Date: 03/03/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1291

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE, VETERANS, & MILITARY AFFAIRS

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment E). Th
Moved to refer House Bill 09-1291, as amended, to
Pass Without Objection
PASS



02:41 PM -- House Bill 09-1291

Representative Nikkel, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1291, concerning providing information regarding resources available to veterans of the United States armed forces. Representative Nikkel explained the effect of the bill, and discussed the bill's fiscal impact. Representative Nikkel also discussed staffing requirements for the clearinghouse created by the bill, and the types of resources that will be available through the clearinghouse. Representative Nikkel then discussed certain situations that require assistance for veterans, and explained how the information clearinghouse will help connect veterans and resources. Representative Nikkel responded to questions regarding the need for legislation to establish a veterans information clearinghouse.


02:53 PM

Representative Nikkel responded to questions regarding the siting of the clearinghouse created by House Bill 09-1291.


02:54 PM

The following persons testified regarding House Bill 09-1291:


02:54 PM --
Mr. George Thomas, representing the United Veterans Committee of Colorado, testified in favor of the bill. Mr. Thomas discussed the lack of a centralized information resource for veterans, and the impact of this lack of centralization on the ability to connect veterans with available resources. Mr. Thomas provided anecdotes to this effect. Mr. Thomas then discussed the work that would be accomplished by the clearinghouse.


03:00 PM --
Mr. Bill Conroy, representing the Division of Veterans Affairs, testified in favor of House Bill 09-1291. Mr. Conroy provided examples of instances where a centralized information clearinghouse for veterans would be useful, based on his experiences with the division. Mr. Conroy responded to questions regarding the potential for putting veterans resource information on the Statewide Information Portal Authority or other state information technology infrastructure.


03:04 PM --
Mr. Walter Paul, representing the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, testified in favor of the bill. Mr. Paul discussed the events that led to the idea for creating an information clearinghouse for veterans, and the resources currently available to fund an evaluation of the steps that need to be taken to create the clearinghouse.


03:07 PM --
Mr. Artie Guerrero, representing the United Veterans Committee, testified in favor of House Bill 09-1291. Mr. Guerrero discussed the need for a veterans information clearinghouse, and the reasons why difficulties exist in connecting resources and veterans.

03:09 PM

Representative Nikkel explained the effect of prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment E).
BILL:HB09-1291
TIME: 03:08:45 PM
MOVED:Todd
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Court
VOTE
Casso
Court
Hullinghorst
Lambert
Massey
McCann
Miklosi
Murray
Nikkel
Labuda
Excused
Todd
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

090303AttachE.pdf

BILL:HB09-1291
TIME: 03:09:47 PM
MOVED:Lambert
MOTION:Moved to refer House Bill 09-1291, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 10-0-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Miklosi
VOTE
Casso
Yes
Court
Yes
Hullinghorst
Yes
Lambert
Yes
Massey
Yes
McCann
Yes
Miklosi
Yes
Murray
Yes
Nikkel
Yes
Labuda
Excused
Todd
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS