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.