Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ENERGY

Date:04/28/2009
ATTENDANCE
Time:03:11 PM to 07:13 PM
Cadman
X
Hodge
X
Place:SCR 353
Kester
X
Lundberg
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Newell
X
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:
SB09-289
HB09-1345
HB09-1327
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Laid Over

03:12 PM -- Senate Bill 09-289

Senator Schwartz, sponsor, explained that the Senate Local Government and Energy Committee received testimony on Senate Bill 09-289 on April 23. It approved Amendment L. 001 (Attachment A) and then the bill was laid over, for action only, at today's meeting. She also distributed Amendment L. 003 (Attachment B).

090428AttachA.pdf 090428AttachB.pdf

There was no testimony. Testimony on Senate Bill 09-289 was taken at the April 23 meeting.
BILL:SB09-289
TIME: 03:12:39 PM
MOVED:Schwartz
MOTION:Moved to reconsider Amendment L. 001 that was approved by the committee on April 23. The motion passed 7-0.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Yes
Hodge
Yes
Kester
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
Yes
Foster
Yes
Schwartz
Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:SB09-289
TIME: 03:14:34 PM
MOVED:Schwartz
MOTION:Moved a substitute Amendment L. 003, as amended. The motion was adopted on a vote of 7-0. The final vote on Amendment L. 003, as amended, was taken at 3:38 p.m.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Yes
Hodge
Yes
Kester
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
Yes
Foster
Yes
Schwartz
Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:20 PM

Senator Schwartz described the provision of Amendment L. 003 and responded to questions from the committee about the amendment. Committee discussion followed about amending the Amendment to prohibit retailers who sell replacement tires from refusing to accept waste tires from customers.
BILL:SB09-289
TIME: 03:32:44 PM
MOVED:Kester
MOTION:Moved a conceptual amendment to Amendment L. 003 to exempt from the $1.50 Waste Tire Recycling Development Fee if the new motor vehicle tire is for farm equipment. The motion passed on vote of 4-3.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Yes
Hodge
Yes
Kester
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
No
Foster
No
Schwartz
No
Not Final YES: 4 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:SB09-289
TIME: 03:31:54 PM
MOVED:Schwartz
MOTION:Moved to amend Amendment L. 003, Page 3, line 13., strike "may SHALL" and substitute "may NOT REFUSE TO". 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
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
BILL:SB09-289
TIME: 03:39:11 PM
MOVED:Schwartz
MOTION:Moved Senate Bill 09-289 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion passed on a vote of 4-3.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
No
Hodge
Yes
Kester
No
Lundberg
No
Newell
Yes
Foster
Yes
Schwartz
Yes
Final YES: 4 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



03:40 PM -- House Bill 09-1345

Senator Schwartz, sponsor, described the provisions of the reengrossed House Bill 09-1345 that requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in the Department of Regulatory Agencies to investigate and report to the legislature on transmission planning by electric utilities in Colorado. The report must address adequacy, interstate coordination, the need for future legislative action, and other issues identified by stakeholders and other government agencies. A progress report is due by November 1, 2009, and a final report is due by July 1, 2010.

The following persons testified on the bill:

03:43 PM -- Ron Binz, Chairman of the PUC, spoke in support of the bill and described the need for electric transmission infrastructure development to increase energy generation in Colorado. He also responded to questions from the committee.


03:48 PM --
Craig Cox, Interwest Energy Alliance, spoke in support of the bill. He also responded to questions from the committee about the extent of coordination between the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and other energy providers in the development of energy transmission.

03:51 PM --
Heidi Wagner, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, explained that her organization is neutral on the bill and responded to questions from the committee.

04:03 PM --
Keith Hay, Environment Colorado, spoke in support of the bill.

04:03 PM --
Cory Blair, E. ON Climate and Renewables, spoke in support of the bill. He also described Colorado's renewable energy resources and the need to increase electric transmission infrastructure to develop this resource.

04:11 PM --
Mr. Binz returned to answer questions from the committee about the coordination in the planning and development of transmission infrastructure between WAPA, the PUC, and other energy providers. He also described the role of the PUC in the planning and development of transmission infrastructure.

04:20 PM

Senator Schwartz closed her remarks on the bill.
BILL:HB09-1345
TIME: 04:21:41 PM
MOVED:Schwartz
MOTION:Moved to refer House Bill 09-1345 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 7-0.
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

04:22 PM

The committee recessed.

04:23 PM -- House Bill 09-1327

Senator Tochtrop, sponsor, described the provisions of the reengrossed House Bill 09-1327 that modifies the method of distributing property tax revenue attributable to urban renewal authorities (URAs) that arise from the use of tax increment financing (TIF) mechanisms to support urban renewal projects. The URA and any taxing entity located within the URA may enter into an intergovernmental agreement for determining the future allocation of property taxes. In the absence of an intergovernmental agreement, House Bill 09-1327 specifies how the property tax revenue is to be allocated. It also makes several changes to the approval and modification process with regard to an urban renewal plan.

The following persons testified on the bill:

04:28 PM --
Cindy Domenico, Colorado Counties, Inc., Boulder County Board of Commissioners, spoke in support of the bill and expressed concern about the current law concerning URAs.

04:34 PM --
Dee Wisor, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the provision of the bill that changes the allocation formula for the property tax revenue. He also responded to questions from the committee about the impact of the bill on URAs.

04:40 PM --
Michael Hyman, City of Aurora, spoke in opposition to the bill and described the Fitzsimmons URA and the Colorado Science & Technology Park at Fitzsimmons URA.

04:47 PM --
Erin Goff, Colorado Municipal League, spoke in opposition to the bill and explained how TIFs help municipalities address urban blight. She also read a written statement from Jan Powlowski, Mayor of Brighton in opposition to the bill and that describes the benefits of Brighton URA.

04:56 PM --
Bob Murphy, Mayor of Lakewood, Metro Mayors Caucus, spoke in opposition to the bill and proposed that a stakeholders group be convened during the interim to examine URAs and TIFs. He also responded to questions from the committee concerning the proposed stakeholder process and the effect of URAs on taxes collected by entities in existence prior to the formation of a URA.

05:09 PM -- Mary Carter, Mayor of Sheridan, described the Riverpoint URA in the City of Sheridan.

05:12 PM --
Mark Golberg, Goldberg Properties, Inc., International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), spoke in opposition to the bill and described how TIFs help cities address urban blight. He also described URAs that he has developed in the Denver metro area.

05:19 PM --
Tracy Snyder, Member of the Board of Directors of City of Commerce City, spoke in opposition to the bill.

05:19 PM --
Paul Natale, Mayor of City of Commerce City, spoke in opposition to the bill and described the Gateway URA and the Derby URA.

05:23 PM -- Will Smith, Executive Director of the Estes Park URA, spoke in opposition to the bill.

05:23 PM --
Bill Pinkham, Mayor of Estes Park, spoke in opposition to the bill and described the Estes Park URA that was formed to address the impact from the Lawn Lake flood. He also responded to questions from the committee about potential amendments to the bill that would address his concerns.

05:33 PM --
Rick Klein, La Junta City Manager, spoke in opposition to the bill and described the La Junta URA.

05:36 PM --
Kathay Rennels, Chair of the Larimer County Board of Commissioners, spoke in support of the bill. She also responded to questions from the committee about the role of counties in the formation of URAs.

05:42 PM --
Frank Lancaster, Larimer County Manager, spoke in support of the bill and expressed concern about urban blight designations by URAs (Attachment C and Attachment D). He also responded to questions from the committee about barriers to greater cooperation between cities and other affected governmental entities in the formation of URAs and TIFs.

090428AttachC.pdf 090428AttachD.pdf


06:00 PM --
Sallie Clark, El Paso County Board of Commissioners, Colorado Counties Inc., spoke in support of the bill and described the possible impact of TIFs on county revenues.

06:08 PM --
Nick Christianson, Christland Commercial, spoke in support of the bill.

06:13 PM --
Paul Cooke, Colorado State Fire Chiefs' Association, spoke in support of the bill and expressed concern about the potential impact of TIFs on rural fire protection districts. He also responded to questions from the committee regarding the need for a task force to study URAs and TIFs.

06:20 PM

Senator Tochtrop spoke in opposition to amending the bill to form a task force to study URAs and TIFs.

06:22 PM --
Stephanie Thomas, Colorado Environmental Coalition, spoke in support of the bill and expressed concern about URAs that designate agricultural lands as blight to pay for the development of those lands.

06:26 PM --
Chip Taylor, Colorado Counties, Inc., spoke in support of the bill and responded to prior testimony in opposition to the bill. He also described the effect of Article 10, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, also known as the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), on the ability of counties, special districts, and other governmental entities to increase taxes to address service-needs related to URAs.

Rod Bockenfeld, Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners, submitted a letter of support for the bill (Attachment E).

090428AttachE.pdf

Larry Pace, Chair of the Adams County Board of Commissioners, submitted a letter of support for the bill (Attachment F).

090428AttachF.pdf

06:33 PM

Senator Tochtrop closed her remarks on the bill.
BILL:HB09-1327
TIME: 06:47:07 PM
MOVED:Lundberg
MOTION:Moved to amend Page 6 of the reengrossed bill, line 10, strike "FIFTY" and substitute "SIXTY", line 13, strike 'FIFTY" and substitute "FORTY". The motion failed on a vote of 3-4.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Yes
Hodge
No
Kester
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
No
Foster
No
Schwartz
No
Not Final YES: 3 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

06:53 PM

Ms. Goff returned to respond to questions about the respective authority of home rule municipalities and URAs.
BILL:HB09-1327
TIME: 07:04:00 PM
MOVED:Schwartz
MOTION:Moved to amend Page 6 of the reengrossed bill, strike lines 7 through 17, line 18 strike "sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (I), the", and substitute "THE", line 19, strike "MAY" and substitute "SHALL". Committee discussion followed about the proposed amendment. The bill was laid over without taking action on this amendment.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Hodge
Kester
Lundberg
Newell
Foster
Schwartz
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE

07:10 PM

Bob Lackner, Office of Legislative Legal Services, identified drafting problems with the proposed amendment and proposed alternative language to address Senator Schwartz' intent.
BILL:HB09-1327
TIME: 06:47:15 PM
MOVED:Cadman
MOTION:Moved to refer House Bill 09-1327 to the Committee of the Whole. Amendments to the bill were considered and none were approved. The bill was laid over unamended at 7:12 p.m.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
Hodge
Kester
Lundberg
Newell
Foster
Schwartz
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE

07:12 PM

The bill was laid over unamended and the meeting adjourned.