H_AGR_2017A 04/03/2017 Committee Summary

01:37 PM -- HB 17-1234



Representative Arndt explained that the committee will be accepting remote testimony and briefly explained the process. Representative Lewis, sponsor, presented House Bill 17-1234, concerning a requirement that a retailer indicate the country of origin of beef sold to the public. The bill requires anyone selling meat at retail to the public to conspicuously display a placard next to the beef designating it as either "U.S.A. Beef" or "Imported," depending on where the animals were born, raised, and slaughtered. If imported, the placard must indicate the beef's country of origin. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment may adopt rules to enforce this provision. Representative Lewis provided background of placards indicating the country of origin on meat products in the United States and other countries. Representative Lewis provided a copy of her presentation (Attachment A) and article from Food Safety News (Attachment B).



170403 AttachA.pdf170403 AttachB.pdf



The following persons testified remotely on the bill:



01:55 PM -- Tom Moulden, representing himself, testified in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee.









01:57 PM -- Karen Moulden, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



02:00 PM -- Dwight Proctor, representing himself, testified in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee.



02:03 PM -- Katy Harris, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



02:05 PM -- Elisabeth Erickson Noe, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



02:08 PM -- Jack Noe, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



02:13 PM -- Barbara Leininger, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



02:14 PM -- Henry Brown, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



02:17 PM -- Martin Canterberry, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



02:19 PM -- Johnnie Mayhan, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



02:19 PM -- Abel Benavidez, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



02:21 PM -- Mack Louden, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



02:26 PM -- Denise Stovall, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Southwest Chapter, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Stovall responded to questions from the committee regarding the marketing of local beef and the founding of the Natural Beef Cooperative.



02:30 PM -- Lorene Bonds, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



The following persons testified at the committee hearing:



02:34 PM -- Don Shawcroft, Colorado Farm Bureau, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Shawcroft responded to questions from the committee regarding country of origin labeling and its impacts on United States trade agreements, as well as policies of the American Farm Bureau and the Colorado Farm Bureau. Mr. Shawcroft also answered questions regarding potential consumer cost increases due to country of origin labeling.



02:59 PM -- Ronnie Sylvester, representing herself, testified in support of the bill and distributed a handout including written comments from Elisabeth Noe and Charles Sylvester, as well as a diagram depicting the structure of the cattle industry (Attachment C).



170403 AttachC.pdf



03:05 PM -- Mary Lou Chapman, Rocky Mountain Food Industry Association, testified in opposition to the bill and distributed a letter of opposition from the North America Meat Institute (Attachment D). Ms. Chapman responded to questions from the committee regarding country of origin labeling.



170403 AttachD.pdf







03:21 PM -- Jennifer Cassel, Department of Agriculture, did not provide a formal position on the bill; however, Ms. Cassel responded to questions from the committee regarding the Colorado Proud Program within the department.



03:24 PM -- Lindsey Cookson, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



03:28 PM -- Chris Howes, Colorado Retail Council, testified in opposition to the bill and discussed how country of origin labeling affects retailers. Mr. Howes responded to questions from the committee regarding placards for beef and the impacts that labeling inspections would have on retailers.



03:45 PM -- Alan Lewis, Natural Grocers, testified in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee regarding economic impacts of placing a country of origin placard in stores and the process of placing the placards in Natural Grocer stores. Mr. Lewis also discussed the enforcement of country of origin labeling and listed the locations of Natural Grocers.



03:57 PM -- Kenny Rogers, Colorado Livestock Association and Colorado Cattleman's Association, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Rogers responded to questions from the committee regarding membership of the Cattleman's Association and how a country of origin placard would affect the beef industry as a whole.



04:11 PM -- Julie Gentz, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



04:13 PM -- Alan Gentz, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



04:16 PM -- Lori Greenstone, Colorado Voters for Animals, testified in support of the bill.



04:18 PM -- Bill Bullard, R-Calf USA, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Bullard responded to questions from the committee regarding the demand for beef products from the United States and how the packing industry would be affected by country of origin placards. Mr. Bullard also discussed the price of cattle and recent trends in the cattle industry.



04:28 PM -- Rowland Halpern, testified in support of the bill.



04:29 PM -- Belinda Groner, Southeast Colorado Private Property Rights Council, testified in support of the bill. She provided a packet of news articles regarding imported beef to the committee (Attachment E).



170403 AttachE.pdf



04:33 PM



Mr. Halpern answered questions from the committee.



04:34 PM -- Gerald Schreiber, R-CALF USA and Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association, testified in support of the bill.



04:37 PM -- Dr. Lora Bledsoe, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Bledsoe answered questions from the committee.



04:42 PM -- Tom Hendirx, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill.









04:44 PM -- Reed Kelly, Western Colorado Congress, testified in support of the bill.



04:50 PM -- Mike Callicrate, Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), testified in support of the bill and distributed his comments (Attachment E) and a letter in support of the bill from the OCM (Attachment F).



170403 AttachF.pdf



04:52 PM -- Korry Lewis, UNITE, testified in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee.



04:56 PM -- Travis Stoval, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, testified in support of the bill.



04:58 PM -- Bill Medcaf, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, testified in support of the bill.



04:59 PM -- Terry Frankhauser, Colorado Cattleman's Association, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Frankhauser responded to questions from the committee regarding recent trends of the cattle industry and recent price trends in the beef market.



05:20 PM -- Will Bledsoe, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



05:23 PM -- Angela Jorgenson, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



05:25 PM



The committee received written testimony in support of the bill from former Representative Kathleen Curry and Greg Peterson, Peterson Cattle and Hay and Tomichi Creek Beef. (Attachment G).



170403 AttachG.pdf





05:26 PM



Representative McKean stated that he had an amendment that he did not plan on offering, and committee discussion ensued. Representative Lewis made concluding comments on the bill.

05:49 PM



The committee recessed.



06:00 PM -- HB 17-1274



The committee came back to order. Representative Ginal, sponsor, presented House Bill 17-1274, concerning the limited circumstances under which a veterinarian may use a compounded pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of an animal patient that is a food animal. The bill clarifies that licensed veterinarians who maintain an office stock of compounded drugs can only administer these drugs to food animals in certain circumstances, as outlines in the bill. It also clarifies that compounded drug administration or dispensing must be in compliance with the requirements and limitations for extra-label drug use in animals pursuant to federal law. The bill also clarifies that the patient considered in this section of statute is an animal patient.



06:05 PM -- Will French, Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, testified in support of the bill.







06:06 PM



Representative Ginal distributed and discussed Amendment L.001 (Attachment H).



170403 AttachH.pdf

06:08 PM



Representative Ginal made concluding comments on the bill.

06:10 PM -- HB 17-1273



Representatives Hansen and McKean, co-prime sponsors, presented House Bill 17-1273, concerning a requirement that an applicant for a real estate development permit demonstrate water conservation measures that will be implemented in the development. Representative Hansen distributed a fact sheet regarding the bill (Attachment I). Representative McKean distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment J), which removes the mandates in the bill. The bill requires that applications for real estate development permits include adequate water conservation and demand management measures to reduce water needs and prohibits local governments from approving development permits that fail to demonstrate appropriate water conservation and demand management measures. Representatives McKean and Hansen responded to questions from the committee regarding the bill.



170403 AttachI.pdf170403 AttachJ.pdf



The following persons testified on the bill:



06:28 PM -- Alex Funk, National Young Farmers Coalition, testified in support of the bill.











06:31 PM -- Pat Ratliff, South Metro Water Supply Water Authority, testified in support of the bill as it would be amended by Amendment L.001. Ms. Ratliff also testified on behalf of Donna Brosemer, Greeley Water, who also supports the bill as amended.



06:33 PM -- Scott Smith, Colorado Association of Home Builders, testified in support of the bill as amended by Amendment L.001 and responded to questions from the committee.



06:36 PM -- Bill Medcaf, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, testified in support of the bill.



06:37 PM -- Drew Beckwith, Western Resource Advocates, testified in support of the bill.



06:38 PM -- Travis Stovall, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, testified in support of the bill.



06:40 PM -- Julio Iturreria, American Planning Association Colorado, testified in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee regarding water supply plans and how local entities create them.



06:43 PM -- Chris Treese, Colorado River District, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments Quality/Quantity Committee, testified in support of the bill.



06:45 PM

06:46 PM



Representatives McKean and Hansen made concluding comments on the bill and committee discussion ensued.

06:49 PM -- HB 17-1257



Representative Arndt, sponsor, presented House Bill 17-1257, concerning the scheduled repeal of reports by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to the General Assembly. Representative Arndt responded to questions from the committee regarding the bill. Under current law, whenever Executive Branch agencies or the Judicial Branch are required to make a report on a periodic basis to the General Assembly, the reporting requirement expires three years after the first report was due, unless the General Assembly continues the requirement. The bill, recommended by the Statutory Revision Committee, continues indefinitely those reporting requirements.





06:54 PM -- Doug Vilsak, DNR, stated that the department is neutral on the bill but is available for questions. Mr. Vilsak responded to questions about various reports in the bill.

06:56 PM



The committee adjourned.