House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources (03/04/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, & NATURAL RESOURCES

Date:	03/04/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	09:47 AM to 03:53 PM	Gardner C.	X
		Hullinghorst	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Labuda	X
		Looper	X
This Meeting was called to order by		McKinley	X
	Representative Curry	McNulty	X
		Pace	X
This Report was prepared by		Solano	*
	Lauren Ris	Sonnenberg	X
		Tipton	*
		Vigil	X
		Fischer	X
		Curry	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB09-1194 SB09-116 SB09-113 SB09-114 SB09-115 SB09-151 SB09-117 SB09-127		Postponed Indefinitely Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole

09:47 AM

Representative Curry, chair, discussed a committee field trip scheduled for March 25 to tour a coal bed methane produced water facility and hold a public hearing. She indicated that the field trip was voluntary and asked members to let committee staff know if they planned to attend.

09:48 AM -- House Bill 09-1194

The committee took up House Bill 09-1194, concerning accrual of a cause of action upon discovery of a breach of a royalty obligation, for actiononly. Testimony on the bill was heard on February 25.


BILL:	HB09-1194
TIME:	09:51:27 AM
MOVED:	Curry
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment A) to clarify the definition of royalty. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Looper
		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


BILL:	HB09-1194
TIME:	09:52:38 AM
MOVED:	Curry
MOTION:	Moved HB 09-1194, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. Representative Curry provided closing comments and discussed possible ways to follow-up on various issues raised during testimony that went beyond the scope of the bill. The committee discussed their views on the bill. The motion failed on a 5-8 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Hullinghorst
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	No
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	No
	Looper	No
	McKinley	No
	McNulty	No
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No
	Tipton	No
	Vigil	No
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Not Final YES: 5 NO: 8 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB09-1194
TIME:	10:06:47 AM
MOVED:	Labuda
MOTION:	Moved to postpone House Bill 09-1194 indefinitely. The motion passed on a 9-4 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Looper
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	No
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	No
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	No
	Curry	No
Final YES: 9 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

10:09 AM

The committee recessed.
01:39 PM

Jim Miller, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, offered some introductory comments regarding the sunset bills.

01:40 PM -- Senate Bill 09-116

Representative Looper, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-116 concerning the continuation of the Colorado Seed Act. The bill continues the seed act until July 1, 2020, without any changes to the program.

01:42 PM -- Mitch Yergert, Department of Agriculture, described the activities the department engages in under the seed act and recommended extending the act until 2020.


BILL:	SB09-116
TIME:	01:44:21 PM
MOVED:	Looper
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-116 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 12-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Gardner C.
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Excused
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes

Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:45 PM -- Senate Bill 09-113

Representative Sonnenberg, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-113 concerning the continuation of the authority of the Department of Agriculture to regulate measurement standards. The bill continues the Measurement Standards Act until July 2018. Changes to the regulation of the issuance of licenses and certificates related to measurement standards by the Department of Agriculture include: specifying that tuning forks used to determine the accuracy of radar guns are not subject to annual testing; allowing a buyer and seller of commodities to use any licensed scale if neither the buyer nor the sellers owns a scale; authorizing the Commissioner of Agriculture to set license fees by rule; allowing the commissioner to make rules to clarify the circumstances under which inaccurate devices should be marked for repair or removed from use; and conforming regulations to federal law.

01:47 PM -- Julie Zimmerman, Department of Agriculture, provided a summary of the bill (Attachment B) and amendments made to the bill in the Senate.

01:55 PM -- Saul Larsen, Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), answered questions from the committee about provisions in the bill that address testing radar guns and tuning forks.

01:57 PM

In response to questions from the committee, Ms. Zimmerman explained some of the amendments that were added in the Senate that lengthened the bill extensively.

01:58 PM

The committee discussed whether or not times the Department of Agriculture can conduct inspections should be specified in the bill. Steve Bormann, Department of Agriculture, indicated that inspection times are already specified in the statute.

02:01 PM

The committee discussed how civil penalties are assessed. David Joeris, State Attorney General's Office, explained the language currently in statute.

02:04 PM -- Mary Lou Chapman, Rocky Mountain Food Industry, testified in favor of the bill. She discussed how the act was outdated and explained why it needed to be updated.


BILL:	SB09-113
TIME:	02:08:42 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-113 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 12-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Fischer
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Excused
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes

Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:09 PM -- Senate Bill 09-114

Representative Sonnenberg, prime sponsor presented Senate Bill 09-114 concerning the continuation of the authority of the Department of Agriculture to regulate the sale of agricultural products, and regulating farm products and commodity warehouses. The bill continues the Farm Products Act and Commodity Handler Act until July 1, 2020. Changes to the regulation of farm products and commodity warehouses by the Department of Agriculture include: allowing the Commissioner of Agriculture unimpeded access to a licensee's property and records; authorizing the commissioner to establish licensing dates; requiring farm products cash buyers to pay the same license fees as small-volume dealers; allowing small-volume dealers to sell farm products and commodities; repealing the commodity handler agent license classification; and allocating civil fines to the General Fund.

02:10 PM -- Steve Bormann, Department of Agriculture, explained the recommendations made by DORA (Attachment C). Mr. Bormann also discussed how the provisions in the bill are funded.

02:14 PM

The committee discussed whether fines should be credited to the General Fund and how the program is funded. The committee considered whether there ought to be an amendment changing where fines through the program should be directed.

02:14 PM

Saul Larson, DORA, explained that it is standard for DORA to recommend that fines be remitted to the General Fund. The committee continued to discuss funding the program through the General Fund and cash funds and the reasoning behind the funding split.

02:18 PM

The committee discussed a conceptual amendment to restore the original language on page seven of the bill to direct fines to the Inspection and Consumer Services Cash Fund instead of the General Fund.

02:20 PM

Tom Morris, Office of Legislative Legal Services, recommended language in the bill that should be struck to restore the original language that directs fines to the Inspection and Consumer Services Cash Fund.

02:24 PM

The committee discussed the philosophy behind sending fines to the General Fund rather than to cash funds so that there is not an incentive for departments to issue fines.


BILL:	SB09-114
TIME:	02:29:22 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Moved a conceptual amendment to restore the original language in the bill in sections 11 and 12 on pages six and seven. The motion passed on a 11-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Gardner C.
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	No
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Excused
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Not Final YES: 11 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB09-114
TIME:	02:32:56 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-114, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 13-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Tipton
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Not Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

The committee discussed where fines are remitted in other sunset bills.

02:35 PM -- Senate Bill 09-115

Representative Curry, prime sponsor, presented her SB 09-115 concerning the continuation of the regulation of public livestock markets. The bill continues the licensing of public livestock markets by the Department of Agriculture until July 1, 2014. The bill eliminates the statutory May 1 license renewal date and allows the department to establish renewal schedules by rule.

02:37 PM -- Rick Wahlert, Colorado Brand Board, spoke about the bill and discussed the requirements of the bill (Attachment D). He responded to questions from the committee regarding an administrative recommendation that was not reflected in the bill.


BILL:	SB09-115
TIME:	02:42:12 PM
MOVED:	Curry
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-115 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 12-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Looper
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Excused
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:43 PM -- Senate Bill 09-151

Representative Curry, prime sponsor, presented SB 09-151 concerning the regulation of slaughterers of livestock through the Department of Agriculture, and allowing such function to expire on schedule and reassigning certain regulatory functions to the state board of stock inspection commissioners. The bill allows the Colorado Slaughter's Act to expire as scheduled on July 1, 2009, but continues the requirement to inspect brands prior to the slaughter of an animal to verify its ownership. The brand inspection requirement is moved to the State Board of Stock Inspection Commissioners at the Department of Agriculture.

02:47 PM -- Rick Wahlert, Colorado Brand Board, spoke in favor of the bill and responded to questions from the committee regarding verifying ownership of diseased animals and who the brand ispection requirements in the bill would apply to.


BILL:	SB09-151
TIME:	02:50:26 PM
MOVED:	Curry
MOTION:	Moved amendment L. 002 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Looper
		VOTE
	Gardner C.
	Hullinghorst
	Labuda
	Looper
	McKinley
	McNulty
	Pace
	Solano
	Sonnenberg
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Fischer
	Curry

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


BILL:	SB09-151
TIME:	02:53:00 PM
MOVED:	McKinley
MOTION:	Moved a conceptual amendment to change "burros" to "donkeys" on page 3. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	McNulty
		VOTE
	Gardner C.
	Hullinghorst
	Labuda
	Looper
	McKinley
	McNulty
	Pace
	Solano
	Sonnenberg
	Tipton
	Vigil
	Fischer
	Curry
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB09-151
TIME:	02:54:50 PM
MOVED:	Curry
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-151, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 13-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Looper
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:56 PM -- Senate Bill 09-117

Representative Vigil, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-117 concerning the continuation of the regulation by the Department of Agriculture of persons selling processed meat and clarifying the statutory distinction between custom meat processors and the sellers of home food service plans, amending terms to comport with current business practices, and increasing consumer protections. The bill continues the regulation by the Department of Agriculture of the slaughter, processing, and sale of meat animals until July 1, 2018. The bill discontinues the regulation of locker plants for the storage of food and directs that fines collected for violations be deposited in the General Fund rather than the Inspection and Consumer Services Cash Fund.

02:57 PM -- Julie Zimmerman, Department of Agriculture, explained that the act was severed into two separate sections. One section is on custom processing animals and another section is on the sale of food plans. Ms. Zimmerman explained why this separation was necessary (Attachment F). She answered questions from the committee concerning the regulation of locker plants.

03:01 PM

The committee discussed language in the bill that directs fines to the General Fund.

03:05 PM -- In response to discussion from the committee, David Joeris, State Attorney General's Office, clarified language in statute about assessing civil penalties under the bill and the authority of district courts.

03:09 PM -- Ms. Zimmerman responded to questions from committee about where fines would go if they did not go to the General Fund. She explained that the fines would go to the Inspection and Consumer Services Cash Fund.

03:10 PM -- Duane Gall, Office of Legislative Legal Services, confirmed language that would direct monies from penalties from going to the General Fund to the Inspection and Consumer Services Cash Fund.

03:12 PM

Representative Tipton asked a question about inspection hours allowed in the bill. Ms. Zimmerman responded that the language in the bill indicates that inspection must be upon consent of the owner.

03:14 PM

The committee discussed what maximum penalties are under the bill and how they are assessed.

03:23 PM

The committee continued to discuss violations and fines in programs throughout the department. The committee also discussed the frequency of violations under this law currently.


BILL:	SB09-117
TIME:	03:25:28 PM
MOVED:	Vigil
MOTION:	Moved a conceptual amendment to amend page 22 to direct penalty fines to the Inspection and Consumer Protection Cash Fund instead of the General Fund. The motion passed on a 12-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Solano
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	No
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Not Final YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB09-117
TIME:	03:28:56 PM
MOVED:	Vigil
MOTION:	Moved a conceptual amendment to page 37 to direct penalty fines to the Inspection and Consumer Protection Cash Fund instead of the General Fund. The motion passed on a 12-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Hullinghorst
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	No
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Not Final YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB09-117
TIME:	03:30:30 PM
MOVED:	Vigil
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-117, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 13-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Solano
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:33 PM -- Senate Bill 09-127

Representative Fischer, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-127 concerning the continuation of the regulation of egg quality. The bill continues the Colorado Egg Law until July 1, 2020. Representative Fischer described the changes to the regulation of eggs by the Department of Agriculture.

03:34 PM -- Julie Zimmerman, Department of Agriculture, explained that this bill implements the recommendations made by DORA (Attachment G). She responded to questions from the committee.

03:35 PM

Representative Fischer explained an issue that came up in the Senate regarding small egg sellers. To address this issue, the bill now allows small-scale egg sellers to apply for a license to sell eggs.

03:39 PM -- Jerry Wilkins, Colorado Egg Producers Association, spoke in favor of the bill. In response to a question from the committee he stated that Eggland's Best is the primary brand of local eggs sold in the state and distributed Attachment H. The committee discussed the association's commitment to taking care of chickens and asked questions about recyclable materials in egg packaging.

03:46 PM -- Mary Lou Chapman, Rocky Mountain Food Industry Association, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed a provision in the bill that changed the licensing criteria to license sellers by number of eggs sold.

03:48 PM -- Ms. Zimmerman answered question from committee about which fund penalties are directed to. She stated that fines under this bill go to the Inspection and Consumer Services Cash Fund.


BILL:	SB09-127
TIME:	03:49:46 PM
MOVED:	Fischer
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 09-127 to the Committee of the Whole. The committee discussed the need for consistency in inspector access among the sunset bills. The motion passed on a 13-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Solano
		VOTE
	Gardner C.	Yes
	Hullinghorst	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Looper	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	McNulty	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Tipton	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
	Fischer	Yes
	Curry	Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:53 PM

The committee adjourned.