Date: 03/16/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-119

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer SB06-119 to the Committee of the Whole. ThePASS



02:13 PM -- Senate Bill 06-119

Representative Garcia, prime sponsor, reviewed the provisions of Senate Bill 06-119, concerning an increase in the aggregate outstanding principal amount of bonds that may be secured by the state's moral obligation to the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority. He described the current state moral obligation protection mechanisms and distributed a hand-out (Attachment I).


02:21 PM

The following persons testified:

02:21 PM -- JoAnn Soker, representing the Colorado Cultural Educational and Facilities Authority, indicated that she was available as a resource and to respond to questions. She discussed the role of the authority in issuing bonds for eligible charter schools and the limit that is being addressed in the bill. Ms. Soker responded to questions about charter schools' ability to achieve a qualifying rating and the national agencies that review the financial picture of entities.

02:26 PM -- Ben Stein, Deputy State Treasurer, testified in support of the bill and described the current state of Colorado charter school bonds. He utilized a chart that was distributed to the committee members (Attachment J). The chart indicated which charter schools are currently participating in the moral obligation program. He responded to questions about charter schools that have issued bonds outside of the program. Representative King commented on charter schools in the Colorado Springs area.

02:31 PM -- Jason Guerrero, representing Cesar Chavez Academy in Pueblo School District, testified to the needs of his school and indicated that Cesar Chavez Academy is in the process of seeking to qualify for bonding.

02:34 PM -- Russell Caldwell, representing D.A. Davidson, testified in favor of the bill and provided some history and background on the assistance given to qualified charter schools through the moral obligation program. He said that the program helps equalize the cost of capital for charter schools.
BILL:SB06-119
TIME: 02:40:47 PM
MOVED:Benefield
MOTION:Refer SB06-119 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 10-2-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:McKinley
VOTE
Benefield
Yes
King
Yes
Larson
Excused
Massey
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
Yes
Pommer
No
Rose
Yes
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Yes
Merrifield
No
Final YES: 10 NO: 2 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS