Bill Summary for Bill Number HB09-1269

Date: 02/17/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1269

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.001. The motion passed without Refer House Bill 09-1269, as amended, to the Commi	Pass Without Objection PASS

09:38 AM -- House Bill 09-1269 - Concerning a State Rainy Day Fund

Representative Ferrandino, prime sponsor, distributed amendment L.001 (Attachment A). He explained that House Bill 09-1269 creates the Rainy Day Account within the Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund and specifies a revenue source for the account and how the account can be used. It also creates the Controlled Maintenance Account within the trust fund and renames the trust fund to the Controlled Maintenance and Rainy Day Fund.

Representative Ferrandino noted that the bill transfers all the money in the Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund – currently about $1.7 million – to the Controlled Maintenance Account on July 1, 2009. The Controlled Maintenance Account will be used in the same manner the Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund is used under current law – the interest earnings from the trust fund are used for controlled maintenance projects. Interest and income earnings from the Rainy Day Account will be credited to the Controlled Maintenance Account to be used for controlled maintenance projects. Representative Ferrandino said that this is the right time to create a Rainy Day Account. He noted that the bill is only effective if SB 09-108 (Faster) passes and is an important bill during bad economic times. He closed by saying that as the state recovers from the recession, it will fill the fund.

The committee discussed scenarios for the bill should the Faster bill not pass and discussed the language of the bill on Page 24, line 20 related to SB 09-108. The committee continued the discussion on the question of whether the Rainy Day Account should be in the State Constitution rather than creating a statutory account. Representative Ferrandino responded by discussing the two-thirds standard for access to revenue in the account. He noted that currently, cash funds are the state's Rainy Day Account. The discussion continued on the safeguards related to accessing the fund.

The discussion continued on the 6 percent limit and other bills that receive funding when the state has enough revenue to spend up to the limit.

The following person testified:

10:15 AM -- Mr. Rich Jones, Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Jones explained how other states balanced their budgets when economic downturns occur and compared Colorado's options to these states. He closed by noting that House Bill 09-1269 is a good idea that will work for Colorado in the future.

10:26 AM


BILL:	HB09-1269
TIME:	10:26:59 AM
MOVED:	Benefield
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001. The motion passed without objection by those members present.
SECONDED:	Judd
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Benefield
	Gerou
	Kefalas
	Kerr A.
	Lambert
	Roberts
	Summers
	Swalm
	Frangas
	Judd

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1269
TIME:	10:29:35 AM
MOVED:	Benefield
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1269, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 9-2 vote.
SECONDED:	Kefalas
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Lambert	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	No
	Swalm	Yes
	Frangas	No
	Judd	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS