House Committee on Local Government (01/24/2006)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Date:	01/24/2006	ATTENDANCE

Time:	02:03 PM to 02:50 PM	Berens	X
		Cerbo	*
Place:	HCR 0112	Curry	X
		Decker	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Massey	X
	Representative Hodge	May M.	X
		Merrifield	X
This Report was prepared by		Soper	X
	Carl Jarrett	Stafford	X
		Lindstrom	X
		Hodge	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB06-1087 HB06-1059 HB06-1068		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

02:04 PM -- House Bill 06-1087

Representative Larson and Representative Rose provided an explanation of the provisions of HB 06-1087 to change the classification of Montezuma County for the purpose of increasing the salaries of elected county personnel (Attachments A, B, and C). Representative Larson provided an overview of the demographics of Montezuma County.

02:07 PM

Dewayne Findley, Montezuma County Commission, spoke in support of the bill. He explained some of the reasons for the increase in the classification level including increased population and increased property assessment values. He spoke to the resolution adopted by the county commission in support of the increase in the county classification level. Mr. Findley responded to committee questions regarding the amount of time county commissioners spend on their jobs.

02:13 PM

Mark Vanderpool, Montezuma County Assessor, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke to the assessed value figures he put together for Attachment B and he spoke to the increased level of new construction in Montezuma and to the increased land values in the county.

Representative Larson responded to a committee question regarding the need for the statutory provision that sets county officials' salaries as opposed to allowing county commissions to set their own officials' salaries.

Representative Larson and Representative Rose provided closing comments on the bill. Representative Larson spoke to county-wide support for the bill and Representative Rose spoke to the increased population in Montezuma County. Representative Larson and Representative Rose responded to a committee question regarding the nature of the growth in Montezuma County.


BILL:	HB06-1087
TIME:	02:21:37 PM
MOVED:	Stafford
MOTION:	Refer HB 06-1087 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on an 11-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Curry
		VOTE
	Berens	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Decker	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	May M.	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Stafford	Yes
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:23 PM -- House Bill 06-1059

Representative Riesberg, bill sponsor, provided an explanation of the bill's provisions making changes to the Fire and Police Pension Association's (FPPA) defined benefit system reporting requirements. The bill clarifies reporting requirements in order to conform to Internal Revenue Service requirements. The bill also changes the classification of FPPA assets by separating these assets into investment funds and trust funds for more efficient financial reporting.

02:29 PM

Kevin Lindahl, Fire and Police Pension Association, spoke in support of the bill and was available for questions.


BILL:	HB06-1059
TIME:	02:30:25 PM
MOVED:	Soper
MOTION:	Refer HB 06-1059 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on a 10-0-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Cerbo
		VOTE
	Berens	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Decker	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	May M.	Yes
	Merrifield	Excused
	Soper	Yes
	Stafford	Yes
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:33 PM -- House Bill 06-1068

Representative Lindstrom, bill sponsor, provided an explanation of the provisions of HB 1068 that make additional changes to the FPPA system. This bill addresses the FPPA's Social Security Supplemental plans. The bill changes the existing plan into a more modern and usable plan. The current plan only has 60 members enrolled compared to the more than 11,000 members participating in all FPPA plans. In response to a committee question, Representative Lindstrom clarified that participation in the new plan will be optional.

02:38 PM

Mr. Lindahl spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions regarding the operation of the existing Social Security Supplemental plan. He explained the differences in the contribution and benefit rates between the existing and proposed plans. He also explained the calculation of benefits under the old plan compared to the new plan if approved. In response to a committee question, Mr. Lindahl explained that the new plan would only be available to individuals employed by a department currently paying Social Security taxes.

Representative Lindstrom provided closing comments on the bill.


BILL:	HB06-1068
TIME:	02:47:31 PM
MOVED:	Lindstrom
MOTION:	Prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The motion carried without objection.
SECONDED:	Berens
		VOTE
	Berens
	Cerbo
	Curry
	Decker
	Massey
	May M.
	Merrifield
	Soper
	Stafford
	Lindstrom
	Hodge
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB06-1068
TIME:	02:49:04 PM
MOVED:	Lindstrom
MOTION:	Refer HB 06-1068, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on a 10-0-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Decker
		VOTE
	Berens	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Curry	Yes
	Decker	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	May M.	Yes
	Merrifield	Excused
	Soper	Yes
	Stafford	Yes
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:50 PM

The meeting was adjourned.