Bill Summary for Bill Number Presentations and Discussion on Measures

Date: 02/13/2009

Final
Presentations and Discussion on Measures

COMMITTEE ON JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON JOB CREATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

Votes: View-->

Action Taken:

Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0542.01 forward for consi
Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0622.01 forward for consi
Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0640.01 forward for consi
Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0641.01 forward for consi
Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0754.01 forward for consi
Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0764.01 forward for consi
Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0827.01 forward for consi
Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0852.01 forward for consi

Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
TIE
TIE

12:33 PM -- Call to Order

Senator Schwartz, Chair, called the meeting to order and began by commenting on a letter from the U.S. Forest Service (Attachment A). She noted that the committee would endorse the motion to send the letter to the Colorado Congressional Delegation. As the meeting continued, staff distributed an updated spreadsheet on the bills before the committee (Attachment B) and a draft Executive Summary Report (Attachment C) showing the preliminary work of the committee.

Senator Schwartz continued by saying that the committee would first hear a staff presentation on an update regarding the Federal Stimulus Package before Congress, then continue with a presentation on the progress of the Advisory Group, and conclude with a discussion on the bills before the committee. She noted that if time allowed, the committee would take votes on bills before the committee.

12:34 PM -- Presentation on Federal Economic Stimulus Legislation

12:35 PM -- Mr. Todd Herreid, Legislative Council Staff, began by discussing the status of the Federal Economic Stimulus legislation before Congress. He said that according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), about 2.8 billion may be coming to Colorado. The legislation provides a total of about $789 billion in spending and tax cuts. In terms of the money that Colorado may expect, about $760 million would go to education and another $280 million would fund other education programs for disadvantaged children.

Mr. Herreid commented on the budget ramifications saying that the federal money that can aid Colorado's budget needs is yet to be determined. Mr. Herreid closed by discussing the money that may go to Medicaid ($880 million) and noted that these numbers are just estimates. He closed by saying that when the final numbers become available, they would be given to the committee.

12:45 PM -- Presentation on Progress of the Advisory Group

12:46 PM -- Mr. Terry Whitney, staff, provided the committee with a progress update on the activities of the Advisory Group. In terms of the bills before the committee, the group does not find the low-cost insurance bill as a job-creation measure and recommended that the proposal be rejected by the committee. He continued by saying that the Advisory Group also recommended that the committee reject Draft Bill LLS # 09-0801 (regarding transmission infrastructure planning) (Attachment D). Mr. Whitney closed by discussing several bills on the agenda and turned the presentation over to Ms. Kristen Forrestal, Office of Legislative Legal Services. Senator Schwartz, asked Ms. Forrestal to comment on Draft Bill LLS # 09-0761 (Attachment E).

12:50 PM -- Ms. Kristen Forrestal, Office of Legislative Legal Services, responded to questions regarding Draft Bill LLS # 09-0761 and briefly commented that the bill makes health plan information more transparent to consumers.

12:52 PM -- Discussion on Measures

HB 09-1272 with Amendment - Concerning A Measure to Expand Colorado's First Workforce

The committee began a discussion of the bills on the agenda and talked about the amendment to House Bill 09-1272 (Attachment F) that is now incorporated into the introduced version of the bill. Senator Schwartz noted that the committee is endorsing the amendment to the bill and not the main provisions of the measure. The committee closed by discussing the status of the bill before the General Assembly.

12:56 PM -- Draft Bill LLS # 09-0622 - Concerning Commercial Vehicles in Enterprise Zones

12:56 PM -- Representative McFadyen, prime sponsor, briefly commented on Draft Bill LLS # 09-0622 (Attachment G). She noted that the proposal works on a prorated basis to lower the taxes on certain commercial vehicles paid to Colorado. She closed by discussing the provisions of the bill as they relate to enterprise zones. This bill is aimed at bringing the trucking industry back to Colorado.

12:58 PM -- Representative Cory Gardner, co-prime sponsor, commented on the benefits in the bill saying that Colorado is not capturing the economic activity tied to the trucking industry and this measure will help stimulate economic activity in Colorado.

01:05 PM -- Concerning a Proposal Related to Solar Energy (no prepared draft)

Representative Solano, prime sponsor, noted that the conceptual measure related to incentives for solar energy needs additional work and asked that the committee drop the measure from its considered proposals. The Chair announced that the bill would be dropped by the committee. (There is no draft of this proposal as it is in concept.)

01:05 PM -- Draft Bill LLS # 09-0542 - Concerning Concurrent Enrollment Opportunities for Technical Education Providers

01:05 PM -- Senator Heath, prime sponsor, briefly explained the provisions in Draft Bill LLS # 09-0542 (Attachment H). He closed by saying that the measure is a green-jobs proposal that will create many new jobs in Colorado.

01:09 PM -- Draft Bill LLS # 09-0827 - Concerning Solar Device Permits

01:10 PM -- Senator Mitchell, prime sponsor, explained the provisions in Draft Bill LLS # 09-0827 (Attachment I). He closed by saying that the measure is responding to local government's ongoing quest for more money.

01:12 PM -- Draft Bill LLS # 09-0754 - Concerning the Solar Hot Water Rebate Program

01:13 PM -- Senator Schwartz, prime sponsor, briefly discussed the provision in Draft Bill LLS # 09-0754 (Attachment J).

01:14 PM -- Draft Bill LLS # 09-0764 - Concerning the Best Bill Cleanup

01:15 PM -- Ms. Mary Wickersham, Office of the State Treasurer, commented on the main two provisions in Draft Bill LLS # 09-0764 (Attachment K). The measure provides more accountability to taxpayers. She closed by saying that the final Federal Stimulus Legislation will not allow Colorado to use revenue from it for new buildings. The committee discussed the federal legislation's tie to school budgets and discussed the potential for new jobs in Colorado that may result from the federal legislation. Ms. Wickersham closed by briefly discussing the revenue caps in Draft Bill LLS # 09-0764.

01:31 PM -- Draft Bill LLS # 09-0640 - Concerning Local Government Financing With Severance Tax Cash Funds

01:32 PM -- Ms. Esther van Mourik, Office of Legislative Legal Services, discussed the provisions in Draft Bill LLS # 09-0640 (Attachment L) and discussed the funding streams in the proposal.

01:35 PM -- Ms. Mary Wickersham, Office of the State Treasurer, discussed the funding provisions in Draft Bill LLS # 09-0640 tied to Federal Mineral Lease (FML) Revenue. She closed by discussing the 50-50 match in terms of investment-returns in the bill. Senator Schwartz noted that the bill would make some additional funds available for rural economic development.

01:41 PM -- Mr. Bruce Eisenhauer, commented on the distribution of grant funds affected by the bill. For every state dollar that goes into a grant award, three dollars of local government funds are put into the grant awards. Mr. Eisenhauer closed by briefly discussing the grant application process.

01:45 PM -- Draft Bill LLS # 09-0641 - Concerning the Creation of a Statewide Enterprise Zone

01:46 PM -- Senator Schwartz, prime sponsor, explained the provisions of Draft Bill LLS # 09-0641 (Attachment M). She closed by saying that this proposal will grow jobs. Senator Heath briefly discussed the state Enterprise Zone Program as an incentive to businesses in Colorado. He closed by saying that zone boundaries are arbitrary and need to be reviewed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

01:48 PM -- Ms. Nicole Myers, Office of Legislative Legal Services, spoke to some provisions in Draft Bill LLS # 09-0641. She noted that as drafted, the proposal requires that a report with recommendations on the program be delivered to the General Assembly in 2010. The committee discussed advancing the date in the bill for reporting purposes. Senator Schwartz noted that at this time, the committee should allow time to see how the program works before the date is changed.

01:52 PM -- Draft Bill LLS # 09-0852 - Concerning a Tax Credit for Home Businesses

01:53 PM -- Senator Schwartz explained the provisions in Draft Bill LLS # 09-0852 (Attachment N) and said that the measure would create jobs. Senator Mitchell asked that the title be broadened and he be added as a sponsor. Senator Scheffel noted that the proposal will serve as a good incentive for business.

01:57 PM -- Ms. Esther van Mourik, Office of Legislative Legal Services, commented on the change to the multi-use classification in the proposal. The committee discussed expanding the title to allow it to apply to urban areas as well as rural areas.

02:03 PM -- Action on Measures Before the Committee

Senator Schwartz, Chair, announced that the committee would take a voice-vote on the remaining measures before the committee that were previously discussed. All of the following measures were moved forward for consideration by the General Assembly on a 6-0 voice-vote. Members excused who were not included in the vote were: Representative Balmer; Representative Liston; Senator Veiga; and Representative Rice. Of the bills discussed by the committee, Senate Bill 09-081 was not voted upon by the committee, and thus, was not part of the bills referred for consideration.


BILL:	Draft Bill LLS # 09-0622.01
TIME:	02:04:36 PM
MOVED:	McFadyen
MOTION:	Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0622.01 forward for consideration by the General Assembly. The motion passed on a 6-0 voice-vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Balmer	Excused
	Heath	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	McFadyen	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Scheffel	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Veiga	Excused
	Rice	Excused
	Schwartz	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 4 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	Draft Bill LLS # 09-0542.01
TIME:	02:07:48 PM
MOVED:	Heath
MOTION:	Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0542.01 forward for consideration by the General Assembly. The motion passed on a 6-0 voice-vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Balmer	Excused
	Heath	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	McFadyen	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Scheffel	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Veiga	Excused
	Rice	Excused
	Schwartz	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 4 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	Draft Bill LLS # 09-0827.01
TIME:	02:09:57 PM
MOVED:	Mitchell
MOTION:	Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0827.01 forward for consideration by the General Assembly. The motion passed on a 6-0 voice-vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Balmer	Excused
	Heath	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	McFadyen	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Scheffel	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Veiga	Excused
	Rice	Excused
	Schwartz	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 4 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	Draft Bill LLS # 09-0754.01
TIME:	02:13:12 PM
MOVED:	Schwartz
MOTION:	Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0754.01 forward for consideration by the General Assembly. The motion passed on a 6-0 voice-vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Balmer	Excused
	Heath	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	McFadyen	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Scheffel	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Veiga	Excused
	Rice	Excused
	Schwartz	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 4 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	Draft Bill LLS # 09-0764.01
TIME:	02:16:07 PM
MOVED:	Schwartz
MOTION:	Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0764.01 forward for consideration by the General Assembly. The motion passed on a 6-0 voice-vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Balmer	Excused
	Heath	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	McFadyen	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Scheffel	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Veiga	Excused
	Rice	Excused
	Schwartz	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 4 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	Draft Bill LLS # 09-0641.01
TIME:	02:18:29 PM
MOVED:	Heath
MOTION:	Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0641.01 forward for consideration by the General Assembly. The motion passed on a 6-0 voice-vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Balmer	Excused
	Heath	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	McFadyen	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Scheffel	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Veiga	Excused
	Rice	Excused
	Schwartz	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 4 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	Draft Bill LLS # 09-0640.01
TIME:	02:20:33 PM
MOVED:	Schwartz
MOTION:	Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0640.01 forward for consideration by the General Assembly. The motion passed on a 6-0 voice-vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Balmer	Excused
	Heath	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	McFadyen	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Scheffel	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Veiga	Excused
	Rice	Excused
	Schwartz	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 4 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:	Draft Bill LLS # 09-0852.01
TIME:	02:22:47 PM
MOVED:	Mitchell
MOTION:	Move Draft Bill LLS # 09-0852.01 forward for consideration by the General Assembly. The motion passed on a 6-0 voice-vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Balmer	Excused
	Heath	Yes
	Liston	Excused
	McFadyen	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Scheffel	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Veiga	Excused
	Rice	Excused
	Schwartz	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 4 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:

02:28 PM -- Discussion on the Executive Summary

After a voice-vote was taken on the measures before the committee, Senator Schwartz discussed the Executive Summary Report. Senator Heath commented that Mr. Tom Clark, Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, should be consulted by the committee to determine the number of jobs that may result from the legislation that is being referred by the committee. Senator Heath commented that Mr. Clark's job numbers should be included in the final report.

Senator Schwartz continued by saying that in addition to Mr. Clark, the Advisory Group should also participate in determining the number of jobs that may be created by the committee's endorsement of legislation. The information in the final report should reflect the work of the group in terms of job creation projections. Senator Schwartz closed the meeting by asking members who would like to be part of the drafting of the final report. The following members responded: Senator Scheffel; Senator Heath; Representative Solano; Representative Rice; and Senator Schwartz. Senator Schwartz thanked everyone who participated in the meetings including committee members, staff, and those present.

02:29 PM

Adjourn.