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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Legislative Review Committee - 03/24/2004 -r LEGISLATIVE REVIEW COMMITTEE Meeting Summary March 24,2004 Legislative Review Committee present:Ray Martinez,Eric Hamrick Staff present:John Fischbach,Diane Jones,Ron Phillips,Carrie Daggett,Mark Radtke The meeting was called to order at 8:17 a.m. MEETING SUMMARY The meeting summary for the March 10,2004 Legislative Review Committee meeting was approved as written. UPDATES ON BILLS Mark Radtke provided a progress report on several bills the Committee has been following this session. -HR 1203 will come before the House Information and Technology Committee later this morning for amendment and action.At a hearing last Monday the IT Committee discussed an amendment that would limit the bill to dealing with condemnation powers addressed in the urban renewal authority statute only.The amendment would also allow several exceptions where a condemned piece of property could be transferred to private owners. -HR 1367 has been approved by the House and awaits committee action in the Senate.The Library Association continues to oppose the bill because it weakens the stability of library districts and their ability to repay debt. -HR 1374 comes before House Agriculture Committee this afternoon and the committee will consider an amendment that allows water districts to have a sales tax,but only through an agreement with the appropriate local government. -HR 1385 grants landlords protection from actions resulting from the behavior of their tenants.Assistant City Manager Darin Atteberry is scheduled to testify in opposition to the measure this morning in House Local Government Committee. Mr.Radtke shared the amendment the sponsor will offer on HB 1385 with the Committee.Carrie Daggett said the amendment narrows the scope of the bill but the bill continues to reduce the ability of the City to enforce our nuisance ordinance and requires the City to landlords an undetermined amount of time to cure a tenant problem.She noted the City already has a process that gives landlords adequate time to address problems. 0 DISCUSSION OF NEW BILLS A rewrite of the existing Rural Transportation Authority statute is contained in HR 1392. Ron Phillips said the RTAs will now become Regional Transportation Authorities,and can be formed in the Denver Metro area as well as outlying areas of the state.One of the changes from the current process will be the requirement RTAs sign an Intergovernmental Agreement with CDOT if projects affect the state system.The Committee adopted a neutral position on the bill. HR 1396 is a bill that would prohibit local government from charging business fees that are not uniform for all businesses.The exception would be for fees directly linked to costs generated by one type of business.John Fischbach said the vague language of the bill could lead to extensive application of the measure to such things as development fees.Councilmember Hamrick took an opposed position to the bill,saying it is another example of pre-emption of local control.Mayor Martinez did not want to take a position on the bill at this time,saying we should have more rationale for opposing a bill than just the fact that it challenges our home rule authority.No position was taken on HB 1396. Local building departments would be required to enforce rules on crane operator certification under SR 199.Mr.Radtke relayed information from the City building department saying the bill would require us to create an enforcement mechanism to check the certification of crane operators.It would also create a liability exposure if we failed to make the inspections.The Committee agreed to an oppose position on the bill. CLEAR ACT Mr.Radtke reported there is no change in status for either the House or Senate version of the federal CLEAR Act (H.R.2671 and S.1906). FUTURE MEETINGS The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Legislative Review Committee will be 8:15 a.m.,Wednesday,April 14 in the City Manager’s Conference Room. The meeting was adjourned at 8:43 a.m.