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I_Gallagher_2018A 08/21/2018 09:03:23 AM Committee Summary

PUBLIC
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING
INTERIM COMMITTEE  ALTERNATIVES TO THE GALLAGHER AMENDMENT INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEE
Date 08/21/2018
Attendance
Bridges X
Court X
Rankin X
Tate X
Smallwood X
Esgar X
Time 09:03:23 AM to 12:58:02 PM
Place HCR 0112
This Meeting was called to order by Esgar
This Report was prepared by Jeanette Chapman
Hearing Items Action Taken
State Fire Resource Sharing and Other Aid Committee Discussion Only
Property Assessment Rates in Initiative #93 Committee Discussion Only
Public Comment Committee Discussion Only
Consideration of Bill Draft Requests Committee Discussion Only
Adjourn Committee Discussion Only

State Fire Resource Sharing and Other Aid - Committee Discussion Only


09:04:01 AM  

Michael Morgan, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Department of Public Safety, introduced himself and discussed the 2018 fire season thus far.  He discussed the coordination between state, local, and federal agencies.  He responded to questions from the committee.  Mr. Morgan noted that the vast majority of fire response resources comes from local fire districts rather than utilizing state or federal resources and that local governments may coordinate with one another.



Property Assessment Rates in Initiative #93 - Committee Discussion Only


09:14:36 AM  
Anna Gerstle, Legislative Council Staff,
discussed the potential property tax impacts of Initiative #93.  Initiative
93, which will come before Colorado voters in November, is related to school
finance and raises taxes to provide additional funding for schools.  The
measure creates assessment rates for residential and non-residential property
specifically for schools.  Ms. Gerstle provided a copy of the third
draft of the Blue Book analysis of the proposed measure (Attachment A).
 She responded to questions from the committee.

09:30:11 AM  

Ms. Gerstle responded to comments from the committee concerning the language in the third Blue Book draft and responded to questions from the committee.



Public Comment - Committee Discussion Only


09:34:58 AM  

Pam Feely, Feely Consulting, discussed her concern about the financial impact of property taxes on businesses caused by the disparity in residential and nonresidential assessment rates.  She responded to questions from the committee.

09:38:06 AM  

Alan Fletcher, Fairmount Fire Rescue, described the impact on changes to the assessment rate in budgeting for a small fire district.  He discussed the complex requirements of a small department that responds to all kinds of emergency calls.

09:42:25 AM  

Don Lombardi, Colorado State Fire Chiefs, discussed the impact of changes to the residential assessment rate on fire departments.  Many departments are trying to plan for a likely decline in revenue and deciding where to cut services. He indicated he was aware of several fire departments that are planning to submit local ballot questions to request funding increases.  He responded to questions from the committee.

09:56:35 AM  

Mr. Lombardi continued to respond to questions from the committee regarding local mill levy elections being considered by some fire districts to help maintain current funding levels.

10:04:08 AM  

Ken Brownlee, Mesa County Assessor, discussed the disparity between residential and nonresidential property taxes.  He described the challenges of coordinating local ballot questions with the timing of when rates are set.

10:10:05 AM  

Richard Elsner, Park County Commissioner, made comments about the legislative options the committee has discussed to address issues with the Gallagher Amendment.  He expressed support for allowing localities to float their mill levies.  He responded to questions from the committee.

10:24:44 AM  

Tony Gagliardi, National Federation of Independent Businesses, discussed the number of small businesses in the state and how small business is defined.  He noted that his organization has coordinated discussions among small business owners about ways to address issues created by the Gallagher Amendment.  Mr. Gagliardi responded to questions from the committee.

10:37:00 AM  

JoAnn Groff, Property Tax Administrator, discussed her concerns with the impact of Initiative #93 on any potential adjustments to the residential assessment rate.  She responded to questions from the committee.

10:44:50 AM  

Christina Lara, Northwestern Railroad Construction Services, described her experience as a small business owner and the impact of increases in nonresidential property tax rates on maintaining her business in the state.  She responded to questions from the committee.

10:52:41 AM  

TJ Steck, Elizabeth Fire District and multiple rural fire districts, discussed his community's decision to hold an election for increasing funding for the district.  He described the challenge of bringing a ballot issue with such a quick turn around.

11:00:34 AM  

The committee recessed.



Consideration of Bill Draft Requests - Committee Discussion Only


11:15:16 AM  

The committee came back to order. Representative Esgar explained the procedure for requesting bill drafts.

11:16:09 AM  

Ed DeCecco, Office of Legislative Legal Services, provided additional detail about the bill drafting process for interim committees.  He explained when drafts will be available for review and discussed the timeline for preparing fiscal notes.  He responded to questions from the committee.

11:22:28 AM  

The committee discussed a proposal to repeal the Gallagher Amendment.



11:33:38 AM
Motion Authorize the draft of a resolution to repeal the Gallagher Amendment
Moved Tate
Seconded Court
Bridges Yes
Court Yes
Rankin Yes
Tate Yes
Smallwood Yes
Esgar Yes
YES: 6   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS
11:34:14 AM  

The committee discussed a proposal to classify short term rentals as non-residential properties for purposes of property tax assessments.



11:41:30 AM
Motion Authorize the draft of a bill to classify short term rentals as non-residential property for tax purposes
Moved Rankin
Seconded Tate
Bridges Yes
Court Yes
Rankin Yes
Tate Yes
Smallwood Yes
Esgar Yes
YES: 6   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS
11:43:09 AM  

The committee discussed the need for a bill to set the residential assessment rate at a particular, and currently undetermined, number in statute.



11:51:12 AM
Motion Authorize the draft of a bill to set the residential assessment rate at an amount to be determined.
Moved Court
Seconded Tate
Bridges No
Court Yes
Rankin Yes
Tate Yes
Smallwood No
Esgar Yes
YES: 4   NO: 2   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS
11:53:04 AM  

The committee discussed the need for a bill to ensure adequate funding for local fire districts by using state general fund to backfill lost revenue from a reduction in the residential assessment rate.  Discussion continued about whether to authorize legislation for a similar requirement for water districts and library districts.  The committee also discussed combining all three district backfill requirements into one bill.



12:01:40 PM
Motion Authorize the draft of a bill to sustain local fire districts using general fund money to make up for lost property tax revenue.
Moved Rankin
Seconded Smallwood
Bridges Yes
Court Yes
Rankin Yes
Tate Yes
Smallwood Yes
Esgar Yes
YES: 6   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS


12:02:58 PM
Motion Authorize the draft of a bill to sustain local water districts using general fund money to make up for lost property tax revenue.
Moved Rankin
Seconded Esgar
Bridges Yes
Court Yes
Rankin Yes
Tate Yes
Smallwood Yes
Esgar Yes
YES: 6   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS


12:06:25 PM
Motion Authorize the draft of a bill to require the state to sustain local library districts using an undetermined source of state money to make up for lost property tax revenue.
Moved Rankin
Seconded Court
Bridges Yes
Court Yes
Rankin Yes
Tate Yes
Smallwood Yes
Esgar Yes
YES: 6   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS
12:08:01 PM  

The committee discussed the need for a bill to develop a regional system for determining the residential assessment rate.



12:12:44 PM
Motion Authorize the draft of a bill to develop a regional plan to determine residential assessment rates in statute.
Moved Esgar
Seconded Court
Bridges Yes
Court Yes
Rankin Yes
Tate Yes
Smallwood Yes
Esgar Yes
YES: 6   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS
12:13:51 PM  

Mr. DeCecco responded to questions from the committee.

12:16:24 PM  

The committee discussed the possibility of moving the provisions of Initiative #93/Amendment 73, if passed, from the Constitution to statute.



12:28:16 PM
Motion Authorize the draft of a bill to move the provisions of initiative #93/Amendment 73, if passed, from the Constitution to statute.
Moved Tate
Seconded
Bridges
Court
Rankin
Tate
Smallwood
Esgar
YES: 0   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  Withdrawn
12:28:17 PM  

The committee discussed the need for a bill to refer a constitutional amendment to voters to permit counties to float their mills.  Mr. DeCecco responded to questions from the committee.



12:56:38 PM
Motion Authorize a bill to combine the three state funded backfill bill proposals (water, fire, and library districts) to make up for lost property tax revenue.
Moved Rankin
Seconded Court
Bridges Yes
Court Yes
Rankin Yes
Tate Yes
Smallwood Yes
Esgar Yes
YES: 6   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS



Adjourn - Committee Discussion Only


12:57:23 PM  

The chair made closing comments and the committee adjourned.


12:58:02 PM   Committee Adjourned






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