Date: 01/29/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB09-072

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment A) to S
Moved that Senate Bill 09-072 be postponed indefin
Moved that Senate Bill 09-072 be referred to the C		Pass Without Objection
PASS
FAIL


11:12 AM -- Senate Bill 09-072

Senator Kester, prime sponsor, said that Senate Bill 09-072 will exempt routine road maintenance crews on nonpaved roads from the excavation notification statute in Colorado. He noted that this concept has been introduced in the past and that it will improve road safety in the state.

The following persons testified in regard to Senate Bill 09-072:

11:16 AM -- Margaret Christiansen, representing Source Gas and Marathon Oil, said that she opposes Senate Bill 09-072. She said that her primary concern is the safety of employees in the oil and gas industry and that employees must know of the location of utilities to perform their jobs safely. She spoke of situations in which natural gas lines have been accidentally ruptured.

11:24 AM -- Stan Dempsey, representing the Colorado Petroleum Association, opposed Senate Bill 09-072. He said that safety is paramount in his industry. He said that he believes that the current law works well, and that no exemption to the current law is warranted. He said that it is a simple matter for a person to call for identification of underground utilities. He commented on accidents that occur in Colorado with underground utilities.

11:30 AM -- Garin Vorthmann, representing the Weld County Commission, opposed Senate Bill 09-072, and said that the "call before you dig" procedure works well.

11:31 AM -- Jim Cole, representing the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, opposed Senate Bill 09-072, and said that the current procedure works well.

11:32 AM -- Mary Dechant, representing the Metro Waste Water Reclamation District, said that her district owns 3,800 manholes that are used to access its waste water facilities. She spoke of the risk of a vehicle striking a manhole cover while grading a road, and the resulting possibility of a sewer overflow.

11:36 AM -- Dale Miller, Larimer County Road and Bridge Director, representing Colorado Counties, Inc., said that Colorado has a good system for "utility locates." He spoke of the difficulty of a utility locator marking every utility line that is near a section of road to be graded in Colorado. He said that these location services should be directed specifically to excavation activities. He spoke of exemptions that are provided for road grading in other states. He commented on the administrative burden the utility location requirement places on county governments.

11:46 AM -- Chip Taylor, representing Colorado Counties Inc., commented on procedures by which utility locates are conducted. He said that he understands that the requirement to call in every time puts utility owners in a safer legal position.
BILL:SB09-072
TIME: 11:55:14 AM
MOVED:Williams
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment A) to Senate Bill 09-072. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Kopp
Renfroe
Romer
Spence
Veiga
Williams
Gibbs
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

090129AttachA.pdf
BILL:SB09-072
TIME: 11:56:44 PM
MOVED:Williams
MOTION:Moved that Senate Bill 09-072 be referred to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion failed on a 2-5-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Kopp
No
Renfroe
No
Romer
No
Spence
No
Veiga
No
Williams
Yes
Gibbs
Yes
Not Final YES: 2 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL
BILL:SB09-072
TIME: 11:57:01 PM
MOVED:Renfroe
MOTION:Moved that Senate Bill 09-072 be postponed indefinitely, and that the roll call of the prior motion be reversed. The motion passed without objection and the roll call was reversed.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Kopp
Yes
Renfroe
Yes
Romer
Yes
Spence
Yes
Veiga
Yes
Williams
No
Gibbs
No
Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS