First Regular Session

Sixty-second General Assembly

LLS NO. R99­0939.01 Gregg Fraser

STATE OF COLORADO




BY SENATORS Teck, Powers, Sullivant, and Feeley;

also REPRESENTATIVE Swenson.

REVISED

APPROPRIATIONS

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 99­048

CONCERNING AN INTERIM STUDY OF THE NEED TO CONDUCT A FISCAL STUDY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.


WHEREAS, The operation of government at the state and local levels should be conducted in a manner that is most cost efficient and effective; and

WHEREAS, The taxes and fees of state and local governments should be imposed in a fair, equitable, and efficient manner; and

WHEREAS, Government at all levels should be more responsive to the needs of the people of Colorado and more efficient in its use of resources; and

WHEREAS, To achieve more efficient and cost­effective government, the General Assembly has reduced state services and cut costs to the extent feasible; and

WHEREAS, Certain inequities exist within the current state and local tax systems that result in unintended consequences by the combined effect of recently adopted constitutional provisions and other changes in fiscal policies; and

WHEREAS, The state of Colorado and the local governments of Colorado have experienced many economic, political, and financial changes since the last comprehensive review and analysis of state and local tax structure and policy was completed in 1959; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly now finds it necessary to consider the need to study the fiscal policies at both the state and local level in order to identify ways in which government can be more efficient and cost effective; and

WHEREAS, It is appropriate and necessary to create an interim committee to consider the need to conduct a thorough review and analysis of the total tax revenues, tax expenditures, and fiscal policies of governments in Colorado as well as the structure of such governments; and

WHEREAS, An interim committee will assist the General Assembly in determining the scope, cost, and time required to conduct any such study; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty­second 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 First Regular Session of the Sixty­second General Assembly to study the need to conduct a fiscal study of the state and local governments. Such interim committee shall consist of eleven members of the General Assembly. Six of such members shall be from the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Five of such members shall be from the Senate, with three appointed by the President of the Senate and two appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate. In making appointments to the committee, each appointing authority is encouraged to appoint members representing different regions of the state. The committee shall perform the following duties:

(a)  Consider the need to conduct a fiscal study to analyze:

(I)  The levying of taxes and fees by the state and local governments and the revenues generated by such taxes and fees;

(II)  The expenditures of state and local governments;

(III)  The structure of state and local governments; and

(IV)  The amount and nature of any indebtedness of local governments;

(b)  Expand and further refine the scope of a proposed fiscal study as deemed necessary by the committee;

(c)  Develop a plan for the execution of the study. Such plan shall specifically identify:

(I)  The phases of the study;

(II)  The data to be collected, including the location of the data, the method for collecting the data, the time lines for collecting the data, and the parties responsible for collecting the data;

(III)  The cost for each phase of the study; and

(IV)  Any recommendations concerning the creation of committees or task forces to make recommendations to the General Assembly based upon the data and any analysis of the data.

(d)  Establish procedures for the ongoing collection of the data required to conduct the study; and

(e)  Report the recommendations of the committee to the Legislative Council on or before November 15, 1999.

(2)  That, in conducting such study, the interim committee shall consult with the counties, municipalities, the city and county of Denver, special districts, and other appropriate state and local agencies and interested members of the public 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.

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

(4)  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.