Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ENERGY

Date:03/05/2009
ATTENDANCE
Time:10:05 AM to 11:02 AM
Cadman
X
Hodge
X
Place:SCR 353
Kester
*
Lundberg
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Newell
*
Senator Schwartz
Foster
X
Schwartz
X
This Report was prepared by
David Beaujon
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB09-1197
HB09-1185
HB09-1203
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Referred to the Committee of the Whole


10:06 AM -- House Bill 09-1197

Senator Harvey, sponsor, described the provisions of HB 09-1197 that requires the Division of Housing in the Department of Local Government to collect and compile home foreclosure data from each county in the state and to issue a quarterly report. The report is to be the official foreclosure data for the state and must be used when citing state foreclosure statistics. He described the current process for reporting foreclosures and the need for more timely and accurate information about this activity. He also responded to questions from the committee about problems associated with private organizations that provide foreclosure data and distributed Amendment L. 002 (Attachment A).

090305AttachA.pdf

The following persons testified on the bill:

10:13 AM --
Carol Snyder, Colorado Public Trustees Association, described the role of public trustees in Colorado's foreclosure process and spoke in support of the bill. She also described how foreclosures are addressed in other states and responded to questions from the committee about the foreclosure process.

10:29 AM --
Chris, Hulbert, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill and described the challenge of reporting foreclosure data accurately and according to a standard format. He also described how foreclosure data is reported in other states.

10:33 AM --
Rachel Nance, Colorado Association of Realtors, spoke in support of the bill and described problems with the current foreclosure reporting requirements that may distort the public's perception of the number of foreclosures in Colorado.

10:35 AM --
Rachel Basye, Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), explained how CHFA uses foreclosure data that is reported by public trustees and commented on the bill and Amendment L. 002.
BILL:HB09-1197
TIME: 10:42:44 AM
MOVED:Newell
MOTION:Moved to refer HB 09-1197 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended, and with a recommendation that it be added to the Consent Calendar. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Yes
Hodge
Yes
Kester
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
Yes
Foster
Yes
Schwartz
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
BILL:HB09-1197
TIME: 10:42:59 AM
MOVED:Newell
MOTION:Moved Amendment L. 002. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Hodge
Kester
Lundberg
Newell
Foster
Schwartz
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection




10:44 AM -- House Bill 09-1185

Senator Isgar, sponsor, described the provisions of HB 09-1185 that allows documents related to water rights applications to be transmitted by methods other than mail and rescinds the requirement that applications and statements of opposition to such applications be filed in quadruplicate. It also recognizes the authority of the Colorado Supreme Court to adopt rules to supplement statutory filing and transmittal procedures. He explained that the bill includes provisions that were recommended by the Water Court Committee of the Colorado Supreme Court.

The following persons testified on the bill:

10:48 AM --
Sherry Stwalley, Colorado Judicial Department, spoke in support of the bill (Attachment B).

090305AttachB.pdf

10:50 AM --
Sara Duncan, Colorado Water Congress, spoke in support of the bill.

10:50 AM --
Dick Soash, Colorado Water Congress, spoke in support of the bill.
BILL:HB09-1185
TIME: 10:51:31 AM
MOVED:Newell
MOTION:Moved to refer HB 09-1185 to the Committee of the Whole, without amendment, and with a recommendation that it be added to the consent calendar. The motion passed on a vote of 6 to 0.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Excused
Hodge
Yes
Kester
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
Yes
Foster
Yes
Schwartz
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




10:53 AM -- House Bill 09-1203

Senator Isgar, sponsor, described the provision of HB 09-1203 that reclassifies Montezuma County as a Category III county for the purposes of fixing fees and establishing salaries for elected county officials. The bill increases the salary of 9 elected officials in Montezuma County including commissioners, Sheriff, Treasurer, Assessor, Clerk, Coroner, and Surveyor at a cost of $74,300. He also compared the salaries of elected officials in Class III an Class IV counties (Attachment C and Attachment D) and responded to questions from the committee regarding the fiscal impact of the bill on Montezuma County.

090305AttachC.pdf 090305AttachD.pdf

There was no testimony on the bill:
BILL:HB09-1203
TIME: 11:02:05 AM
MOVED:Foster
MOTION:Moved to refer HB 09-1203 to the Committee of the Whole, without amendment, and with a recommendation that it be added to the Consent Calendar. The motion passed on a vote of 7 to 0.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Yes
Hodge
Yes
Kester
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
Yes
Foster
Yes
Schwartz
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:02 AM

The meeting adjourned.