Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ENERGY

Date:03/12/2009
ATTENDANCE
Time:10:06 AM to 12:09 PM
Cadman
X
Hodge
X
Place:SCR 353
Kester
X
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:
HB09-1110
HB09-1220		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Lay over unamended


10:07 AM -- House Bill 09-1110

Senator Gibbs, sponsor, described the provisions of HB 09-1110 that clarifies existing law by requiring owners of rental property to provide identifying information about their properties to county assessors. Under current law, personal property that is used to furnish residential rental property is subject to taxation. By December 1, 2009, and in each subsequent year, owners of furnished residential rental property or their agents must provide to assessors the property owner's name and address of the rental property.

The following persons testified on the bill:

10:10 AM -- Mark Chapin, Eagle County Assessor, spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee regarding the challenge of identifying taxable property and the type of properties that would be affected by this bill.

10:18 AM -- Bev Breakstone, Summit County Assessor, spoke in support of the bill and described the challenge of identifying taxable property used for vacation rentals. She explained that hotel owners are currently paying a disproportionate amount of the tax on rental properties. She estimated that a small portion of the 10,000 vacation properties in Colorado that are currently advertised on internet are paying the personal property tax.

10:28 AM -- Frank Celico, Attorney for Summit County, spoke in support of the bill and identified the types of personal property that are taxable under current law.

10:36 AM -- JoAnn Groff, Property Tax Administrator, Division of Property Taxation, explained that the business personal property tax is currently 29 percent of the assessed value of the property. She also explained that property that is rented fewer than 14 days is subject to the business personal property tax and identified the value of personal property that is exempt from the tax. She also explained how property owners who failed to notify the assessor about their personal property in prior tax years would be affected by the bill and whether they could be required to pay back taxes.




10:49 AM -- Patrick Boyle, Colorado Assessors' Association, spoke in support of the bill and explained how personal property is taxed under current law (Attachment A).

090312AttachA.pdf

10:53 AM -- Ms. Groff responded to questions from the committee about how certain types of personal property would be taxed under current law.

10:55 AM -- Chris Mendez, Colorado Counties, Inc., spoke in support of the bill.

10:57 AM -- Ms. Groff responded to questions from the committee regarding short term properties that are subject to the business personal property tax.

10:58 AM

Senator Gibbs closed his remarks on the bill.

11:03 AM

Ms. Groff responded to questions from the committee about the business personal property tax and the types of property that may be subject to it.

11:05 AM

Jason Gelender, drafter, Office of Legislative Legal Service, responded to questions from the committee about how to amend the bill to exempt owners from being required to pay back taxes if an assessor determines that the owner should have paid the personal property tax in prior years based on information provided by the owner in response to the bill.
BILL:HB09-1110
TIME: 11:05:55 AM
MOVED:Newell
MOTION:Moved a conceptual amendment to prohibit a treasurer from demanding payment for back taxes on personal property that is discovered as a result of an owner submitting information to the assessor as required by HB 09-1110. 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




BILL:HB09-1110
TIME: 11:06:03 AM
MOVED:Newell
MOTION:Moved HB 09-1110 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion passed on a vote of 5-2.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Cadman
No
Hodge
Yes
Kester
Yes
Lundberg
No
Newell
Yes
Foster
Yes
Schwartz
Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:07 AM -- House Bill 09-1220

Senator Gibbs, sponsor, described the provisions of HB 09-1220 that amends the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act to allow a unit owner to restrict the sale price, rental rate, or lease rate of a unit to promote affordable or workforce housing, regardless of any provision in the declaration, bylaws, or rules or regulations of an association that would prohibit such restrictions. The bill applies only to towns with a population of less than 100,000 and that have a licensed ski lift. It does not apply to a declarant-controlled community. He also distributed Amendment L. 005 (Attachment B).

090312AttachB.pdf

The following persons testified on the bill:

11:09 AM -- Jennifer Kermode, Summit Combined Housing Authority, spoke in support of the bill and described the need for additional affordable housing in Summit County and other resort communities. She also explained how deed restrictions are used to address affordable housing problems and responded to questions from the committee concerning property owners that may use the authority granted by the bill. Ms. Kermode explained that some home owners associations have adopted policies that limit affordable housing units or placed restrictions on owners of the affordable housing units, such as where they are allowed to park their cars.

11:34 AM

Bob Lackner, bill drafter, Office of Legislative Legal Services, explained that the bill would invalidate any existing provision in the declaration, bylaws, or rules or regulations of an association that seeks to limit the ability of an owner to specify or restrict the sale price, rental rate, or lease rate of a unit; or other requirements designed to promote affordable or workforce housing.

11:44 AM -- Alana Smart, Housing Colorado, spoke in support of the bill and described the shortage of affordable housing in resort communities. She also responded to questions from the committee about the type of unit owners who may want to use the authority granted under the bill.





11:53 AM -- Rachel Nance, Colorado Association of Realtors, explained how developers address affordable housing needs. She also spoke in support of Amendment L. 005 and proposed an amendment to limit the number of deed restricted units in a development that would be subject to the provisions of the bill.

12:02 PM

Mr. Lackner returned to answer a questions about the provision of Amendment L. 005 concerning the 3 percent limit in the appreciation in the value of a unit on which the specification or restriction has been lifted (Page 1, lines 9 through 11 of the amendment).

12:04 PM -- Ms. Nance explained the purpose of the provision of Amendment L. 005 concerning the 3 percent limit in the appreciation in the value of a unit and how it would affect owners who sell their unit.

12:06 PM -- Ms. Kermode returned to responded to questions from the committee concerning the three percent limit on the appreciation value of a unit in Amendment L. 005 and how it compares to deed restriction on other affordable housing.

12:08 PM

The bill was laid over and tentatively rescheduled for action on Tuesday, March 17, at 2 PM.