House Committee on Finance (03/17/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Date:	03/17/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	11:45 AM to 01:17 PM	Apuan	X
		Benefield	X
Place:	LSB A	Gerou	X
		Kefalas	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Kerr A.	X
	Representative Judd	Lambert	X
		Roberts	X
This Report was prepared by		Summers	X
	Ron Kirk	Swalm	X
		Frangas	X
		Judd	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB09-042 SB09-016 HB09-1301 HB09-1293		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to Appropriations Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to Appropriations

11:46 AM -- Senate Bill 09-042 -- Concerning the Administration of the Exempt Status of Property for Property Tax Purposes

Representative Vigil and Representative Peniston, prime sponsors, distributed amendment L.008 (Attachment A). Representative Vigil began by saying that SB09-42 broadens the definition of property overseen by the property tax administrator and expands the authority of the State Board of Equalization to grant certain exemptions. He continued by noting that the bill also requires an owner of a subsidized housing project to submit financial documentation of its operations to the division. After a brief committee discussion, Representative Vigil asked that the State Property Tax Administrator respond to questions about the bill.

The following persons testified:

11:47AM

Ms.JoAnn Groff, State Property Tax Administrator, testified in favor of the bill and said that it is a cleanup bill. She closed by saying that the bill requires the Division of Property Taxation to provide a list of pending applications for property tax exemptions annually to counties.

11:51AM

Mr. John Thatcher, Bessemer Historical Society, testified in support of the bill and mentioned that the bill would save money for the society in the future.


BILL:	SB09-042
TIME:	11:54:30 AM
MOVED:	Benefield
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.008. The motion passed without objection by those members present.
SECONDED:	Kefalas
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Benefield
	Gerou
	Kefalas
	Kerr A.
	Lambert
	Roberts
	Summers
	Swalm
	Frangas
	Judd

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


BILL:	SB09-042
TIME:	11:55:33 AM
MOVED:	Kefalas
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-042, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 11-0 vote.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Lambert	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:58 AM -- Senate Bill 09-016 -- Concerning Measures to Restore Forest Areas Affected by Bark Beetle Infestation

Representative King and Representative Scanlan, prime sponsors, spoke to the provisions in the bill. Representative Scanlan explained that SB09-016, approved by the Interim Committee on Wildfire issues in Wild Land-Urban Interface Areas, provides a five-year property tax exemption for business personal property used to harvest, transport, process, or market timber killed by bark beetles. She continued by saying that an applicant must meet certain criteria to qualify for the tax exemption. She noted that the applicant must be either a sole proprietor living in Colorado or a corporation whose principle place of business is in Colorado.

12:09 PM
After a brief committee discussion, the bill was placed on the table for action.


BILL:	SB09-016
TIME:	12:09:57 PM
MOVED:	Benefield
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-016 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 11-0 vote.
SECONDED:	Kefalas
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Lambert	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:13 PM -- House Bill 09-1301 -- Concerning the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund

Representative Judd, prime sponsor, explained that House Bill 09-1301 establishes a continuous appropriation of moneys from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to the state treasurer for the payment of contract auditor services.

The following person testified:

12:14 PM
Mr. Eric Rothaus, Deputy State Treasurer, responded to committee questions and spoke to the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund. Mr. Rothaus explained that the Unclaimed Property Division of the state treasurer currently contracts with two, third-party auditing firms to aid the division's audit efforts and to recover additional property for Colorado citizens. He closed by noting that the audit firms receive a fee of 12 percent of the value of the property identified.

12:22 PM

The committee briefly discussed the 12 percent fee and the bill was placed on the table for action. Representative Judd distributed amendment L.002 (Attachment B).


BILL:	HB09-1301
TIME:	12:22:39 PM
MOVED:	Judd
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.002. The motion passed without objection by those members present.
SECONDED:	Kefalas
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Benefield
	Gerou
	Kefalas
	Kerr A.
	Lambert
	Roberts
	Summers
	Swalm
	Frangas
	Judd

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


BILL:	HB09-1301
TIME:	12:24:53 PM
MOVED:	Judd
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1301, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 11-0 vote.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Lambert	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:26 PM -- House Bill 09-1293 -- Concerning Provider Fees and Health Care Providers

Representative Riesberg, prime sponsor, briefly explained the provisions of the bill. Representative Ferrandino, also a prime sponsor, spoke to the TABOR implications in the bill. Representative Gerou distributed amendment L.018 (Attachment C).

The committee discussed the fee and TABOR implications in the bill regarding the revenue increase in FY 2009-10 through FY 2011-2012. The committee discussed the federal matching component in the bill and corresponding provider fees. After a brief committee discussion on fees, Mr. Mike Mauer, Legislative Council Staff was asked to discuss the bill's impact on TABOR revenue and the Referendum C cap.

The following persons testified:

12:50 PM
Mr. Mike Mauer, Economist and Director for Legislative Council Staff, distributed a set of tables entitled TABOR Revenue and Referendum C Cap (Attachment D). Mr. Mauer began by talking about the issues that pertain to all bills that raise fees under TABOR. Mr. Mauer discussed the question of where the cap adjusts to after all fee bills are passed and noted that currently, FY 2007-08 is the highest revenue year in terms of establishing the Referendum C cap.

Representative Judd asked Mr. Mauer to discuss the possible cap levels given the passage of fee bills before the legislature. Mr. Mauer closed by saying that over time, the state may again refund surplus tax money back to citizens under TABOR.

01:05 PM


BILL:	HB09-1293
TIME:	01:05:08 PM
MOVED:	Gerou
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.018. The motion failed on a 5-6 vote.
SECONDED:	Swalm
		VOTE
	Apuan	No
	Benefield	No
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	No
	Kerr A.	No
	Lambert	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Frangas	No
	Judd	No

Not Final YES: 5 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB09-1293
TIME:	01:16:07 PM
MOVED:	Kefalas
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1293 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 7-4 vote.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	Gerou	No
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Lambert	No
	Roberts	No
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	No
	Frangas	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:17 PM

Adjourn.