Second Regular Session

Sixty-first General Assembly

LLS NO. R98­0939.01 JLB

STATE OF COLORADO

BY SENATORS Bishop, Linkhart, Powers, and Reeves;

also REPRESENTATIVES Leyba, Clarke, and Epps.

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 98-027

CONCERNING AN INTERIM STUDY OF COLORADO'S HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS.

WHEREAS, The Colorado State Patrol has statutory responsibility for hazardous material enforcement and response for federal, state, and county highways outside of municipal limits; and

WHEREAS, The Colorado State Patrol hazardous material enforcement and response teams are frequently relied upon to provide hazardous material response at fixed facilities where no local response exists; and

WHEREAS, Local response teams are responsible for hazardous materials response on private property and their response capabilities are directly related to the population and financial resources of the community; and

WHEREAS, The Office of the State Auditor issued a report in June, 1996, titled "Hazardous Preparedness" that identified inadequate hazardous materials response capabilities in much of rural Colorado, a failure of state and local responders to meet federal safety standards, and the difficulties local responders have in obtaining adequate training and equipment; and

WHEREAS, The primary recommendation of the state auditor's report was to create regional response teams that would replace the Colorado State Patrol teams, but the Governor's Interagency Advisory Group and the State Department of Public Safety disagreed with the practicality of such recommendation and were offered an opportunity to propose alternative solutions; and

WHEREAS, The Legislative Audit Committee of the General Assembly has had three separate hearings on this issue without resolution; and

WHEREAS, Because a very broad spectrum of local agencies and at least six state departments are involved in hazardous materials response and preparedness, it is important that an interim committee be appointed to develop appropriate solutions to the identified problems; now , therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty­first General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:

(1)  That there shall be a committee to meet in the interim after the 1998 Second Regular Session of the Sixty­first General Assembly to study Colorado's hazardous materials response and preparedness, particularly as concerns the rural areas of the state. Such interim committee shall consist of six members of the General Assembly. Three of such members shall be from the Senate, comprising two appointed by the President of the Senate and one appointed by the Minority Leader, and three of such members shall be from the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, two from the majority party and one from the minority party. Rural municipalities shall be well represented on the committee. The committee shall perform the following duties:

(a)  Discuss and determine the state's role in hazardous materials preparedness and response;

(b)  Based on such determination, discuss options and funding for solutions to the problems identified in the report of the Office of the State Auditor issued in June, 1996, and titled "Hazardous Preparedness";

(c)  Agree on a solution to improve the state's hazardous materials response and preparedness capabilities and develop any legislation needed to implement such solution.

(d)  Discuss any other matter the committee deems necessary to ensure that the state of Colorado is well prepared for the release of any hazardous materials.

(3)  That, in conducting such study, the interim committee may consult, as may be required, with appropriate local, state, and federal agencies and interested members of the public and may hold public hearings in locations of the state outside the Denver metropolitan area as deemed necessary for purposes of the study. The study shall not require additional staff for any state agency or any additional appropriation to any such state agency.

(4)  That the Legislative Council shall report the findings and recommendations of the interim committee to the 1999 First Regular Session of the Sixty­second General Assembly.

(5)  That all expenditures incurred in the conduct of the study enumerated in this resolution shall be approved by the chairperson of the Legislative Council and paid by vouchers and warrants drawn as provided by law from funds allocated to the Legislative Council from appropriations made by the General Assembly.

Amend engrossed joint resolution, page 2, line 17, strike "municipalities"
and substitute "districts";

line 18, strike "well";

strike lines 22 and 23 and substitute the following:

	"(b)  Discuss the report of the Office of the State";

line 31, strike "may" and substitute "shall";

line 32, strike "consult, as may be required, with" and substitute the
following:

"consult with counties, small, medium, and large businesses, motor
carriers, environmental mitigation contractors, the Colorado emergency
planning commission, local emergency planning commissions, and";

after line 37, insert the following:

	"(4)  That it is not the intent of the general assembly for the
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interim committee to address the designation of hazardous material
routes.";

line 38, strike "(4)" and substitute "(5)";

line 41, strike "(5)" and substitute "(6)".