Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Date:03/19/2009
ATTENDANCE
Time:10:41 AM to 12:59 PM
Baumgardner
X
Fischer
X
Place:HCR 0107
Frangas
X
King S.
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Looper
X
Representative McFadyen
McNulty
X
Merrifield
*
This Report was prepared by
Primavera
X
Kurt Morrison
Vaad
X
Green
X
McFadyen
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
SB09-075
SB09-078
SB09-161
SB09-177
SB09-051		Amended, Referred to Appropriations
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Referred to Appropriations
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole


10:42 AM -- Senate Bill 09-075

Representative McFadyen called the meeting to order. A quorum was present. Representative Marostica, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 09-075, discussed the merits of the bill. The bill would define a new category of vehicles, low-speed electric vehicles, in law, and replace current regulation of neighborhood electric vehicles. Representative Marostica provided a handout and Amendment L.008 to the committee members (Attachments A and B). He also responded to questions from committee members.

090319AttachA.pdf 090319AttachB.pdf

10:48 AM

Representative McFadyen asked for witnesses to testify in support of the bill.

10:49 AM -- Mr. Jerry Abboud, representing the Powersports Dealers Association of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Abboud responded to questions from committee members and discussed current statutes pertaining to toy vehicles and go-carts.

10:51 AM -- Mr. Keith Hay, representing Environment Colorado, testified in support of the bill.






10:54 AM -- Ms. Laura Schewel, representing the Rocky Mountain Institute, testified regarding the bill. She discussed the impact of low-speed electric vehicle technologies upon the environment. Ms. Schewel responded to questions from committee members.

10:59 AM -- Mr. Mark Radtke, representing the Colorado Municipal League, testified in support of the bill.

11:01 AM -- Mr. Elia Gourgouris, representing the Town of Superior, testified in support of the bill.

11:03 AM -- Mayor Mick Ireland, City of Aspen, testified in support of the bill.
BILL:SB09-075
TIME: 11:06:38 AM
MOVED:McNulty
MOTION:Moved amendment L.008 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Looper
VOTE
Baumgardner
Fischer
Frangas
King S.
Looper
McNulty
Merrifield
Primavera
Vaad
Green
McFadyen
Not Final YES: 3 NO: 8 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:SB09-075
TIME: 11:10:00 AM
MOVED:Frangas
MOTION:Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-075, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on an 11-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Primavera
VOTE
Baumgardner
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Frangas
Yes
King S.
Yes
Looper
Yes
McNulty
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Vaad
Yes
Green
Yes
McFadyen
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:16 AM -- Senate Bill 09-078

Representative Rice, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 09-078, discussed the merits of the bill. The bill would expand the authority of the Colorado Transportation Commission to abandon portions of the state highway system. Representative Rice responded to questions from committee members.

11:23 AM

Representative Rice asked for witnesses to testify regarding the bill.

11:23 AM -- Ms. Melissa Nelson, representing the Department of Transportation, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Nelson discussed the history of the pilot program and responded to questions from committee members. Representative Green discussed concerns that the state highway system's continuity may be compromised by the bill's pilot program.

11:33 AM -- Mr. Mark Radtke, representing the Colorado Municipal League, and Mr. Chris Mendez, representing Colorado Counties Inc, both testified in support of the bill. Mr. Radtke and Mr. Mendez responded to questions from committee members.
BILL:SB09-078
TIME: 11:40:15 AM
MOVED:Vaad
MOTION:Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment C). The motion passed on a 7-4 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Looper
VOTE
Baumgardner
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Frangas
No
King S.
Yes
Looper
Yes
McNulty
Yes
Merrifield
No
Primavera
No
Vaad
Yes
Green
No
McFadyen
Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

090319AttachC.pdf

BILL:SB09-078
TIME: 11:43:56 AM
MOVED:Vaad
MOTION:Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-078, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on an 11-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Looper
VOTE
Baumgardner
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Frangas
Yes
King S.
Yes
Looper
Yes
McNulty
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Vaad
Yes
Green
Yes
McFadyen
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:45 AM -- Senate Bill 09-161

Representative Scanlan, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 09-161, discussed the merits of the bill. The bill would establish a Colorado Ski Country special license plate.

11:47 AM

Representative McFadyen asked for witnesses to testify regarding the bill.

11:47 AM -- Ms. Melanie Mills, representing Colorado Ski Country, USA, testified in support of the bill.
BILL:SB09-161
TIME: 11:49:15 AM
MOVED:Merrifield
MOTION:Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-161 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 10-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Baumgardner
VOTE
Baumgardner
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Frangas
Yes
King S.
Yes
Looper
Yes
McNulty
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Vaad
Yes
Green
Excused
McFadyen
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:51 AM -- Senate Bill 09-177

Representative Vigil, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 09-177, discussed the merits of the bill. The bill specifies that for purposes of property taxation, solar energy generation facilities where energy production begins on or after January 1, 2009, and generation capacity is more than two megawatts, be valued using the income approach.

11:54 AM

Representative McFadyen asked for witnesses to testify regarding the bill.

11:55 AM -- Mr. Rick Gilliam, representing Sun Edison, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Gilliam responded to questions from committee members.

12:05 PM

Representative Looper asked Mr. Gilliam to discuss the provision regarding the megawatt threshold in the bill.

12:07 PM -- Mr. Craig Cox, representing Interwest Energy Alliance, testified in support of the bill.
BILL:SB09-177
TIME: 12:09:09 PM
MOVED:Green
MOTION:Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Primavera
VOTE
Baumgardner
Fischer
Frangas
King S.
Looper
McNulty
Merrifield
Primavera
Vaad
Green
McFadyen
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

090319AttachD.pdf
BILL:SB09-177
TIME: 12:09:55 PM
MOVED:Looper
MOTION:Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-177, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 9-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Primavera
VOTE
Baumgardner
Yes
Fischer
Yes
Frangas
Excused
King S.
Yes
Looper
Yes
McNulty
Excused
Merrifield
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Vaad
Yes
Green
Yes
McFadyen
Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS





12:11 PM -- Senate Bill 09-051

The committee recessed.

12:26 PM

The committee returned to order.

12:26 PM

Representative Levy, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 09-051, discussed the merits of the bill. the bill would increase the amount that the state treasurer may invest as part of the Colorado Clean Energy Finance Program. Representative Levy responded to questions from committee members and provided copies of Amendment L.020, L.021, and L.025 (Attachments E, F, and G).

090319AttachE.pdf 090319AttachF.pdf 090319AttachG.pdf

12:30 PM

Representative Green asked for witnesses to testify regarding the bill.

12:31 PM -- Ms. Beth Hart, representing the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Hart responded to questions from committee members.

12:34 PM -- Mr. Tom Easley, representing the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Easley provided a copy of his testimony for the record (Attachment H).

090319AttachH.pdf

12:36 PM -- Mr. Jonathan Postal, representing Mainstreet Power, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Postal discussed the bill's impact upon clean sources of energy.

12:40 PM -- Ms. Paula Connelly, representing Xcel Energy, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Connelly discussed amendments to the bill and asked for support for Amendment L.025.

12:47 PM -- Mr. Roger Tullbert, representing Liberty Media, testified in support of the bill.

12:50 PM

Representative Levy responded to questions from committee members and provided final comments on the bill.
BILL:SB09-051
TIME: 12:55:00 PM
MOVED:Looper
MOTION:Moved amendment L.020 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Merrifield
VOTE
Baumgardner
Fischer
Frangas
King S.
Looper
McNulty
Merrifield
Primavera
Vaad
Green
McFadyen
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB09-051
TIME: 12:55:53 PM
MOVED:Merrifield
MOTION:Moved amendment L.021 (Attachment F). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Frangas
VOTE
Baumgardner
Fischer
Frangas
King S.
Looper
McNulty
Merrifield
Primavera
Vaad
Green
McFadyen
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection







BILL:SB09-051
TIME: 12:56:20 PM
MOVED:Fischer
MOTION:Moved amendment L.025 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Merrifield
VOTE
Baumgardner
Fischer
Frangas
King S.
Looper
McNulty
Merrifield
Primavera
Vaad
Green
McFadyen
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB09-051
TIME: 12:58:01 PM
MOVED:Merrifield
MOTION:Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-051, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 9-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Fischer
VOTE
Baumgardner
No
Fischer
Yes
Frangas
Yes
King S.
Yes
Looper
Yes
McNulty
No
Merrifield
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Vaad
Yes
Green
Yes
McFadyen
Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:59 PM

The committee adjourned.