Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Date:03/28/2006
ATTENDANCE
Time:03:38 PM to 04:23 PM
Brophy
X
Shaffer
*
Place:SCR 354
Taylor
X
Teck
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Tupa
*
Senator Sandoval
Veiga
X
Sandoval
X
This Report was prepared by
Jason Schrock
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB06-1310
SB06-216		Referred to Appropriations
Amended, Referred to Appropriations


03:39 PM -- House Bill 06-1310

Senator Sandoval, chair, called the meeting to order. Senator Owen, prime sponsor, explained the provisions of HB 06-1310, a Joint Budget Committee (JBC) bill that makes a number of changes to the distribution of money from the Tobacco Litigation Settlement Cash Fund (TLSCF). He indicated that the bill would eliminate supplemental adjustments for several small programs, reduce the likelihood of supplemental adjustments for several others, and eliminate "double" appropriations by substituting transfers for appropriations. He requested that the bill be referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee where the bill can sit until the JBC finds out the actual amount of tobacco settlement payments that the state will receive in about mid-April..

Senator Teck asked about the process in which the state receives the settlement payments and how it determines the amount to appropriate for programs.

The following person testified on the bill:

03:44 PM -- Mr. Steve Allen, JBC staff, discussed the process in which the state receives tobacco settlement money and appropriates the money. He indicated that traditionally the state does not know its actual payments until after the Long Bill is introduced and then adjustments to appropriations have to be made.











BILL:HB06-1310
TIME: 03:46:14 PM
MOVED:Taylor
MOTION:Motion to refer HB 06-1310 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 7 - 0 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Brophy
Yes
Shaffer
Yes
Taylor
Yes
Teck
Yes
Tupa
Yes
Veiga
Yes
Sandoval
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


03:48 PM -- Senate Bill 06-216

Senator Bacon, prime sponsor, explained the provisions of SB 06-216, a bill that was recommended by the Capital Development Committee that transfers $100 million from the state General Fund to the Capital Construction Fund on July 1 of each year for FY 2006-07, FY 2007-08, and FY 2008-09. Amendment L.001 (Attachment A) would amend the bill so that the transfer would occur for FY 2007-08 and FY 2009-10 only. He distributed and discussed an Legislative Council Staff memorandum that provides information on capital and controlled maintenance needs and available revenue (Attachment B). He indicated that the state's unfunded capital needs total $1.5 billion over the next five fiscal years. He also commented on how the state used to make annual transfers to the Capital Construction Fund before the recession.

Senator Teck asked about the funding need for Level 1 and Level 2 priority controlled maintenance projects and questioned the bill's impact on the Highway User's Tax Fund (HUTF). In response to Senator Taylor, Senator Bacon indicated that there is no estimated excess General Fund reserve after FY 2005-06.

The following people testified on the bill:

04:01 PM -- Mr. Herman Stockinger, Colorado Department of Transportation, spoke in opposition to the bill. He discussed the impact of the reduction of the General Fund on highway funding and the need for increased transportation spending.

Senator Shaffer discussed his frustration with always hearing about the extremely large amount of money needed for capital construction and transportation. He commented on the need to prioritize funding needs and develop a plan to fund what is needed. Senator Bacon stated that the state does have a prioritized plan for capital construction and controlled maintenance needs.

04:08 PM -- Mr. David Foster, Colorado Contractors Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. He acknowledged the state's capital construction and controlled maintenance needs, but thought that the bill created too much of a negative impact on transportation funding. He thought that the state should debate funding for capital construction each year, rather than schedule transfers for future years. He distributed revenue forecasts by the Office of State Planning and Budgeting and the Legislative Council Staff (Attachment C).





The committee discussed whether the SB97-1 transfer is a funding decision that is automatic each year. Senator Teck commented that capital construction funding always tends to be a lower priority and reminded the committee that transportation gets money from the federal government and there is much less revenue for capital construction.

04:16 PM -- Senator Bacon discussed amendment L.001 and closed by discussing the need for increased capital construction and controlled maintenance funding. He commented on the potential problems caused by delaying construction and maintenance.

Senator Taylor commented on the need for transportation funding. Senator Bacon acknowledged the funding needs of both capital construction and transportation and stated that his bill represented a happy medium.

Senator Sandoval discussed how she had learned of the disrepair of higher education buildings when she was on Colorado State University Board. Senator Bacon indicated that both private sources and fee increases are increasingly being used for projects due to the lack of state funding.
BILL:SB06-216
TIME: 04:21:47 PM
MOVED:Teck
MOTION:Motion to adopt L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Brophy
Shaffer
Taylor
Teck
Tupa
Veiga
Sandoval
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection





















BILL:SB06-216
TIME: 04:22:10 PM
MOVED:Teck
MOTION:Motion to refer SB 06-216, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 5 - 2 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Brophy
No
Shaffer
Yes
Taylor
No
Teck
Yes
Tupa
Yes
Veiga
Yes
Sandoval
Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


04:23 PM

The committee recessed.