Skip to main content
Colorado General AssemblyToggle Main Menu
Agency NameToggle Agency Menu

H_FIN_2017A 04/24/2017 Committee Summary

Final

STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING



HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Date: 04/24/2017
ATTENDANCE
Time: 01:39 PM to 09:44 PM
Beckman
X
Benavidez
X
Place: LSB A
Catlin
X
Covarrubias
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Gray
X
Representative Pabon
Herod
X
Kennedy
X
This Report was prepared by
Lawrence
X
Kori Donaldson
Michaelson Jenet
X
Thurlow
X
Van Winkle
X
Foote
X
Pabon
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB17-1346

HB17-1349

HB17-1342

HB17-1323

SB17-040

HB17-1352
Amended, Referred to House Appropriations

Referred to the Committee of the Whole

Referred to the Committee of the Whole

Referred to House Appropriations

Amended, Referred to House Appropriations

Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only





01:40 PM -- HB17-1346



The committee was called to order. A quorum was present. Representative Lontine, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 17-1346, which authorizes the Department of Human Services to sell up to 66 acres of vacant land around the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs at fair market value for the purpose of expanding the Fort Logan National Cemetery. Representative Lontine responded to questions from the committee and read a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs.



01:58 PM --
Mr. Steve Rylant, representing the United Veterans Committee, testified in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee.



02:05 PM --
Ms. Sarah Wager, representing the Department of Human Services, testified in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee.
























BILL: HB17-1346
TIME: 02:13:38 PM
MOVED: Van Winkle
MOTION: Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.



17HouseFin0424AttachA.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachA.pdf
SECONDED: Kennedy
VOTE
Beckman
Benavidez
Catlin
Covarrubias
Gray
Herod
Kennedy
Lawrence
Michaelson Jenet
Thurlow
Van Winkle
Foote
Pabon
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection





02:15 PM



The committee recessed.















































02:27 PM



The committee returned to order.

BILL: HB17-1346
TIME: 02:28:57 PM
MOVED: Herod
MOTION: Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.



17HouseFin0424AttachB.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachB.pdf
SECONDED: Kennedy
VOTE
Beckman
Benavidez
Catlin
Covarrubias
Gray
Herod
Kennedy
Lawrence
Michaelson Jenet
Thurlow
Van Winkle
Foote
Pabon
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection








































BILL: HB17-1346
TIME: 02:33:56 PM
MOVED: Beckman
MOTION: This is a conceptual amendment. Amend printed bill, page 4, line two, after "veterans-related" insert "and behavioral-health related." The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED: Kennedy
VOTE
Beckman
No
Benavidez
Yes
Catlin
No
Covarrubias
No
Gray
Yes
Herod
Yes
Kennedy
Yes
Lawrence
No
Michaelson Jenet
Yes
Thurlow
No
Van Winkle
No
Foote
Yes
Pabon
Yes
YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS






















































BILL: HB17-1346
TIME: 02:41:26 PM
MOVED: Herod
MOTION: Refer House Bill 17-1346, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED: Beckman
VOTE
Beckman
Yes
Benavidez
Yes
Catlin
Yes
Covarrubias
Yes
Gray
Yes
Herod
Yes
Kennedy
Yes
Lawrence
Yes
Michaelson Jenet
Yes
Thurlow
Yes
Van Winkle
Yes
Foote
Yes
Pabon
Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS





02:43 PM -- HB17-1323



Representative Esgar, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 17-1323. The bill, as amended by the House Transportation and Energy Committee, makes several requirements of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in the Department of Regulatory Agencies related to ethics. Committee members received a fact sheet about the bill (Attachment C). Representative Esgar responded to questions from the committee.



17HouseFin0424AttachC.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachC.pdf



02:53 PM



Ms. Erin Reynolds, Legislative Council Staff, responded to questions about the bill's prepared fiscal note.





02:54 PM



Representative Esgar and members of the committee made closing remarks on the bill.





















03:03 PM -- HB17-1349



Representatives Pabon and Van Winkle, co-prime sponsors, presented House Bill 17-1349, which establishes the residential assessment rate at 7.20 percent for tax years 2017 and 2018. The state constitution requires that the share of assessed values of residential and non-residential property in the state remain constant between reassessment cycles. The General Assembly is required to set the residential assessment rate every two years to maintain these shares. These two constitutional requirements are commonly known as the Gallagher Amendment.



03:06 PM --
Mr. Dennis Eulberg, representing the Colorado State Fire Chiefs, testified in support of the bill.





03:08 PM



The bill sponsors made closing remarks on the bill.

BILL: HB17-1349
TIME: 03:08:44 PM
MOVED: Pabon
MOTION: Refer House Bill 17-1349 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0.
SECONDED: Van Winkle
VOTE
Beckman
Yes
Benavidez
Yes
Catlin
Yes
Covarrubias
Yes
Gray
Excused
Herod
Yes
Kennedy
Yes
Lawrence
Yes
Michaelson Jenet
Yes
Thurlow
Excused
Van Winkle
Yes
Foote
Excused
Pabon
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

























03:10 PM -- HB17-1342



Representative Benavidez, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 17-1342, which authorizes a county to propose a ballot question concerning county public safety improvement taxes at biennial county elections or an election held in November of an odd-numbered year. Representative Benavidez answered questions from the committee.



03:14 PM --
Mr. Miller Hudson, representing the third judicial district, testified in support of the bill.



03:17 PM --
Ms. Peg Ackerman, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado, testified in support of the bill.





03:18 PM



Representative Benavidez made closing remarks on the bill.

BILL: HB17-1342
TIME: 03:19:04 PM
MOVED: Beckman
MOTION: Refer House Bill 17-1342 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0.
SECONDED: Michaelson Jenet
VOTE
Beckman
Yes
Benavidez
Yes
Catlin
Yes
Covarrubias
Yes
Gray
Excused
Herod
Excused
Kennedy
Yes
Lawrence
Yes
Michaelson Jenet
Yes
Thurlow
Yes
Van Winkle
Yes
Foote
Excused
Pabon
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS





























03:20 PM -- HB17-1352



Representative Winter, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 17-1352, which requires that entities that contract with the federal government to service student education loans obtain a supervised vendor license from the administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code in the Department of Law. The bill identified exempt entities. Representative Winter distributed a fact sheet about the bill and a news article (Attachments D and E, respectively). She also responded to committee questions.



17HouseFin0424AttachD.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachD.pdf 17HouseFin0424AttachE.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachE.pdf



03:36 PM --
Ms. Molly Fitzpatrick, representing New Era Colorado, testified in support of the bill.



03:40 PM --
Ms. Jamila Sieman, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



03:43 PM --
Mr. Ryan Case, representing AFT Colorado, testified in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee.





03:51 PM



Ms. Sieman responded to questions from the committee.



03:51 PM --
Ms. Linsi Bowers, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



03:54 PM --
Mr. Branden Hickerson, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



03:56 PM --
Mr. Marcus Liberman, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



04:00 PM --
Mr. Michael Huang, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.





04:04 PM



Representative Winter and members of the committee made some closing remarks on the bill.







































04:12 PM -- HB17-1323

BILL: HB17-1323
TIME: 04:12:58 PM
MOVED: Kennedy
MOTION: Refer House Bill 17-1323 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED: Foote
VOTE
Beckman
No
Benavidez
Yes
Catlin
No
Covarrubias
No
Gray
Yes
Herod
Yes
Kennedy
Yes
Lawrence
No
Michaelson Jenet
Yes
Thurlow
No
Van Winkle
No
Foote
Yes
Pabon
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS





04:13 PM -- SB17-040



The committee recessed.





04:38 PM



The committee returned to order. Representative Pabon, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 17-040. The reengrossed bill modifies the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) with respect to digital or electronic records. Committee members received a memorandum assessing the fiscal impact of amendment L.025 and amendment L.032 (Attachment F). Representative Pabon responded to committee questions.



17HouseFin0424AttachF.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachF.pdf





















04:58 PM --
Mr. Wayne Williams, the Colorado Secretary of State, testified in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee.



05:07 PM --
Mr. Paul Ritzma, representing the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, testified in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the committee. Representative Pabon also responded to questions.



05:31 PM --
Ms. Barbara Redmond, representing Denver Health, testified in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the committee. Representative Pabon commented on aspects of Ms. Redmond's testimony.



05:47 PM --
Mr. Richard Orf, representing the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Orf distributed a handout from Colorado Counties, Inc. (Attachment G) and responded to committee questions. Representative Pabon also responded to questions from the committee.



17HouseFin0424AttachG.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachG.pdf



06:25 PM --
Mr. Michael Nicoletti, representing the Department of Public Health and the Environment, testified in opposition to the bill and responded to committee questions.



06:41 PM --
Mr. Michael Shea, representing the Governor's Office of Information Technology, testified in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the bill.



06:48 PM --
Mr. Jeremy Hueth, representing the University of Colorado System, testified in opposition to the bill and in support of possible amendments. Mr. Hueth responded to questions from the committee.



07:00 PM --
Ms. Jessica LeRoux, representing herself, testified in opposition to the bill.



07:06 PM --
Mr. Jack Wylie, representing the Department of Personnel and Administration, testified in opposition to the bill and in support of possible amendments. Mr. Wylie responded to questions from the committee.



07:13 PM --
Mr. Riley Kitts, representing the Department of Human Services, testified in opposition to the bill.





07:15 PM



The committee recessed.



07:44 PM --
The committee returned to order. Mr. Chris Koeber, representing the Colorado Broadcasters Association, testified in support of the bill.

























07:48 PM --
Ms. Elena Nunez, representing Colorado Common Cause, testified in support of the bill and spoke about potential amendments.



07:52 PM --
Ms. Peg Perl, representing Colorado Ethics Watch, testified in opposition to the bill and in support of possible amendments. Ms. Perl responded to committee questions.



07:58 PM --
Mr. Terry Scanlon, representing the Judicial Branch, testified from a neutral position on the bill and responded to committee questions.



08:13 PM --
Mr. Daniel Hodges, representing the Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities, testified in support of the bill and responded to committee questions.



08:24 PM --
Mr. Doug Kemper, representing the Colorado Water Congress, testified in support of the bill, if it is amended, and distributed a handout detailing a possible amendment (Attachment H).



17HouseFin0424AttachH.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachH.pdf



08:30 PM --
Mr. Peter Coulter, representing Transparent Courts, testified in support of the bill.



08:33 PM --
Mr. Greg Romburg, representing the Colorado Press Association, testified in support of the bill.



08:37 PM --
Ms. Suzanne Staiert, representing the Secretary of State's Office, testified in support of the bill.





08:49 PM



Representative Pabon distributed and explained amendments L.025, L.027, L.032, L.042, and L.043 (Attachments I through M). Representative Pabon responded to committee questions.



17HouseFin0424AttachI.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachI.pdf 17HouseFin0424AttachJ.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachJ.pdf



17HouseFin0424AttachK.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachK.pdf 17HouseFin0424AttachL.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachL.pdf



17HouseFin0424AttachM.pdf17HouseFin0424AttachM.pdf





















09:17 PM --
Mr. David Blake, representing the Office of the Attorney General, came to the table to answer questions about amendment L.032.

BILL: SB17-040
TIME: 09:30:46 PM
MOVED: Kennedy
MOTION: Adopt amendment L.025 (Attachment I). The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED: Herod
VOTE
Beckman
No
Benavidez
Yes
Catlin
No
Covarrubias
No
Gray
Yes
Herod
Yes
Kennedy
Yes
Lawrence
No
Michaelson Jenet
Yes
Thurlow
No
Van Winkle
No
Foote
Yes
Pabon
Yes
YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




















































BILL: SB17-040
TIME: 09:31:24 PM
MOVED: Pabon
MOTION: Adopt amendment L.027 (Attachment J). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED: Gray
VOTE
Beckman
Benavidez
Catlin
Covarrubias
Gray
Herod
Kennedy
Lawrence
Michaelson Jenet
Thurlow
Van Winkle
Foote
Pabon
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


























































BILL: SB17-040
TIME: 09:31:41 PM
MOVED: Pabon
MOTION: Adopt amendment L.032 (Attachment K). The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED: Kennedy
VOTE
Beckman
Yes
Benavidez
Yes
Catlin
No
Covarrubias
No
Gray
No
Herod
Yes
Kennedy
Yes
Lawrence
Yes
Michaelson Jenet
Yes
Thurlow
No
Van Winkle
No
Foote
No
Pabon
Yes
YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
























































BILL: SB17-040
TIME: 09:32:53 PM
MOVED: Pabon
MOTION: Adopt amendment L.042 (Attachment L). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED: Kennedy
VOTE
Beckman
Benavidez
Catlin
Covarrubias
Gray
Herod
Kennedy
Lawrence
Michaelson Jenet
Thurlow
Van Winkle
Foote
Pabon
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


























































BILL: SB17-040
TIME: 09:33:10 PM
MOVED: Pabon
MOTION: Adopt amendment L.043 (Attachment M). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED: Kennedy
VOTE
Beckman
Benavidez
Catlin
Covarrubias
Gray
Herod
Kennedy
Lawrence
Michaelson Jenet
Thurlow
Van Winkle
Foote
Pabon
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

































































09:35 PM



Representative Pabon made closing remarks on the bill.

BILL: SB17-040
TIME: 09:37:49 PM
MOVED: Pabon
MOTION: Refer Senate Bill 17-040, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED: Kennedy
VOTE
Beckman
No
Benavidez
Yes
Catlin
No
Covarrubias
No
Gray
Yes
Herod
Yes
Kennedy
Yes
Lawrence
No
Michaelson Jenet
Yes
Thurlow
No
Van Winkle
No
Foote
Yes
Pabon
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS





09:43 PM -- HB17-1352



The chair laid House Bill 17-1352 over for action only until a later date.





09:44 PM



The committee adjourned.


The 2024 Statewide Ballot Information Booklet is now online