House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources (02/17/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Date:	02/17/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	09:31 AM to 12:43 PM	Gardner C.	*
		Hullinghorst	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Labuda	*
		Looper	X
This Meeting was called to order by		McKinley	X
	Representative Curry	McNulty	*
		Pace	*
This Report was prepared by		Solano	X
	Lauren Ris	Sonnenberg	X
		Tipton	X
		Vigil	X
		Fischer	X
		Curry	E
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB09-1249 HB09-1255		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only

09:32 AM -- House Bill 09-1249

Representative Pommer, prime sponsor, presented HB09-1249 concerning the consolidation of certain cash funds created for the Department of Agriculture. The bill, recommended by the Joint Budget Committee, consolidates several cash funds of the Department of Agriculture into two cash funds. A new cash fund, the Plant, Health, Pest Control and Environmental Protection Cash Fund consolidates nine cash funds in the Department of Agriculture. The bill also abolishes the Mandatory Fruit and Vegetable Inspection Fund. All future fees collected for the inspection of agricultural products will be deposited into the Agricultural Products Inspection Cash Fund. Representative Pommer answered questions from the committee concerning whether or not the balances in individual funds will still be available for inspection.

The following individual testified:

09:40 AM -- John Reitan, Department of Agriculture, testified in favor of the bill. He explained the Department of Agriculture's interest in consolidating the cash funds. He answered questions from the committee concerning the impact to the general fund and the benefit of consolidating the funds. Mr. Reitan explained that many of the cash funds are small amounts and that it would be more efficient to manage these accounts on an enterprise level.


BILL:	HB09-1249
TIME:	09:46:40 AM
MOVED:	Hullinghorst
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1249 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 12-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Solano
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Excused

Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

09:45

Representative Fischer, Chair, announced that HB 09-1255 would not be voted on in committee today, but testimony would be heard.

09:47 AM -- House Bill 09-1255

Representative C. Gardner, prime sponsor, presented HB09-1255 concerning limitations on the conditions imposed by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on oil and gas operations to implement recommendations made by state entities other than the commission. The bill makes changes to the Habitat Stewardship Act of 2007 (HB 07-1298) which directed the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC) in consultation with the Colorado Wildlife Commission, to minimize adverse impacts to wildlife from oil and gas development. He distributed two handouts containing editorials from a variety of newspapers around Colorado (Attachments A and B). He described the importance of this bill to his district and to the agricultural community.

09:53 AM

Representative C. Gardner and Representative McNulty expressed concern about the decision to not take action on the bill today.


BILL:	HB09-1255
TIME:	09:55:30 AM
MOVED:	McNulty
MOTION:	Moved to lay consideration of HB09-1255 over until Wednesday, February 18. The motion failed on a 6-6 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Tipton
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	No
	Labuda	No
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	No
	Solano	No
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	No
	Fischer	No
	Curry	Excused

Not Final YES: 6 NO: 6 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE

09:58 AM -- The committee discussed HB07-1298 and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC) oil and gas rulemaking process. Representative Gardner explained how this bill brings the law more in line with the committee's intent in passing HB07-1298.

The following individuals testified on the bill:

10:10 AM -- Harold Shaeffer, Rifle landowner, testified in favor of the bill and distributed pictures of wildlife on his property (Attachments C, D, and E). He described his experience as a landowner and his perspective on the OGCC rules and how they impact his mineral estate. He described the economic situation of Western slope communities and the importance of the oil and gas industry. Mr. Shaeffer also described the density of gas wells on his property and discussed his views on private property rights.

10:25 AM -- Mr. Shaeffer answered questions from the committee about his property and how the OGCC rules will impact the management of his land.

10:26 AM -- Steven Wells, Wells Ranch, testified in favor of the bill. He discussed his views on the bill and the oil and gas development taking place on his property. Mr. Wells described the wildlife on his property and stated that wildlife has benefited from oil and gas development. Mr. Wells answered questions from the committee.

10:37 AM -- Warren McDonald, Trinidad landowner, described the ranch that his family owns, their management practices, and the oil and gas development occurring on his property. He discussed his views on the appropriate role of the Division of Wildlife. He answered questions from the committee.

10:51 AM -- Duke Cox, Grand Valley Citizens Alliance and the Western Colorado Congress, testified against the bill. He began by stating that the OGCC rules are not responsible for the downturn in the oil and gas industry. He described the OGCC rulemaking process and sited statistics regarding the extent of public involvement in the process. He discussed his views on the bill, especially the provision regarding the parties with authority in the appeals process. He answered questions from the committee concerning property ownership, local economic impacts from the hunting and fishing tourism industry, and private property rights.

11:12 AM -- Mr. Cox continued to answer questions from the committee regarding private property rights.
11:13 AM -- Jen Boulton, Trout Unlimited and the Audubon Society, testified against the bill. She stated that the bill will lengthen the consultation processes. She answered questions from the committee about whether there have been any studies demonstrating damage to wildlife as a result of oil and gas development and landowner compensation.

11:19 AM -- Dave Neslin, Acting Director of OGCC and the Assistant Director of the Department of Natural Resources, spoke in opposition to the bill. He described how the OGCC wildlife rules changed significantly throughout the rulemaking process and that as a result of these rules, the landowners who testified previously in the hearing will not have the Division of Wildlife on their property uninvited. He also stated that the landowners who testified in the hearing also testified in front of the OGCC and that there were also landowners who supported the rules who testified in front of the OGCC. He explained the content of some of the wildlife provisions in the rules. Mr. Neslin described the involvement that the Division of Wildlife will have with landowners and operators under the rules.

11:32 AM -- Mr. Neslin continued his testimony and clarified the role and authority of the Division of Wildlife with respect to the OGCC rules. He described the permits issued by the state in relation to species' habitat and how this compares to permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management for federal lands. Mr. Neslin described conditions under which the state could impose conditions on permits or deny permits and how the state would address situations where sensitive species were known to exist on the property. The committee and Mr. Neslin also discussed takings issues, Best Management Practices (BMPs) and No Surface Occupancy (NSO) permit stipulations, and OGCC Resolution 08-01.

12:04 PM -- Mr. Neslin continued to answer questions from the committee concerning the differences in the fiscal notes for HB 09-1255 and HB 07-1298.

12:12 PM -- Cathy Shull, Progressive 15 and the Washington County Commissioners, testified in favor of the bill. She expressed her views about private property rights and read a letter from the Washington County Commissioners (Attachment F). She answered questions from the committee regarding situations where threatened species exist on private land.

12:23 PM -- Lois Dunn, Grand Junction Realtors Chamber of Commerce, testified in favor of the bill. She described the economic importance of the oil and gas industry in the state and how the OGCC rules would impact property owners in Western Colorado. She also described the involvement of landowners in the OGCC rulemaking process. She responded to questions from the committee about the Division of Wildlife's authority to deny permits under the OGCC rules.

12:33 PM -- Barbara Kirkmeyer, Weld County Commissioner, spoke in support of the bill. She described the economic situation in Weld County and the importance of the oil and gas industry in the county. She discussed how the bill would affect the industry's capital development decisions. She discussed the appeal and rulemaking processes and the impact of the rules to Weld County. Ms. Kirkmeyer expressed her views about what the Division of Wildlife's consultation role should be and answered questions from the committee regarding the economic fluctuations in the oil and gas industry.

12:42 PM

Representative Fischer laid the bill over until Wednesday, February 18, at which time testimony will be taken and action on the bill will occur.

12:43 PM

The committee adjourned.