House Committee on Transportation & Energy (02/23/2005)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Date:	02/23/2005	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:45 PM to 04:21 PM	Borodkin	X
		Cadman	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Green	X
		Hefley	E
This Meeting was called to order by		Knoedler	X
	Representative Pommer	Larson	X
		Lindstrom	X
This Report was prepared by		Ragsdale	X
	Brad Denning	Welker	*
		McFadyen	*
		Pommer	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB05-1291 HB05-1224 HB05-1290 HB05-1207		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to Committee on Finance Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:47 PM -- House Bill 05-1291

Representative Butcher, prime sponsor, introduced House Bill 05-1291 which requires signatures on petitions seeking to reimpose Public Utility Commission regulation over cooperative electric associations be collected from member-consumers with a specified period.

The following people testified:

01:48 PM -- Ray Clifton, Colorado Rural Electric Association, testified in support of the bill.
01:52 PM -- Tom Holgerson, San Isabel Electric Association, testified in support of the bill.


BILL:	HB05-1291
TIME:	01:53:47 PM
MOVED:	Larson
MOTION:	Referred House Bill 05-1291 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a 8-0-3 vote.
SECONDED:	Knoedler
		VOTE
	Borodkin	Yes
	Cadman	Excused
	Green	Yes
	Hefley	Excused
	Knoedler	Yes
	Larson	Yes
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Ragsdale	Yes
	Welker	Yes
	McFadyen	Excused
	Pommer	Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:56 PM -- House Bill 05-1224

Representative Madden, prime sponsor, explained HB05-1224 which would increase the opportunities for collaboration between the General Assembly and the Public Utilities Commission on regulatory policy. She responded to committee questions.

The following people testified:

02:13 PM -- Bruce Smith, representing the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), testified in opposition to the bill as originally drafted. Representative Madden introduced Amendment L.001 (Attachment A) to the committee. Mr. Smith and Rep. Madden responded to committee questions concerning the amendment and the bill.

02:24 PM -- Ray Clifton, representing the Colorado Rural Electric Association (CREA), and Jim Spiers, also representing CREA and Tri-State Generation and Transmission, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Clifton believes that this bill is unnecessary as the legislature currently has the authority to overrule the PUC when it makes its rules. Mr. Spiers noted that he is concerned about the bill's process of the legislature remanding rules to the PUC. He believes the bill's remand process would create another level of regulatory bureaucracy. Mr. Spiers believes that the public involvement process before the PUC is more exhaustive than many other agencies.

02:45 PM -- David McGann, Qwest, testified in opposition to the bill.

02:50 PM -- Dianne Orf, representing herself, testified in opposition to the bill.

02:56 PM -- Peter Minihan, representing Aquila and ATMOS Energy, testified in opposition to the bill.

03:00 PM -- Ben Davis, representing the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, testified in support of the bill.

03:05 PM -- Leslie Glustrom, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. She provided Attachment B, HB05-1224: Public Utilities Commission Policy with Attachments A through I. She explained her handouts, the price related to various energy sources, and responded to committee questions.

03:21 PM -- Mark Destsky, representing Environment Colorado, testified in support of the bill.

03:28 PM -- Joe Amoroso, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. He doesn't believe the public is getting the best energy deal from the PUC.

03:31 PM -- Alison Burchell, representing herself, geologist, spoke in support of the bill. She noted the number of states that currently elect their PUC commissioners. She related her past experience appearing before the PUC.

03:36 PM -- Dianne Orf, representing herself, testified in opposition to the bill.

03:37 PM

Representative Madden made final comments on the provisions in the bill.


BILL:	HB05-1224
TIME:	03:38:25 PM
MOVED:	McFadyen
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Lindstrom
		VOTE
	Borodkin
	Cadman
	Green
	Hefley	Excused
	Knoedler
	Larson
	Lindstrom
	Ragsdale
	Welker	Excused
	McFadyen	Excused
	Pommer
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB05-1224
TIME:	03:40:17 PM
MOVED:	McFadyen
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment D). The motion passed on a 7-3-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Green
		VOTE
	Borodkin	Yes
	Cadman	No
	Green	Yes
	Hefley	Excused
	Knoedler	No
	Larson	Yes
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Ragsdale	No
	Welker	Yes
	McFadyen	Yes
	Pommer	Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 3 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB05-1224
TIME:	03:43:27 PM
MOVED:	McFadyen
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 05-1224, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 7-3-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Lindstrom
		VOTE
	Borodkin	Yes
	Cadman	No
	Green	Yes
	Hefley	Excused
	Knoedler	No
	Larson	Yes
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Ragsdale	No
	Welker	Yes
	McFadyen	Yes
	Pommer	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 3 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:52 PM -- House Bill 05-1290

Representative Pommer, prime sponsor, introduced HB 05-1290 which would extend the income tax credit for purchasing alternatively fueled vehicles and allow them to be operated on toll highways and in toll lanes without paying tolls. He provided Amendment L.001 (Attachment E). He responded to committee questions.

The following people testified:

03:56 PM -- Susan LeFever, representing the Sierra Club, testified in support of the bill.

04:01 PM -- Tim Jackson, representing the Colorado Auto Dealers, testified in support of the bill.


BILL:	HB05-1290
TIME:	04:03:07 PM
MOVED:	Lindstrom
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L.001. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Pommer
		VOTE
	Borodkin
	Cadman
	Green
	Hefley	Excused
	Knoedler
	Larson
	Lindstrom
	Ragsdale
	Welker
	McFadyen
	Pommer
Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB05-1290
TIME:	04:03:45 PM
MOVED:	Pommer
MOTION:	Moved to the Committee of Finance, as amended. The motion passed on a 9-0-2 vote.
SECONDED:	Green
		VOTE
	Borodkin	Yes
	Cadman	Excused
	Green	Yes
	Hefley	Excused
	Knoedler	Yes
	Larson	Yes
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Ragsdale	Yes
	Welker	Yes
	McFadyen	Yes
	Pommer	Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:07 PM -- House Bill 05-1207

Representative Pommer, prime sponsor, explained House Bill 05-1207. The bill would require the Regional Transportation District (RTD) to negotiate with utility companies to determine which party would be responsible for utility relocation projects created by the transportation plan. Rep. Pommer provided Attachment F, HB 1207 Will Keep FasTracks on Track. He responded to committee questions.

The following people testified:

04:10 PM -- Marla Lien, representing RTD, testified in support of the bill. She noted that the bottom line for the taxpayer is that the project remains on track.

04:13 PM -- Herman Stockinger, representing the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), testified in support of the bill. He offered an update on T-REX, which shares similar project components with FasTracks. Mr. Stockinger noted a previous bill that was similar to this legislation, has kept CDOT's southeast corridor project on time. He responded to committee questions.


BILL:	HB05-1207
TIME:	04:15:51 PM
MOVED:	Pommer
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L.001 (Attachment G). He explained the amendment. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Green
		VOTE
	Borodkin
	Cadman
	Green
	Hefley	Excused
	Knoedler
	Larson
	Lindstrom
	Ragsdale
	Welker
	McFadyen
	Pommer
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB05-1207
TIME:	04:17:39 PM
MOVED:	Pommer
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L.002 (Attachment H). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Knoedler
		VOTE
	Borodkin
	Cadman
	Green
	Hefley	Excused
	Knoedler
	Larson
	Lindstrom
	Ragsdale
	Welker
	McFadyen
	Pommer
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB05-1207
TIME:	04:18:24 PM
MOVED:	Pommer
MOTION:	Referred House Bill 05-1207 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended, with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a 10-0-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Larson
		VOTE
	Borodkin	Yes
	Cadman	Yes
	Green	Yes
	Hefley	Excused
	Knoedler	Yes
	Larson	Yes
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Ragsdale	Yes
	Welker	Yes
	McFadyen	Yes
	Pommer	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS