Senate Committee on Local Government and Energy (02/17/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ENERGY

Date:	02/17/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	02:09 PM to 05:09 PM	Cadman	X
		Hodge	*
Place:	SCR 353	Kester	X
		Lundberg	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Newell	X
	Senator Foster	Foster	X
		Schwartz	*
This Report was prepared by
	Kori Donaldson
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB09-105 HB09-1041 SB09-122		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to Finance Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

02:09 PM -- Senate Bill 09-105

The meeting was called to order. A quorum was present. Senator Dan Gibbs, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-105, which removes the statutory limit on the amount that may be raised in a single year by a special property tax levied by a Board of County Commissioners for the purpose of fighting prairie or forest fires. Under current law, counties may impose a special property tax with voter approval to generate up to $500,000 annually for the purpose of fighting both forest and prairie firesl. Senator Gibbs make some introductory remarks about the bill.

The following people testified on the bill:

02:12 PM -- Commissioner Bob French, representing the Summit County Board of Commissioners, spoke in support of the bill. Commissioner French explained that the $500,000 cap on the annual tax is not enough to address the risk of catastrophic wildfire. He addressed questions from the committee about the special property tax limit under current law and recent property taxes levied by Summit County.

02:18 PM -- Mr. Chris Mendez, representing Colorado Counties Inc., spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Mendez gave an overview of recent legislative history of limits on special property taxes for fighting wildfires. Mr. Mendez addressed questions from the committee. Senator Gibbs said that the bill will give counties the flexibility to ask for additional funds if needed, and stressed that the property tax increase requires a vote of the people to pass. Discussion ensued.

02:26 PM -- Mr. Paul Cooke, representing the Colorado State Fire Chiefs' Association, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Cooke said it is not unusual to exceed $500,000 a day to pay for the cost of fighting a wildfire. He also addressed questions from the committee about the amount of potential property tax increases that may be levied. Senator Lundberg expressed his reservations about the bill. Discussion ensued about state and local control regarding tax increases.

02:36 PM


BILL:	SB09-105
TIME:	02:36:58 PM
MOVED:	Newell
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-105 to Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion carried 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

Prior to the vote, Senator Gibbs made some concluding remarks about the bill and asked the committee for their support.

02:37 PM -- House Bill 09-1041

Senator Gibbs, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1041, which allows a fire protection district board to charge a fee for extrication, rescue, or other safety services provided when assisting in an emergency medical situation. Senator Gibbs made introductory remarks about the bill.

The following person testified on the bill:

02:42 PM -- Mr. Paul Cooke, representing the Colorado State Fire Chiefs' Association, spoke in support of the bill. Committee members received a summary of Mr. Cooke's testimony (Attachment A).

02:44 PM

Senator Gibbs asked the committee for their support of the bill and addressed questions from the committee. Mr. Cooke returned to the table to address a question about the fee structure that exists in current law for fire protection district boards to recoup costs for ambulance or medical services. Mr. Cooke then addressed questions about what constitutes extrication and rescue services, and the level of service currently provided by fire protection districts. Discussion turned to the source of funding for fire protection districts compared to local fire departments.


BILL:	HB09-1041
TIME:	02:53:56 PM
MOVED:	Foster
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1041 to the Committee on Finance with a favorable recommendation. The motion carried 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

02:55 PM

The committee took a brief recess.

02:59 PM -- Senate Bill 09-122

The committee came back to order. Senator Dan Gibbs, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-122, which requires the Office of Preparedness, Security, and Fire Safety to notify and release the report of any security assessment conducted on any critical state infrastructure, such as a water supply system or telecommunications network, to the county sheriff in the county in which the critical state infrastructure is located. Senator Gibbs made introductory remarks about the bill. He distributed and spoke to amendment L.004 (Attachment B), amendment L.005 (Attachment C), and amendment L.007 (Attachment D). Committee members also received a New York Times editorial "Cracking the Homeland Security Monolith," distributed by Senator Gibbs (Attachment E). Senator Gibbs addressed potential concerns with the bill.

The following people testified on the bill:

03:10 PM -- Mr. Peter Weir, representing the Department of Public Safety, and Mr. Kevin Klein, representing the Division of Fire Safety, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Weir said, as drafted, the bill makes citizens less safe rather than more safe because control over sensitive information will be lost. He told the committee that there is already participation by local law enforcement agencies regarding the assessment of risk at critical state infrastructures. Mr. Klein spoke about a new program, Consultation / Automated Asset Management System (ACAMS), that makes some information about risk at critical infrastructures available to local law enforcement officials. Mr. Klein addressed questions about ACAMS training, which instructs local first responders in the assessment of risk at critical state infrastructures. Discussion ensued.

03:27 PM -- Discussion continued about available training for first responders in assessing risk at critical infrastructures. Senator Gibbs addressed a question about the need to provide notification to county sheriffs and police chiefs regarding risk assessments of critical state infrastructure. He said his bill narrows the number of people who will have access to this information. Mr. Weir spoke to amendment L.004. He then spoke to certain incidents at critical infrastructures.

03:35 PM -- General Mason Whitney, representing the Governor's Office of Homeland Security, spoke in opposition to the bill. General Whitney said the bill is trying to solve a problem that does not need to be solved. He said the ACAMS program gives first responders access to the needed information regarding critical state infrastructures. He also remarked that most facilities in the state are not state-owned and will not be addressed by this bill, (as amended by amendment L.007). General Whitney addressed questions from the committee.

03:40 PM -- Mr. Robert Olislager, representing Centennial Airport, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Olislager said the bill will allow information to be shared with many people who do not need to know highly sensitive information about critical infrastructures. Mr. Olislager addressed questions from the committee.

03:48 PM -- Mr. Tim Gablehouse, representing the Colorado Emergency Preparedness Partnership, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Gablehouse said that when a business agrees to a risk assessment it is disclosing sensitive information. He added that the ACAMS system is sufficient and that Senate Bill 09-122 is not needed.

03:58 PM -- Sheriff John Minor, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill. Sheriff Minor said local sheriffs are the first responders to critical incidents and stressed the importance of having information about critical state infrastructures available prior to an incident.

04:04 PM -- Mr. Rick Holman, representing the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Holman told the committee that state police chiefs are looking for a way to access information about risk at critical state infrastructures. He said the ACAMS system may provide the needed information.

04:08 PM -- Mr. Joel Cochran, representing Summit County Government, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Cochran explained the need to have access to information about risk assessments for emergency preparedness planners. He said a computer system is not an acceptable substitute to a report provided to county sheriffs and chiefs of police about potential risk at critical state infrastructures. Senator Foster spoke about her experience with emergency preparedness planning. Discussion ensued. Mr. Cochran addressed questions from the committee about materials made available to emergency preparedness planners.

04:25 PM -- Ms. Jeannie Bernard, representing the Building Owners and Management Association, spoke in support of amendment L.007. Ms. Bernard addressed questions from the committee about who should have access to information about critical state infrastructures. Discussion ensued about current practice regarding the format and storage of completed risk assessments.

04:31 PM -- Mr. Joseph Gargan, representing the American Society for Industrial Security, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Gargan addressed questions from the committee.

04:34 PM

Senator Gibbs made some concluding remarks about the bill and amendments L.004, L.005, and L.007. The committee discussed which local authorities should have access to risk assessment reports about critical state infrastructures. Senator Cadman expressed some concerns about the bill. Discussion ensued about the possible inclusion of ACAMS in the language of the bill and the possibility of adding a sunset provision in section 2 of the bill. Discussion continued about other possible amendments to the bill.


BILL:	SB09-122
TIME:	04:49:49 PM
MOVED:	Newell
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-122, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion carried on a vote of 5-2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cadman	No
	Hodge	Yes
	Kester	No
	Lundberg	Yes
	Newell	Yes
	Foster	Yes
	Schwartz	Yes

Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB09-122
TIME:	05:01:26 PM
MOVED:	Lundberg
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.007 (Attachment D). The motion carried on a vote of 5-2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cadman	Yes
	Hodge	No
	Kester	Yes
	Lundberg	Yes
	Newell	No
	Foster	Yes
	Schwartz	Yes

Not Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

Prior to the vote, Senator Gibbs briefly explained amendment L.007. Senator Newell expressed her concerns with the amendment. Discussion ensued.


BILL:	SB09-122
TIME:	04:57:25 PM
MOVED:	Newell
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.005 (Attachment C). 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

Prior to the vote, discussion ensued about a potential conceptual amendment.


BILL:	SB09-122
TIME:	04:50:15 PM
MOVED:	Newell
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.004 (Attachment B). After discussion, the motion was withdrawn.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Cadman
	Hodge
	Kester
	Lundberg
	Newell
	Foster
	Schwartz

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE

Prior to the vote, Senator Gibbs briefly explained amendment L.004. Senator Hodge distributed and spoke to amendment L.001 (Attachment F.)


BILL:	SB09-122
TIME:	04:53:05 PM
MOVED:	Hodge
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment F) but strike lines 8-16 and substitute lines 9-18 from amendment L.004 (Attachment B). 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

Prior to the vote Mr. Klein returned to the table to address questions about the federal standards referenced in amendment L.001.

05:09 PM

The committee adjourned.