the need for residents to be able to choose to fund additional preservation efforts.

In response to a committee comment, Representative White indicated that while the bill does not specifically address "agricultural land," it could be included in the term "open space." He indicated his willingness to work to clarify the issue and to ensure that agricultural land that does fall under the bill's provisions remain productive as opposed to inactive. Mr. Tanski noted that some agricultural land is included in an area that was acquired for preservation and that those agricultural lands are producing lands.

02:54 PM

David Robotham, Trust for Public Land, spoke in support of the bill.

02:56 PM

Representative White provided closing comments on the bill.


BILL:	SB06-052
TIME:	02:56:54 PM
MOVED:	Merrifield
MOTION:	Refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on a 7-4 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Curry
		VOTE
	Berens	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Decker	No
	Massey	No
	Merrifield	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Stafford	No
	Stengel	No
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:58 PM

The meeting adjourned.