Date: 02/08/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB06-1116

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion
Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment A). After the c
Moved to Postpone Indefinitely House Bill 06-1116.
Moved to refer House Bill 06-1116, as amended, to 		PASS
TIE
PASS
FAIL

01:52 PM -- House Bill 06-1116

Representative Green, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1116 which prohibits actions to divert traffic onto toll roads from roads for which a toll is not charged.

01:54 PM

Herman Stockinger, legislative liaison for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Stockinger explained the Colorado Tolling Enterprise's (CTE) policy and process for planning and creating toll roads. Mr. Stockinger stated that the language in House Bill 06-1116 is too broad, that the bill would make it difficult for the CTE to sell bonds, and that CDOT does not have a policy of intentionally creating situations to divert traffic to toll roads.

02:02 PM

JJ Ament, representing Citigroup, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Ament stated that the language in the legislation is too broad. Responding to questions from members, Mr. Ament did not know if other states have noncompete agreements between public highways and toll roads.

2:11 PM

Tom Atkins, representing the nonprofit group Citizens Involved in the Northwest Quadrant (CINQ), spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Atkins stated that the purpose of noncompete agreements is for the benefit of bondholders and bond sellers and to force highway users to use toll roads. Members asked Mr. Atkins for copies of the noncompete agreements he referenced in his testimony. Copies were disseminated to members of the committee later in the hearing. A copy is available on file at the Legislative Council and the State Archives.

02:23 PM

Richard Sugg, resident of Golden and representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Sugg discussed the Northwest Corridor Environmental Impact Statement Study. Mr. Sugg stated that CDOT intentionally does not improve highways that are competitive with toll roads.

02:35 PM

Ms. Lisa Fenner, representing RBC Capital Markets, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Fenner stated that there are other states, such as Texas, California, and Florida, that have noncompete agreements between public highways and toll roads. Responding to questions from members, Ms. Fenner explained how noncompete agreements work in other states.

02:43 PM

Jim Smith, a resident of Golden and representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Smith stated that CDOT already has "de facto" noncompete agreements in place.

02:54 PM

Mike Johnson, of the law firm Kutak Rock, LLP and bond council for CDOT and the CTE, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Johnson stated that there are many actions that CDOT can take that can be construed as taking action to divert traffic to a toll road. Mr. Johnson stated that it would be difficult to objectively determine CDOT's intent in a court of law. Mr. Johnson believes the legislation is too broad and ambiguous and could face the possibility of litigation in court.

03:06 PM

Robin Wiesner, resident of Superior and representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Wiesner discussed her experience driving on I-70 and using the E-470 toll road. Ms. Wiesner talked about the class discrepancies between those who can afford to use toll roads, which she stated are relatively free of traffic, and those who use public highways, which she described as congested and gridlocked during rush hours.

03:15 PM

James Sheridan, a resident of Golden and representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Sheridan compared toll roads in the northeast part of the country to toll roads in Colorado. Mr. Sheridan stated that residents of Colorado will do anything to avoid toll roads. He further stated that if toll roads did not exist local and state government would be more apt to fund and maintain existing public highways.

03:23 PM

Wendy Norris, resident of Fort Collins and representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Norris stated that noncompete agreements discourage competition.

03:30 PM

Tom Hoffman, resident of Golden and representing the group Friends of the Foothills, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Hoffman stated he opposes noncompete agreements and believes the bill protects public interests rather than private interests.

03:34 PM

Rob Medina, business owner representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Medina stated he supports economic development and public-private partnerships, but believes that noncompete agreements are a subsidy for private investors because the agreements intentionally create congestion and force highway users to use toll roads.

03:38 PM

Edie Bryan, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Bryan stated that noncompete agreements create false competition.

03:40 PM

Sharon Friedman, resident of Golden representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Friedman discussed public service and stated that placing the interests of bondholders in conflict with the interests of the public makes it hard for public servants to do their jobs.
BILL:HB06-1116
TIME: 03:43:57 PM
MOVED:Green
MOTION:Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment A). After the committee discussion about amendment, Representative Green withdrew amendment L.002. The committee did not take action on the amendment.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Borodkin
Green
Hefley
Knoedler
Larson
Lindstrom
Ragsdale
Sullivan
Welker
McFadyen
Pommer
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: WITHDREW
BILL:HB06-1116
TIME: 03:55:43 PM
MOVED:Green
MOTION:Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion passed 6-5.
SECONDED:McFadyen
VOTE
Borodkin
Yes
Green
Yes
Hefley
Yes
Knoedler
No
Larson
No
Lindstrom
Yes
Ragsdale
No
Sullivan
No
Welker
No
McFadyen
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Not Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



03:58 PM

Representative Green gave her closing statements.

BILL:HB06-1116
TIME: 03:58:23 PM
MOVED:Green
MOTION:Moved to refer House Bill 06-1116, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed 4-7.
SECONDED:McFadyen
VOTE
Borodkin
Yes
Green
Yes
Hefley
No
Knoedler
No
Larson
No
Lindstrom
No
Ragsdale
No
Sullivan
No
Welker
No
McFadyen
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Not Final YES: 4 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:HB06-1116
TIME: 04:09:21 PM
MOVED:Larson
MOTION:Moved to Postpone Indefinitely House Bill 06-1116. The motion passed 7-4.
SECONDED:Sullivan
VOTE
Borodkin
No
Green
No
Hefley
Yes
Knoedler
Yes
Larson
Yes
Lindstrom
Yes
Ragsdale
Yes
Sullivan
Yes
Welker
Yes
McFadyen
No
Pommer
No
Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS