Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB05-061

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Votes:
Action Taken:
Moved a conceptual amendment after line 18, page,
Moved to refer SB 05-061 to the Committee of the W		FAIL
PASS



03:11 PM -- Senate Bill 05-061

Representative Ragsdale, prime sponsor, explained Senate Bill 05-061 which would reduce the minimum percentage of vehicular service, from 50 percent to 35 percent, provided by qualified private businesses within the Regional Transportation District (RTD). She responded to committee questions.

The following people testified:

03:15 PM -- Doug Gies, Laidlaw Transit Services (Laidlaw), one of the private contractors providing services to RTD, testified in opposition to the bill. He indicated that he would be providing a handout in the future to the committee about the cost efficiencies of privatization.

03:29 PM -- Bob Briggs, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Briggs indicated that he originally carried the bill to increase the minimum percentage of vehicular service to 50 percent. He believes privatization reduces RTD's operating costs. Former Representative Briggs read a letter (Attachment C) to the committee. He responded to committee questions.

03:35 PM

Rep. Pommer asked Mr. Briggs why other transit agencies around the state don't have similar legislation pertaining to their percentage of privatization. Mr. Briggs indicated that he did not know the answer to this question, other than the district may have been created by the state legislature. Mr. Briggs continued to respond to questions.

03:42 PM -- Bill Jones, representing the Amalgamated Transit Union, general counsel, testified in support of the bill. He indicated that Laidlaw is the most responsible private contractor for RTD. Some of the other private companies have greater maintenance issues with their own fleets. He provided a handout of headlines (Attachment D) related to the problems created by requiring RTD to meet a minimum percentage of 50 percent. He commented on the RTD cost model. He responded to committee questions.

04:06 PM

Rep. Green asked about the costs of health care for RTD employees.

04:09 PM -- Doug Gries returned to the table to answer questions. Rep. Knoedler asked what Laidlaw's business plan is and how much subsidies Laidlaw receives from RTD.

04:12 PM -- Julio Rivera, representing the Amalgamated Transit Union, testified in support of the bill. He stated that he was originally employed by RTD. Mr. Rivera said that all the union's members support the bill. He believes that this bill provides RTD more flexibility.


BILL:SB05-061
TIME: 04:15:30 PM
MOVED:Larson
MOTION:Moved a conceptual amendment after line 18, page, 2 "RTD shall perform a comparative study of the fiscal impacts relative to private carrier costs, including but not limited to... versus the district's costs, wages, benefits,...and report to House and Senate Transportation Committees....no later than January 1, 2006." The motion failed on a 4-6-1 vote.
SECONDED:Hefley
VOTE
Borodkin
No
Cadman
Excused
Green
No
Hefley
Yes
Knoedler
Yes
Larson
Yes
Lindstrom
No
Ragsdale
No
Welker
Yes
McFadyen
No
Pommer
No
Not Final YES: 4 NO: 6 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:SB05-061
TIME: 04:26:41 PM
MOVED:Ragsdale
MOTION:Moved to refer SB 05-061 to the Committee of the Whole, unamended, with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a 6-4-1 vote.
SECONDED:McFadyen
VOTE
Borodkin
Yes
Cadman
Excused
Green
Yes
Hefley
No
Knoedler
No
Larson
No
Lindstrom
Yes
Ragsdale
Yes
Welker
No
McFadyen
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS