Bill Summary for Bill Number SB06-229

Date: 05/03/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-229

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved a conceptual amendment that would require be Refer Senate Bill 06-229, as amended, to the Commi	Pass Without Objection PASS

05:20 PM -- Senate Bill 06-229 - Concerning the Henderson Underground Science & Engineering Project (HUSEP)

Representative Plant, prime sponsor, explained that Senate Bill 06-229 would require the General Assembly to appropriate a total of $20 million from the operational account of the severance tax trust fund over a 5-year period beginning in FY 2007-08, to pay the state's share of the costs related to the construction and operation of a national deep underground science and engineering laboratory (DUSEL) facility that will house a visitor's center, educational resources, and DUSEL administrative offices. This requirement is conditional upon the National Science Foundation awarding DUSEL to the Henderson Mine near Empire.

The following persons testified:

05:26 PM -- Lt. Governor Jane Norton, State Advisory Commission on HUSEP, testified in support of the legislation and discussed the events that led to the legislation. The Lt. Governor explained that the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) proposed at the Henderson Mine near Empire, Colorado, is a collaboration of industry, higher education, state and local officials, and community members. During the past few decades, large-scale underground physics laboratories in Canada, Europe, and Japan have made major discoveries in science including neutrino physics. But this is not the case for U.S. laboratories. The Henderson DUSEL would allow U.S. scientists and engineers to re-establish leadership in underground science and engineering. The DUSEL at Henderson would provide a bold and comprehensive science and engineering program for fundamental discoveries with far reaching benefits in physics, geoscience, and bioscience. The Lt. Governor urged committee members to vote for the legislation. A packet of materials on DUSEL was distributed to committee members (Attachment A).

05:29 PM -- Mr. Steve Schultz, Arapahoe Project, testified in support of the measure and distributed a handout from the Arapaho Project (Attachment B). Mr. Schultz explained that the Arapaho Project, Clear Creek and Grand counties, and members of HUSEP strongly believe the Henderson Mine is the ideal site for the National Science Foundation's proposed Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL). A high profile national laboratory like DUSEL will directly benefit Clear Creek County and the State of Colorado. Recent studies by the Office of Economic Development and International Trade indicate a direct and secondary benefit to Clear Creek County of $99 million over a ten year period and $364 million to the state over the same time period. Please vote for the proposal.

05:34 PM -- Mr. Jim Cole, Colorado School of Mines, testified in support of the legislation.

05:34 PM -- Mr. Russ George, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, testified in support of the legislation and endorsed the project. Mr. George closed by saying that the severance tax is an appropriate funding source for this project. The DUSEL project will enable Colorado to become an international leader in science.


BILL:	SB06-229
TIME:	05:39:41 PM
MOVED:	Judd
MOTION:	Moved a conceptual amendment that would require beginning FY 2007-08, a two year reserve in the operational account of the Severance Tax Fund to provide funding under the legislation. The motion passed without objection by those members present.
SECONDED:	Harvey
		VOTE
	Benefield
	Cloer
	Crane
	Frangas
	Garcia
	Harvey
	Jahn
	Kerr
	Marshall
	Massey
	McCluskey
	Judd
	Vigil
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB06-229
TIME:	05:41:17 PM
MOVED:	Kerr
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 06-229, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 12-0-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Massey
		VOTE
	Benefield	Yes
	Cloer	Yes
	Crane	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Jahn	Yes
	Kerr	Yes
	Marshall	Excused
	Massey	Yes
	McCluskey	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS