Bill Summary for Bill Number HB09-1060

Date: 01/21/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1060

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved a conceptual amendment on page 6, line 11, a Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1060 indefinitely. Moved to refer House Bill 09-1060, as amended, to	Pass Without Objection PASS FAIL

01:43 PM -- House Bill 09-1060

Representative McKinley, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1060 concerning information to be provided to visitors at Rocky Flats. He explained that the bill requires the Department of Public Health and Environment to develop and post public notices regarding public health and safety information at entrances to the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

The following individuals testified:

01:45 PM -- LeRoy Moore, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, testified in favor of the bill. He distributed a handout (Attachment A). He explained that a large quantity of plutonium remains in Rocky Flats and that, in his view, it poses a danger to public health. He discussed the health effects of exposure to plutonium, and how exposure to plutonium could occur at Rocky Flats.

01:56 PM -- Jim Hawklee, Tallahassee Area Community, distributed a handout (Attachment B). He began by describing other incidents involving exposure to chemicals from abandoned uranium mines which may have resulted in illnesses in the community. He explained that his concern was that these sites did not have warnings explaining that the site was contaminated. He testified that he supports this bill because it would provide notice about the history of Rocky Flats.

02:01 PM -- Kay Hawklee, Tallahassee Area Community, distributed a handout (Attachment C). She described other incidences involving contamination at sites where warnings were not posted. She testified in favor of the bill.

02:06 PM -- Representative Curry indicated that she was not happy with comparisons to other contaminated sites without knowing whether contamination levels were similar at Rocky Flats. Representative McKinley explained the contamination levels at Rocky Flats after the site's clean-up.

02:08 PM -- Dr. Harvey Nichols, Boulder citizen, distributed a handout (Attachment D) and testified in favor of the bill. He described research he conduced in 1974 on particles in snow at Rocky Flats that he concluded was contaminated with plutonium. He answered a question from Representative Fischer about his research.

02:19 PM -- Anne Fenerty, Boulder citizen, distributed a handout (Attachment E) and testified in favor of the bill. She commented that a variety of scientific reviews of the cleanup effort have expressed concern about the effectiveness of the remediation. She testified that in her view the public has the right to know the history of the wildlife refuge.

02:25 PM -- Lorraine Anderson, Mayor Pro Tem of Arvada, distributed handouts (Attachments F and G) and testified against the bill. She explained that the City of Arvada is committed to informing the public about Rocky Flats, but that the City does not support the bill because it excludes all of the communities, stakeholders, regulators, and agencies that worked to secure the cleanup of Rocky Flats. She also testified that the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on signs that will be erected at all trailhead and public access points to Rocky Flats when the site is opened to the public (Attachment G). She responded to a question from Representative Hullinghorst about the timing of making the refuge open to the public.

02:35 PM -- Dr. Mark Johnson, Director of the Jefferson County Department of Health and Environment representing himself, testified in favor of the bill. He testified that in his view the bill provided a moderate way of informing the public about the history of Rocky Flats. He explained what a particle of plutonium does once inside the human body. Dr. Johnson answered questions from the committee.

02:41 PM -- Dr. Gale Biggs, citizen of Boulder, participated in the Rocky Flats Scientific Monitoring Panel, the Rocky Flats Cleanup Commission, and the Rocky Flats Citizen Advisory Board. He distributed a handout (Attachment H) and testified in favor of the bill. He explained the sources of plutonium emissions, and monitoring of ambient concentrations. Dr. Biggs answered a question from the committee about current air quality monitoring.

02:54 PM -- Jeannette Hillery, Colorado League of Women Voters and member of the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council, testified against the bill. She explained that she believes that this issue is the responsibility of the federal government, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She also indicated that Representative McKinley did not consult the Stewardship Council about this bill. She also spoke about the amount of mitigation already done on the site. She answered questions from the Committee.


BILL:	HB09-1060
TIME:	03:06:08 PM
MOVED:	McKinley
MOTION:	Moved a conceptual amendment on page 6, line 11, after "BY" insert "THE DATE THE REFUGE IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Fischer
		VOTE
	Gardner C.
	Hullinghorst
	Labuda
	Looper
	McKinley
	McNulty
	Pace
	Solano
	Sonnenberg
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Fischer
	Curry

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:07 PM-- Representative McKinley made closing comments. He asked the committee to consider the potential public health impacts of exposure to plutonium.


BILL:	HB09-1060
TIME:	03:11:01 PM
MOVED:	McKinley
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1060, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a 5-7 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Pace
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Excused
	Hullinghorst	No
	Labuda	No
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	No
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	No
	Sonnenberg	No
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	No
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes

Not Final YES: 5 NO: 7 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB09-1060
TIME:	03:12:00 PM
MOVED:	Labuda
MOTION:	Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1060 indefinitely. The motion passed on a 7-5 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Looper
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Excused
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	No
	McNulty	No
	Pace	No
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:14 PM

The committee recessed.

03:19 PM

Representative Fischer reconvened the committee.