House Committee on Business Affairs and Labor (02/14/2005)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LABOR

Date:	02/14/2005	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:34 PM to 02:51 PM	Balmer	*
		Borodkin	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Butcher	*
		Carroll M.	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Coleman	X
	Representative Marshall	Knoedler	X
		Liston	X
This Report was prepared by		Massey	*
	Todd Jorgensen	McCluskey	X
		Paccione	*
		White	X
		Cerbo	X
		Marshall	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB05-1213 HB05-1186 HB05-1236		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:36 PM -- House Bill 05-1213

Representative Buescher presented the bill to the committee. This Joint Budget Committee bill eliminates the collection of data from licensed workers' compensation insurance carriers, including Pinnacol Assurance, and eliminates the annual updating of the Workers' Compensation Closed Claim Study. According to Representative Buescher, the study has not been funded for the past several years. Representative Buescher told the committee that administrative agencies have not used the data for decision making in recent past years either. Representative Buescher responded to questions from the committee.

01:38 PM -- Kirk Yeager, Deputy Commissioner of Insurance, provided technical information to the committee. According to Mr. Yeager, this information is available through other mechanisms and the division makes the data available either on their website or through other means.

01:40 PM -- John Berry, representing the Workers' Compensation Coalition, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Berry testified that this data is necessary and should be collected. Mr. Berry conceded that the data need not be collected annually, but at least every three years. Mr. Berry thought that the last time the study was done was in 2000 or 2001. Mr. Berry is not aware of this data being collected through any other mechanism. Mr. Berry responded to questions from the committee.

01:46 PM -- Beth Minahan, representing the Workers' Compensation Education Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Minahan is concerned that if the study is discontinued, there may not be a good source of objective data. Ms. Minahan is not aware that this data is available through any other source.

01:49 PM

Representative Marshall asked Representative Buescher about the prospect of doing the study every three years. Representative Buescher testified that given the fact that it has not been funded for several years, even conducting the study every three years may not be practical at this time.

01:51 PM

Representative Buescher responded to additional questions from the committee.


BILL:	HB05-1213
TIME:	01:55:15 PM
MOVED:	Marshall
MOTION:	Moved that HB05-1213 be referred to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 10-2, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Coleman
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	No
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	Massey	Excused
	McCluskey	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	White	Yes
	Cerbo	No
	Marshall	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 2 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:57 PM -- House Bill 05-1186

Representative Weissmann presented the bill to the committee. The bill changes the allowable delinquency charge on a consumer credit transaction to the lesser of 10 percent or $15. This provision only applies to loans of $150 or less.

01:59 PM -- Peter Minahan, representing the Colorado Financial Services Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Minahan testified that there are administrative costs associated with late payments. He also testified that the delinquency charge serves as a disincentive for consumers to make late payments. Mr. Minahan responded to questions from the committee.

02:04 PM -- Mark Cumming, representing Colorado Credit Union League, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Cumming testified that the bill would hurt consumers because it would serve as a disincentive for lenders to make small loans to consumers. Mr. Cumming responded to questions from the committee.

02:11 PM -- Don Childears, representing the Colorado Bankers Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Childears' organization is not aware of a problem with the current law. He further testified that it would have a negative impact on banks. Mr. Childears referred to the Marquette decision, a U.S. Supreme Court decision, that allows banks to import rates of fees from other states. He testified that the Marquette decision applies to large major banks, and therefore this bill would apply to the smaller banks and credit unions in the state, approximately 20 percent of the banks in Colorado. Mr. Childears testified that these small institutions would not be motivated to provide small loans to its customers under this proposal.

02:17 PM -- David Emerick, representing the Consumer Financial Services Agency, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Emerick testified that 30 states have higher fees for delinquency charges on these small loans. He does not feel that this is a major concern for consumers. Mr. Emerick answered questions from the committee.

02:24 PM

Representative Weissmann responded to more questions from the committee. He spoke to the issue of the bill creating a disincentive for lenders to make small loans to consumers. Representative Weissmann feels that the lenders would continue to make these loans based on consumer demand. Regarding testimony that the Attorney General's Office has not received complaints regarding this issue, Representative Weissmann has received complaints from constituents on the issue.


BILL:	HB05-1186
TIME:	02:28:17 PM
MOVED:	Marshall
MOTION:	Moved HB05-1186 be referred to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 7-6.
SECONDED:	Coleman
		VOTE
	Balmer	No
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	No
	Liston	No
	Massey	No
	McCluskey	No
	Paccione	Yes
	White	No
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:29 PM -- House Bill 05-1236

Representative Judd presented the bill to the committee. The bill allows, with the exception of a club license, an owner or shareholder to have an interest in more than one type of on-premises alcohol beverage license.

02:32 PM -- Michael Huff, representing Adega restaurant, spoke in support of the bill and testified regarding a personal experience he had with the problem addressed by this bill. In an attempt to acquire another restaurant, Mr. Huff was not able to acquire the existing on-premises alcohol license because it was different from a license he held at another property. Since Mr. Huff was not able to acquire the existing license, he attempted to upgrade the license from a beer and wine license to a hotel and restaurant license. The neighborhood opposed that option. Mr. Huff testified that this bill will address the concerns both of neighborhoods and of business owners.

02:35 PM -- Jon Stonbraker, representing the Colorado Restaurant Association, related a similar experience to Mr. Huff's.

02:41 PM -- Matt Cook, Director of the Colorado Division of Liquor Enforcement, testifying neither for nor against the bill, made himself available to the committee for questions. Mr. Cook defined the different license categories for the committee and provided examples.

02:48 PM

Representative Judd made closing remarks.


BILL:	HB05-1236
TIME:	02:50:10 PM
MOVED:	Coleman
MOTION:	Moved that HB05-1236 be referred to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 13-0.
SECONDED:	Knoedler
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Borodkin	Yes
	Butcher	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Coleman	Yes
	Knoedler	Yes
	Liston	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCluskey	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	White	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:51 PM

The committee adjourned.