2012
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 12-002
       
       
       BY SENATOR(S) Roberts, Giron, Schwartz, Guzman, White;
       also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Wilson, Baumgardner, Sonnenberg,
       Swerdfeger, Vigil, Becker, Beezley, Bradford, Brown, Coram, Hamner,
       Holbert, Kerr J., Labuda, Liston, Looper, Massey, Nikkel, Pace,
       Peniston, Ramirez, Schafer S., Scott, Vaad, Young, McNulty.
       
       
          CONCERNING THE ADVERSE EFFECTS THAT THE
       DIVERSION OF REVENUES HAS HAD ON WATER
       INFRASTRUCTURE IN COLORADO. 
       
       
          WHEREAS, Colorado is a semi-arid state, and much of our water
       supply is located far from where it can be beneficially used; and
       
          WHEREAS, Colorado is therefore heavily dependent upon water
       infrastructure to move water to where it can serve the needs of our
       agricultural, municipal, and industrial water users; and
       
          WHEREAS, Our constitutional prior appropriation doctrine has
       always promoted and protected the initiative and economic investments
       of water users in building the water diversion, storage, and conveyance
       infrastructure needed to put water to beneficial use; and
       
          WHEREAS, Federal and state mandates have required the ongoing
       construction, improvement, and replacement of treatment facilities for
       drinking water and waste water; and
       
          WHEREAS, The approval process for these different types of water
       facilities and infrastructure has become increasingly expensive,
       time-consuming, and uncertain; and
       
          WHEREAS, Colorado has long supported the private sector's and
       local governments' initiative in building water infrastructure with state
       financial incentives, primarily in the form of loans from revolving funds
       but also with grants to local governments; and
       
          WHEREAS, Due to recent difficult economic conditions and
       consequent state budget shortfalls, the General Assembly has had to make
       difficult choices in prioritizing its expenditures; and
       
          WHEREAS, Since 2009, the General Assembly has authorized the
       transfer of almost $422 million into the general fund from sources that
       would otherwise have been available for water infrastructure, including:
       $158 million from the perpetual base account of the severance tax trust
       fund and $10.25 million from the Colorado water conservation board
       construction fund, all of which would otherwise have been available for
       raw water infrastructure loans; and $14.95 million from the operational
       account of the severance tax trust fund, $168.8 million from the local
       government severance tax fund, $19.1 million from the local government
       permanent fund, and $46 million from the local government mineral
       impact fund, significant portions of which would otherwise have been
       available for water infrastructure loans and grants; and
       
          WHEREAS, From 2007 to 2010, energy impact assistance grants
       totaled approximately $43.7 million for drinking water projects and $48.1
       million for wastewater projects, and in 2011 all such grants were
       suspended;
       
          WHEREAS, The diversion of such significant sums from their
       originally intended purposes has had a devastating effect on the
       maintenance and development of water infrastructure in Colorado; and
       
          WHEREAS, The president and president-elect of the National
       Conference of State Legislatures sent a letter to congressional leadership
       that listed infrastructure as the third-highest priority that should be
       protected during deficit reduction efforts, behind only imposing no new
       unfunded federal mandates and improving the Medicaid program; and
       
          WHEREAS, The Western States Water Council, an organization
       created by resolution of the Western Governors' Association, recently
       noted that the most recent American Society of Civil Engineers Report
       Card gives the "Nation's drinking and wastewater infrastructure a 'D-'
       grade, its dams a 'D,' and its levees and inland waterways a 'D-'. The
       current deplorable grade for our infrastructure impacts our lives and the
       economy, raising public health and safety issues, as well as the looming
       specter of future repair, rehabilitation and replacement costs."; and
       
          WHEREAS, Further diversions of revenues to the general fund from
       water infrastructure will have serious, long-term, adverse effects on
       Colorado's economic and social well-being; and
       
          WHEREAS, The Water Resources Review Committee has reviewed
       the issues raised by this joint resolution and strongly urges the General
       Assembly to adopt it; now, therefore,
       
          Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-eighth General Assembly of
       the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
       
          That the General Assembly should avoid future diversions of water
       infrastructure revenues for budget balancing purposes and instead direct
       these revenues, as intended by existing statute, to protect and develop
       Colorado's water resources.
       
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       Brandon C. Shaffer                     Frank McNulty
       PRESIDENT OF                    SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
       THE SENATE                        OF REPRESENTATIVES
       
       
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       Cindi Markwell                        Marilyn Eddins
       SECRETARY OF                CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
       THE SENATE                        OF REPRESENTATIVES