Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Date:02/14/2006
ATTENDANCE
Time:02:04 PM to 04:01 PM
Bacon
*
Entz
X
Place:SCR 353
Jones
X
Kester
*
This Meeting was called to order by
Tochtrop
X
Senator Hanna
Groff
*
Hanna
X
This Report was prepared by
Raegan Robb
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
SB06-148
SB06-145
SB06-178		Witness Testimony Only
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole


02:05 PM -- Senate Bill 06-148

Senator Tapia, prime sponsor, explained his bill to the committee stating that the bill concerns the funding of community policing programs through grants provided by the Division of Criminal Justice. Senator Tapia explained that this program will increase the number of grants for the purpose of community policing. He informed the committee that this grant program will help local law enforcement agencies implement law enforcement policies in an effort to stop crime on a local level, specifically focusing on communities considered "at risk." Senator Tapia addressed questions from the committee regarding crime prevention within local communities and the grant program that this bill will create. He also informed the committee that his primary witness could not attend the meeting and requested that his bill be taken off the table and calendared for a future committee meeting. SB06-148 was taken off of the table to be re-calendared.


















02:14 PM -- Senate Bill 06-145

Senator Shaffer, prime sponsor, presented his bill to the committee explaining that this bill will allow health care providers to access more federal funds to off-set some costs of treating Medicaid patients that are not, currently, reimbursed. Senator Shaffer explained how the Medicaid and Medicare programs work and that this bill will allow local governmental entities to assess optional fees, up to 6 percent, against private health care service providers. This fee will be collected by local governments to match Medicaid funding to be redistributed to the participating health care service providers. Senator Shaffer elaborated on the funding formula of Medicaid and on how the fees will be matched through federal Medicaid funding and distributed to the participating providers. He explained that both the fees and matching dollars are passed on to each participating provider of each health district based on a formula and on the geographical boundaries of each health district. Senator Shaffer explained that, due to these factors of distribution, these monies may be distributed disproportionately to the health service providers within the health districts. Senator Shaffer referenced a handout from the Colorado Hospital Association 2003 Reference Guide, which listed the amounts of Medicaid reimbursement money that could have been received by the listed health providers, had this bill been enacted in 2003 (Attachment A). Senator Shaffer responded to questions from the committee regarding the federal match for Medicaid costs and hospital oversight of how these Medicaid dollars are spent.


02:32 PM

Don Vansel, Kiesler Vansel, testified in support of SB145 and informed the committee that he helped in drafting SB145, along with other interested parties, to allow private health care providers to be reimbursed through the federal Medicaid program. Mr. Vansel explained that this bill is enabling legislation to help local health providers to benefit from federal Medicaid funding. Mr. Vansel clarified questions relating to revenue from Medicaid, Medicare, Blue Cross, etc. Mr. Vansel responded to questions regarding the fee that is assessed at a local level, net and gross revenues that are addressed in the bill, and the subject of federal caps on Medicaid funding. Discussion ensued between Senator Shaffer and Mr. Vansel regarding the difference between a fee and a tax and clarifying the formula for Medicaid/Medicare hospital payments according to the bill.


02:53 PM

Peter Freytag, Colorado Hospital Association, testified in support of SB145 and spoke to the committee regarding the financial strain placed on Colorado hospitals by Medicaid patients. This bill will maximize funding in order to provide care to Medicaid and uninsured patients (Attachment B).


02:56 PM

John Hicks, President and CEO, Platte Valley Medical Center, testified in support of the bill and spoke to the need for increasing Medicaid funding, especially in rural Colorado hospitals.


02:58 PM

Betsy Murray, Home Care Association of Colorado, testified in support of the bill and stated that this bill will create an opportunity for home care providers.






03:01 PM

Carrie Curtiss, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, testified in support of the bill and spoke to the need for Colorado to maximize its health care system through increasing Medicaid funding.


03:04 PM

Don Vansel and Senator Shaffer responded to questions from the committee regarding information that was not available in Senator Shaffer's handout (Attachment A).

Senator Shaffer entered closing comments on his bill and introduced prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment C).
BILL:SB06-145
TIME: 03:06:59 PM
MOVED:Tochtrop
MOTION:Moved to adopt prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment B). Motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Entz
Jones
Kester
Excused
Tochtrop
Groff
Hanna
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB06-145
TIME: 03:07:55 PM
MOVED:Tochtrop
MOTION:Move SB06-145 to the Committee of the Whole with the recommendation that it be placed on the Consent Calendar. Motion passed on a 6-0-1 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Yes
Entz
Yes
Jones
Yes
Kester
Excused
Tochtrop
Yes
Groff
Yes
Hanna
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS







03:10 PM -- Senate Bill 06-178

Senator Mitchell, prime sponsor, introduced his bill and explained that this bill will allow less populated areas to use a tax credit for the clean-up of polluted land. This tax credit, currently applicable to municipalities or counties with populations over 10,000, was originally intended to reduce sprawl in urban areas. Senator Mitchell spoke to the need to give less populated areas this same tax credit when polluted properties undergo cleanup in rural areas. Senator Mitchell responded to comments and questions from the committee regarding how this tax credit will impact state revenue explaining that funding for this tax credit will stem from Senate Bill 06-001 spending.


03:25 PM

Jim Spaanstra, Environmental Lawyer, Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry Environmental Council, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Spaanstra spoke to the need to remediate polluted sites outside of the metro area. Mr. Spaanstra explained that his bill will allow smaller communities to enjoy a fair chance for reimbursement from environmental clean-ups. He informed the committee that these tax credits can be transferred with the ownership of the property.


03:29 PM

Jessee Silverstein, Executive Director, Colorado Brownsfields Foundation, testified in support of the bill and spoke to the need for remediating polluted sites throughout Colorado, especially rural Colorado. Mr. Silverstein spoke to specific projects that his foundation is currently working on throughout rural Colorado that would benefit from this tax credit. He explained that these types of clean-up projects often become stalled due to feasibility and financing gaps due to clean-up costs. He voiced that this tax credit will help bridge these gaps and allow smaller communities to boost economic development opportunities. Mr. Silverstein responded to questions from the committee regarding the low use of these tax credits since this tax credit was enacted in 2000. Mr. Silverstein and Senator Shaffer responded to questions regarding the transfer of tax credits and why this population threshold (over 10,000) was placed on this tax credit when it was enacted in 2000.


03:46 PM

Eric Bergman, Office of Smart Growth, Department of Local Affairs, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Bergman spoke to the need to remediate polluted properties throughout the state, specifically in rural Colorado, and he distributed DOLA's handbook on Colorado Brownfields (available on the Office of Smart Growth website http://dola.colorado.gov/smartgrowth/brownfields.htm). Mr. Bergman and Senator Mitchell responded to questions and concerns from the committee regarding the need for this tax credit program for polluted properties throughout rural Colorado.














03:54 PM

Senator Mitchell entered closing comments and offered prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment D).
BILL:SB06-178
TIME: 03:55:13 PM
MOVED:Entz
MOTION:Move to adopt prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment D).
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Entz
Jones
Kester
Tochtrop
Groff
Hanna
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB06-178
TIME: 03:56:41 PM
MOVED:Entz
MOTION:Move SB06-178 to the Committee of the Whole. Motion passed on a 4-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
No
Entz
Yes
Jones
Yes
Kester
Yes
Tochtrop
Yes
Groff
No
Hanna
No
Final YES: 4 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


04:01 PM

The meeting adjourned.