legislative repoRT
Feb 14, 2003
Jen Boulton
The legislature convened Wednesday morning January 8th and has introduced over 440 bills so far. The deadlines for introduction have passed, so all bills, except late bills are introduced. Unfortunately, many of the bad water bills will be late bills. Additionally, the governor says he has yet to introduce his package of bills to solve the drought crisis
(Linkhart)
Position: Support
Status: Senate Appropriations
SB87 is a bill proposed by the environmental community. As introduced it established targets for efficiency that must be met by urban water providers. SB87 also required water providers to repair system leaks, and to inform the public about the water conservation measures they intend to use to meet required targets.
Testimony was heard in the Senate Ag committee, but the bill was taken off the table prior to a vote. Sen Linkhart has worked hard with groups that opposed SB87, to try and find a middle ground. The result is essentially a new bill. In the current version, the language is much softer. The targets are goals, rather than mandatory, and providers may set different goals if they show good cause. The bill prohibits the CWCB and the Water and Power Resources Development Authority from providing funding for new water projects or facilities to any provider that doesn’t have sufficient plan demonstrating how the provider intends to meet the targets. The bill also prohibits any new restrictive covenants.
In Senate Ag, Sen. Linkhart amended the bill further to raise the threshold for water providers to comply from 2000Acre feet annually (AFA) to 6000AFA. We don’t yet know what the result of such a change is, but SB87 may drop off our priority list, as it may be too small a step forward to be worth giving up the threshold we fought for 12 years ago.
(Coleman, Entz)
Position: Support
Status: House Ag, next Wednesday…ALL CALL ALERT TO MEMBERS OF HOUSE AG
The environmental community has worked to introduce legislation requiring each water basin in the State to create a basin plan. The plans will address the supply of water in the basin, as well as the current and foreseeable future demand in the basin. Future applications to change water rights will have to be consistent with the basin plans before they can be approved by water court. Additionally, State funding will be prioritized based on an application’s consistency with basin plans. The bill has been introduced, and should be read across the desk by Wednesday.
(Entz, Hoppe)
Status: Not yet introduced
(McElhany, T. Williams)
Position: Oppose
Status: Senate Business Affairs
SB121 requires a full cost benefit analysis of all proposed rules. The analysis must specifically take into account any effect the new rule will have on business, and the business’s ability to be competitive with similar businesses in other states. This bill potentially negates any new water quality, air quality, or other environmental rules and regulations.
(White)
Position: Oppose
Status: Senate Ag
HB1092 directs DNR to actively manage all forested state lands to conserve and restore as appropriate natural water yields. It also directs DNR to use best management practices to reestablish natural forest conditions, reduce the threat of large wild fires, and sustain and promote natural habitat consistent with healthy forest conditions. In committee, we attempted to add amendments to clarify that the “red zone” would be prioritized for fire suppression treatments, and that management to “restore natural water yield” could not impair water quality. Unfortunately, both amendments failed, and the bill passed on a 12-1 vote. Thank you to Rep Madden for voting no.
We tried the same amendments on the House floor, with the same results. Somewhat surprisingly, Rep Stengel attempted an amendment, which we have crafted and kept quiet, about preventing erosion. Rep Stengel realized the votes weren’t there and withdrew the amendment before a vote. Stay tuned for Senate action.
(Madden)
Position: Support
Status: Senate Ag
Currently conservation easements may only be created by a grant to a governmental enmity or a charitable organization. HB1046 specifies that a conservation easement may also be created through a reservation by a governmental entity or charitable organization. The bill passed the House with strong support from both sides of the aisle.
(Hoppe)
Position: Oppose as introduced
Status: House Ag
HB1001 has six distinct parts. It authorizes the Water Resources and Power Development Authority to subsidize the cost of bonds on water diversion and storage projects jointly sponsored by 2 governmental entities. It allows the State Engineer to approve substitute water supply plans during a drought. It requires the state engineer to cooperate with people trying to use federal dams during a drought. It requires state agencies to cooperate with people seeking easements for water projects. It authorizes $3 million for the CWCB’s state wide water supply initiative. It authorizes DOLA to help local governments implement tiered water billing systems. It will be hard to defeat, but some amendments may be possible.
(Spradley, Kester)
Position: Support
Status: Senate Ag
HB1008 authorizes conservation easements for water. It would permit water rights owners to include them as part of a conservation easement on land. HB1008 passed the House easily.
(Hanna)
Position: Support
SB114 raises the fines for illegally feeding bears. It was amended in Senate Ag to increase the standard of proof, and passed on a 6-1 vote.
(Fitz-Gerald)
Position: Support
Status: Senate Judiciary
SB122 allows District Attorneys and the Attorney General to prosecute those who violate water quality discharge permits without waiting for the Water Quality Control Commission to file a complaint. The bill also raises the fines for permit violations, and applies the same mental health qualifications to those who violate permit conditions as to any other criminal defendant.
(Teck)
Position: Support
Status: Senate Ag
SB123 prohibits the licensure of any future alternative livestock farms. It also prohibits those already in existence from expanding, or transferring animals unless they have negative tests for TB and brucellosis. Finally the bill requires existing alternative livestock farms to provide double fencing to keep captive and wild herds separate.
SB212 SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION TO DEPT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
(Owen, Young)
Position: Oppose reduction in Species Cons Trust Fund
Status: House Floor
SB212 is one of the negative supplemental bills to attempt to balance this year’s budget. In part it transfers another one million dollars (in addition to the $5.5M taken last year) from the Species Conservation Trust Fund to the general fund. SB212 is a joint budget committee bill, and is sailing through the process. We will attempt to restore funding in future years.
(Spradley, Kester)
Position: Support
Status: House Floor
HB1146 codifies existing case law. It requires that any change of use in water court maintain water quality for other users. While we strongly support the bill as introduced, the speaker added an amendment in committee that endangers the anti-degradation standard. We need to remove the bad portion of the amendment.
(Isgar)
Position: Tepid Support
Status: Senate State Affairs
SB85 permits water rights owners to loan their water rights to another user on the same stream system for up to 120 days, so long as there is no injury to other water rights holders. The bill also permits the temporary loan of water to the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) for in-stream flow purposes, subject to the same conditions. Although we support the bill as introduced, there are a series of amendments which will likely pass, and will add layers of bureaucracy to the process. With the additional hurdles, it is unlikely that the bill will provide much relief to the problems it was intended to address. There will be a late bill, by Rep Rippy that will accomplish the same objectives without the baggage.
SB90 WATER RIGHT DECREE CONSERVATION SALVAGE
(Grossman)
Position: Oppose as introduced, work to fix
Status: Dead
SB90 increases the methods by which an entity seeking water rights adjudication may show due diligence. The new methods would include reasonable efforts to conserve, reuse or salvage water to the extent that such methods reduce the applicant’s net consumption; and replacement of phreatophytes with other plant species. The addition of these conditions makes it more difficult to stop certain projects with severe environmental consequences. The sponsor asked that the bill be laid over until the day after the end of the session, effectively killing it.
(Miller)
Position: Oppose as introduced, work to amend
Status: House Ag
HB1090 prohibits water courts from decreeing a trans-mountain water right to an applicant who has the right to develop water from any of the Denver basin aquifers unless the applicant demonstrates that it is putting to beneficial use its maximum entitlement to such water. The sponsor has indicated that he is willing to work with us to ensure that the bill refers to use of Denver basin water as drought insurance. With amendments, the bill could be one that we support.
(Salazar, Entz)
Position: Oppose
Status: House Ag
HB1113 purports to offer basin protection. In reality, it merely requires entities seeking to move water out of a water division to pay the difference in value between the land with water, and the land without water. The money is to be used for economic development in the sending basin. There is no mention of the environmental impacts involved in moving water out of a basin, let alone any requirement to mitigate the consequences.
(Grossman)
Position: Support
Status: Dead
SB94 requires all local governments that are currently required to have a master plan, to include a water element as part of their plan. The language is the same as in all the growth bills. Although SB94 would require the inclusion of a water element, the element would not be enforceable, since master plans are not enforceable. The bill is a small step in a positive direction. SB94 passed the Senate Local Government committee, but died on a party line vote in State Affairs.
HB1097 REGULATE HUNTING OF WILDLIFE
(Hall)
Position: Neutral
Status: House Floor
HB1097 is a piece of HB1091 from last year. HB1097 increases the penalties for violating certain hunting laws. There will be another bill introduced later to increase the fines for poaching.
(Larson)
Position: Work to add environmental representation
Status: House Appropriations
HB1140 updates the regulation for control of noxious weeds. We don’t usually take positions on weed control, but have decided this year to attempt to add some environmental representation of the State Weed Board. HB1140 has been granted late bill status so the sponsor can work on additional amendments. HB1140 passed House Ag unanimously, with strong and diverse support. The sponsor added the language we requested, to include environmental representation on the weed advisory board. We testified that we still had a few concerns to be addressed, but supported the bill in concept. The Nature Conservancy also supports the bill.