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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Legislative Review Committee - 02/11/1999 -r Legislative Review Committee Minutes from February 11,1999 Council Attendance:Scott Mason,Will Smith Staff Attendance:Stewart Ellenberg,Marty Heffernan,Diane Jones,Alan Krcmarik,Rita Davis,Ron Phillips,Steve Roy,Liz Stroh,Dennis Sumner,Tom Vosberg,Lucinda Smith and Ginny Brown (recorder) •CML Executive Board Meeting,Status of CML support and oppose bills (2/10/99) 1.Planning &Land Use —Tom Vosberg a.Responsible Growth Act (HB1185) Tom Vosberg updated the committee on action that was taken after we met on January 28.Tom drafted a letter (attached)sent by Mayor Azari on January 29,1999 to Representative Tambor Williams and Representative Bill Webster.The purpose of the letter was to urge the Representatives not to kill the bill in committee but rather let the affected interest groups continue discussions about amending flaws in this bill.After today’s meeting it was suggested that Tom draft a second letter.This letter (attached) was signed by Mayor Azari on February 12,1999 and sent to all House Local Government Committee members.The purpose of this letter was to show strong support for HE 1185 with appropriate amendments. b.Vested Rights bill (HB1280) *For details please see handout —“Preliminary Evaluation of HB1280 concerning Vested Property Rights” Tom updated the committee on issues addressing this bill.To date,this bill has not been put on the calendar for committee,however,it has been assigned to the Business Affairs Committee and is expected to be signed into law this year.Four key points have been identified as key elements: •Establish entitlements earlier in the regulatory process •Require specifically defined submittal requirements •Limit conditions of approval to health and safety consideration;eliminate “welfare” as a basis of a condition of approval •Prohibits the use of moratoria or building permit limitations from infringing on vested development rights Action item:Tom will draft a letter highlighting areas of concem and send it to the Business Affairs Committee (See attched) 2.Transportation —Ron Phillips Ron discussed two bills that address transportation.However,the money from these bills is for highways only: a.1023—May -$100 million to General Fund b.1206—May —10%of total sales tax will go towards state highways 0 0 r CML Executive Board Meeting -Ron Phillips *For details please see handout —“Status of CML Support & Oppose Bills,2/10/99” Ron highlighted a number of bills that were discussed:CML Recomm. a.RB 1127 (Gotlieb)Credit Card Payments —authoiizes state Staff disc. and local governmental entities to accept payments by credit card. b.RB 1224 (Coleman)Information technology —requires state Oppose Agencies,local govts.And other state assisted entities to bid and puithase technology equipment for the blind and visually impaired c.HB 1249 (Spradley)Taxes —reduces the severance tax upon Staff disc. mined materials and increases the percentage of severance taxes allocated to local govts. Policy Committee Recomm. List of Policy Committee Bills *For details please see handout —“Status of CML Support & Oppose Bills,2/10/99” a RB 1280 (McPherson)Vested Rights expands vested rights Oppose of landowners to develop their properties. b RB 1208 (Gordon)Tobacco provides for expenditure of Support &Amend Settlement funds. c SB 79 (Owen)Disabled parking substantially revises law Amend to make 4 hr.minimum feature optional to local govt. SB 118 (Epps)Beer &Liquor authorizes alcoholic beverage Oppose unless Tasting at licensed premises amended to be Local option HB 1215 (Larson)Beer &Liquor authorizes any common Staff discretion Cagier public transportation system licensee to also serve Liquor in up to 3 designated facilities or private clubs. RB 1027(5.Williams)Traffic provides for mandatory denial Support of a drivers license as penalty for defacing property. RB 1126 (Kaufman)Taxes establishes a state income tax credit for Support Contributions to the Colorado Cultural Trust Fund. HB 1134 (Hagedom)Utilities limits funding of underground conversion No action of overhead facilities. SB 153 (Owen)Natural Gas authorizes deregulation of supply services Staff disc. SB 54 (Andrews)Tobacco provides for expenditure of settlement funds Oppose (Other tobacco bills are complimentary) SB 132 (Anderson)Tobacco provides for expenditure of settlement funds Support SB 172 (Lacey)Tobacco provides for expenditure of settlement funds Support SB 41 (Dyer)Bicycles modifies traffic regulations Support 0 4.Finance —Alan Krcmarik Alan commented on two issues pertinent to the current legislative session: a.RB 1005 (Chlouber)Direct payment of sales and use tax.Another issue where a decision made by the state will require that local government conforms.Conflicts with Home Rule Communities. b.Franchise taxes based upon a flat fee are in jeopardy as a result of actions taken by Doug Bruce (many legislators are giving him more attention than they did in the past).In a recent Colorado Court of Appeals ruling the Town of Eagle’s lodging tax was found to be unconstitutional.The Court found that flat lodging taxes paid by motels should be categorized as income tax. c.Tobacco settlement appropriations bills -proceeds from tobacco settlements are not considered to be revenue according to Amendment 1 (Doug Bruce asked that such clarification not be included and the sponsor of one of the bills accommodated his request. 5.Legislative Policy Agenda -Diane Jones No report 6.Legislative Update —Ginny Brown A packet of information was handed to attending committee members: •Minutes —January 28,1999 •Current listing of House &Senate Bills •Sample of CML Newsletter •Sample of CML Statehouse Report •HB 1305 Preemption of all local gun laws •The Governor’s Policy on Concealed Weapon Legislation •CML Legislative Box Score •1999 Land Use Legislation Affecting Municipalities •HE 1258,Reasons for league opposition In order not to overwhelm committee members with paper it will be helpful to provide me with your requests for CML Communications (See survey from 1 14/99 meeting),and any bills you would like to have tracked. 7.Other business —Lucinda Smith °Please see handouts for details: •RB 1297—Staff Position (OPPOSE) This bill does not support the City’s air quality goals.The bill proposes to eliminate: a.oxy-fuels from our State Implementation Plan b A.I.R.inspection and maintenance program c Emissions inspection at change of ownership d.Visible smoke portion of the emissions test+ •Proposed Changes to Regulation 11 —Clean Screening Fort Collins has official party status at the air quality hearing on February 18.Fort Collins is requesting that the standards by which vehicles are defined as clean be lowered from 1%CO and 500 ppm tp 0.5%CO and 200 ppm. Action item:As a result of air quality cutpoints being lowered Scott Mason suggested Lucinda proceed with her recommendations for Clean Screening and HB 1297. r City of Fort Collins Staff Position Date:2/10/99 Bill Number:HB 99-1297 Official Bill Summary: Requires the air quality control commission (“commission”)to eliminate fuel regulations for areas where such regulations are not needed to attain or maintain federal air quality standards.Increases,from 15 minutes to 17 minutes,the maximum acceptable wait time for motorists waiting for an emissions inspection.Eliminates the requirement that vehicles receive emissions tests when they are sold or transferred if they have a valid emissions certificate. Removes the requirement for the performance of an opacity test during an emissions test. Decreases,from $25 to $20,the maximum fee that a licensed inspection and readjustment station,inspection-only facility,or motor vehicle dealer test facility charges for enhanced emissions testing of vehicles. Requires that a licensed inspection and readjustment station, inspection-only facility,or motor vehicle dealer test facility open one additional lane for the sole purpose of reinspecting vehicles that failed the initial emissions test. Allows a county included in the automobile inspection and readjustment (AIR)program area to demonstrate to the lead air quality planning agency of such portion of the program area that such county meets national ambient air quality standards and transportation conformity. Requires the lead air quality planning agency to request,and the commission to specifr,that the AIR program no longer apply in that portion of the program area where a county has demonstrated that it meets national ambient air quality standards. CML Position:Unknown Bill Sponsor(s):Paschall,Clapp,Dean,Larson,Lee,May,McElhany,McKay,Mitchell,Spense, Spradley,Stengel,Swenson,and Taylor. Committee:State,Veterans,and Military Affairs Local Legislator on Committee:None Factors/Organizations Driving the Legislation:Unknown 0 0 Bill Analysis: For any area that demonstrates attainment of the national ambient air quality standards (as Fort Collins would if redesignating to attainment for CO),the Commission would be required to eliminate oxy-fuels from our State Implementation Plan and specie that the A.I.R.(inspection and maintenance)program no longer apply in our area.Given that motor vehicles are our number one source of air pollution and that we face rapid VMT growth rate,carbon monoxide control strategies are important for attaining our air quality goal.Fort Collins would lose two important carbon monoxide control strategies if this bill passes. The bill also proposes to eliminate the emissions inspection requirement at change of ownership. Approximately ¼of all vehicles change ownership every year,so testing at change of ownership accounts for a significant portion of emissions tests.It provides data on vehicles that would otherwise be exempt during the four year new car model exemption.Testing at change of ownership also provides protections for those who purchase cars.The City opposed the elimination of testing at change of ownership last year when it was proposed in SB-182. The bill proposes to remove the opacity (visible smoke)portion of the emissions test.The North Front Range Air Quality Study has indicated that smoking vehicles contribute a significant portion (13%)of fine particles,PM2.5,that contribute to visibility degradation. Passage of this bill would have a negative impact on our air quality.The bill does not support the City’s air quality goal to”Continually improve air quality as the city grows”. Staff Recommendation: Oppose HB-1297. The existing legislative policy agenda provides the basis for actions to oppose the bill: “The City supports inspection/maintenance (l/M)legislation that will further reduce tailpipe emissions per mile and help prevent total vehicle emissions from rising after year 2000.” Staff Lead Person:Lucinda Smith City of Fort Collins Staff Position Date:2/10/99 Bill Number:Proposed changes to Regulation 11 —Motor Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program; Addition of Motor Vehicle Clean Screening Summary: As required by Senate Bill 182,the Air Pollution Control Division has proposed changes to Regulation 11 to add “Clean Screening”to our current J/M program.As currently proposed,clean screening would allow 35%of eligible vehicles to bypass an in-shop test if their vehicle’s tailpipe emissions received two “clean”readings with a roadside remote sensing device.Each month,clean vehicles would receive a postcard allowing motorists to send payment (up to $15)to a contractor and receive their emissions sticker in the mail.Motorist participation is voluntary.The cutpoints (standards by which vehicles are defined as clean)originally proposed were 1%CO and 500 ppm HC. The State originally estimated the program would result in up to 4%loss in CO benefit and up to 7% loss in HC benefit.These estimates were made relative to the more stringent 1M240 emissions test used in Denver.The State has said that “the idle test,being a less stringent test”would suggest that the gross (not relative)reduction would be less.” In November,the Fort Collins Air Quality Advisory Board voted to oppose the clean screen program because of its negative impact on air quality. Fort Collins has obtained official party status at the AQCC hearing on February 18 to promulgate the rules for clean screening.Fort Collins’prehearing statement requests lower cutpoints of 0.5% Co and 200 ppm HC for the clean screen program,to offer better air quality protection. On February 10,the State agreed to lower the cutpoints to 0.5%CO and 200 ppm HC for the first year of the program.Cutpoints for the second year would be established based on evaluation of air quality impacts using data from the first year of the program.These lower cutpoints provide significant improvement in air quality protection over the cutpoints originally proposed by the State ofl%CO and 500 ppm HC. The State has also indicated they will: •Decrease the contract period from 3 years to 2 •Provide NOx measurements to improve the air quality impact analysis •Boost mechanic training locally •Provide us with high-emitter data from outside the program area •Continue to explore other clean screen tools like low emitter profiling: 0 Analysis: It is likely there will still be some air quality loss using the tighter cutpoints,but the safety margin is much greater.It is not known precisely what the air quality impacts will be relative to the idle test used in Fort Collins. Staff Recommendation: Staff feels that the State has made significant efforts to accommodate the City’s request for tighter cutpoints,and that the risk to air quality is low enough to justi~participating in the program. Staff feels it is important to continue working with the State to ensure that the RFP requires: •Monthly data evaluations and contract monitoring to veri~’that the program is operating within guidelines,and correction procedures,if it is not; •Adequate data collection during the first year to allow a rigorous assessment of air quality impacts after one year. Staff Lead Person:Lucinda Smith Cit of Fort Collins February 17,1999 Honorable Stan Matsunaka 2881 N.Monroe Avenue Loveland,CO 80538 Dear Sen~~~unaka: It is my understanding that HB 1305,Standardization of Firearm Regulation,has passed in the House,and will be heard in the Senate within the next week.The City of Fort Collins is opposed to this bill because it would preempt our ability to enact local firearm ordinances more strict than the state law.Additionally,current City ordinances dealing with the following subjects would be preempted: •assault with a deadly weapon •discharge of a weapon with city limits •disorderly conduct •Issuance of concealed weapons permits Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.I strongly urge you to oppose this bill as the ramifications of it becoming law will have a negative impact on the safety of our residents. Sincerely, Ann Azari Mayor cc:John F.Fischbach CML 300 LaPorte Avenue •P0.Box 580 •Fort Collins,CO 80522-0580 •(970)221-6505 •FAX (970)224-6107 Mayor of Fort Collins January 29,1999 Representative Bill Webster House Local Government Committee Via FAX (303)866-2218 Dear Representative Webster: It is my understanding that the House Local Government Committee will be discussing HB 1185,the Responsible Growth Act,on Monday February 1. As you know,growth management is a very significant subject for many Northern Colorado residents.Regardless of where individuals stand on the issue,it is clear that there is significant interest in how issues relating to growth and planning are addressed within the State.I am writing to urge you to continue discussion of growth management legislation this year,and not to postpone indefinitely consideration of HB 1185. I know that HR 1185 is flawed in its current form for a variety of reasons.However,many interest groups recognize the need to address growth management legislation to some degree this year,and there is a great deal of discussion now taking place regarding how to respond to these concerns.It is important that HB 1185 remain alive in Committee so that affected interest groups have the opportunity to resolve issues contained in the existing bill.It is my understanding that representatives from CML,the Homebuilders Association,the American Planning Association,and other interest groups are actively exploring ways HB 1185 could potentially be amended to address concerns that exist with the bill in its current form. Please do not vote to postpone consideration of the Bill indefinitely.Please allow these groups to continue to work and attempt to develop alternatives for your consideration. Sincerely Ann Azari Mayor Cc:John F.Fischbach,City Manager