Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources (01/22/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Date:	01/22/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:35 PM to 03:34 PM	Brophy	X
		Gibbs	X
Place:	SCR 353	Harvey	X
		Kester	E
This Meeting was called to order by		Schwartz	X
	Senator Isgar	Hodge	X
		Isgar	X
This Report was prepared by
	David Beaujon
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB09-024 SB09-080		Laid Over Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:35 PM -- Senate Bill 09-024

Senator White, sponsor, described the provision of Senate Bill 09-24 concerning the responsibility of the Division of Wildlife with respect to game damage compensation. He also described the provisions of Amendment L. 004 (Attachment A) and Amendment L. 005 (Attachment B).

The following persons testified on the bill:

01:42 PM -- Tom Remington, Director of the Division of Wildlife, responded to questions about the division's liability for game damage caused by big game, coyotes, and other wildlife species. He also spoke in opposition to the bill and described the purpose of compensating for game damage and the limit for liability for persons that receive a fee for hunting big game on their land. He explained that total amount of game damages paid by the division is uncapped and estimated that the division will exceed its game damage compensation budget this year. He also explained that SB 09-024 would provide compensation to individuals who are currently ineligible to receive these payments because they receive hunting fees in excess of the $100 cap in Section 33-3-103 (1) (g), C.R.S. SB 09-24 raises this cap to $2,500. Mr. Remmington responded to questions from the committee regarding game damage policies in other states and the impact of the economic situation on license sales.

02:03 PM -- Don Kammerzell, representing himself, expressed concern about hunter access to private lands and spoke in opposition to the bill.

02:06 PM -- John Smeltzer, Colorado Wildlife Federation, spoke in opposition to the bill and described the current state policies to address game damage including the habitat partnership program (HPP). He also responded to questions from the committee about the possibility of the sportsmen's community and the agricultural community agreeing on compromise to address the game damage problem.

02:16 PM -- Kent Ingram, Sportsmen Advisory Group, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about its impact on license sales and the ability of sportsmen's groups to provide input during the bill drafting process. He also responded to questions from the committee concerning the need to increase the statutory limit on big game hunting access fees as a condition for receiving game damage payments.

02:33 PM -- Steve Hilde, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill.

02:37 PM -- Jen Boulton, Colorado Trout Unlimited, spoke in opposition to the Section 3 of the bill that raises the statutory cap on big game hunting access fees. She explained that this change may result in additional game damage compensation paid by the division from revenue obtain from fishing and hunting license fees.

02:41 PM -- Ivan James, Colorado Bowhumters Association, spoke in opposition to the bill.

02:48 PM -- Ron Neuson, Colorado Farm Bureau, spoke in support of the bill and described the difficulty he has experienced obtaining compensation for game damage to his ranch in Moffat County.

02:54 PM -- Hugh Sanberg, Colorado Farm Bureau, Independent Cattlegrowers, spoke in support of the bill and described the economic challenges facing agricultural operators. He also described game damage he experienced on his ranch in Delta County and the game access fees he received in the previous year. He also responded to questions from the committee regarding the response from the Division of Wildlife to game damage problems.

02:59 PM -- Terry Fankhauser, Colorado Cattlemen's Association, spoke in support of the bill.

03:01 PM -- Margie Christiansen, Colorado Outfitters Association, Colorado Elk Breeders Association, spoke in support of the SB 09-024 and described game damage problems she has experienced on her ranch.

03:07 PM

Senator Isgar announced that the bill is laid over to allow time to prepare amendments and address concerns expressed by opponents.

03:10 PM -- Ms. Christiansen responded to questions from the committee concerning the response from the Division of Wildlife to game damage problems that she experienced on her ranch.

03:12 PM

The bill was laid over unamended.

David Peterson, Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, submitted written testimony in opposition to the bill (Attachment C).

03:12 PM -- Senate Bill 09-080

Senator Hodge, Vice-Chair, explained that Senator Isgar, sponsor, was presenting another bill in the Senate Education Committee and will return shortly to present Senate Bill 09-080. In the mean time, she opened the floor to testimony.

The following person testified on the bill:

Kevin Rein, Division of Water Resources, described the provision of Senate Bill (SB) 09-080 that would allow the collection of precipitation from roofs of residences that are not connected to a domestic water system for more than 3 single family dwellings. He responded to questions from the committee regarding the fiscal impact of the bill and protections for vested water rights from depletions caused by precipitation collection systems.

03:23 PM

Senator Isgar, sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill (SB) 09-080 that would allow the collection of precipitation from roofs of residences that are not connected to a domestic water system for more than 3 single family dwellings. He also compared this bill tothe reengrossed provisions of SB 08-119 that would have allowed a pilot project for certain residential developments that use a precipitation collection system. These provisions were removed from the bill and replaced by a requirement that the Water Resources Review Committee study precipitaiton collecting issues during the 2008 interim..Senator Isgar also distributed Amendment L. 002 (Attachment D).

The following person testified on the bill:

03:28 PM -- Chris Trees, Colorado Water Conservation District, spoke in support of the bill.


BILL:	SB09-080
TIME:	03:29:42 PM
MOVED:	Harvey
MOTION:	Moved Senate Bill 09-080 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion passed on a vote of 4-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy	Excused
	Gibbs	Excused
	Harvey	Yes
	Kester	Excused
	Schwartz	Yes
	Hodge	Yes
	Isgar	Yes

Final YES: 4 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB09-080
TIME:	03:30:10 PM
MOVED:	Isgar
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L. 002 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Brophy
	Gibbs
	Harvey
	Kester	Excused
	Schwartz
	Hodge
	Isgar

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:34 PM

The meeting adjourned.