Colorado General AssemblyToggle Main Menu
Agency NameToggle Agency Menu

S_AGR_2018A 02/01/2018 01:32:10 PM Committee Summary

PUBLIC
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, & ENERGY
Date 02/01/2018
Attendance
Cooke X
Coram X
Donovan X
Fenberg X
Fields X
Garcia X
Jones X
Marble *
Scott *
Baumgardner X
Sonnenberg X
Time 01:32:10 PM to 04:40:02 PM
Place SCR 357
This Meeting was called to order by Sonnenberg
This Report was prepared by David Beaujon
Hearing Items Action Taken
SB18-009 Amended, referred to the Committee of the Whole
SB18-042 Referred to Senate Appropriations
SB18-063 Postponed Indefinitely
SB18-064 Postponed Indefinitely

SB18-009 - Amended, referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:33:15 PM  
Testimony for SB18-009 concerning energy
storage equipment for customers of electrict utilities occured on January
25.  Senator Fenberg and Senator Priola, co-prime sponsors, distributed
Amendment L.009 [Attachment A] and Amendment L.009 [Attachment B].
01:34:04 PM  
Senator Sonnenberg distributed Amendment
L.010 [Attachment C].  Senator Fenberg commented on this amendment.
 Senator Sonnenberg announced
that he will not offer this amendment.


01:49:07 PM
 Motion Adopt amendment L.008.
Moved Fenberg
Seconded
Cooke
Coram
Donovan
Fenberg
Fields
Garcia
Jones
Marble
Scott
Baumgardner
Sonnenberg
YES: 0   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  Pass Without Objection


01:49:30 PM
 Motion Adopt amendment L.009
Moved Fenberg
Seconded
Cooke
Coram
Donovan
Fenberg
Fields
Garcia
Jones
Marble
Scott Excused
Baumgardner
Sonnenberg
YES: 0   NO: 0   EXC: 1   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  Pass Without Objection


01:50:26 PM
 Motion Refer Senate Bill 18-009, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole.
Moved Fenberg
Seconded
Cooke Yes
Coram Yes
Donovan Yes
Fenberg Yes
Fields Yes
Garcia Yes
Jones Yes
Marble Yes
Scott Excused
Baumgardner No
Sonnenberg No
Final YES: 8   NO: 2   EXC: 1   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS



SB18-042 - Referred to Senate Appropriations
01:50:39 PM  
Senator Donvan and Senator Crowder,  co-prime
sponsors, discussed the provisions of SB18-042 concerning the Agricultural
Workforce Development Program.   This bill, recommended by the Young
and Beginning Farmers Interim Study Committee, requires the Colorado Department
of Agriculture to create by rule an agricultural workforce development
program to incentivize agricultural businesses to hire interns by January
1, 2019.  Eligible businesses may be reimbursed up to 50 percent of
the costs to employ an intern, including wages, fixed expenses, and other
costs.  The program is repealed July 1, 2024.
01:53:09 PM  
Molly Pitts, Colorado Timber Industry Association,
spoke in support of the bill.  She requested that the program be expanded
to allow internships for foresters if such internships are not currently
allowed by the bill.
01:59:25 PM  
Emily Ibach, Colorado Farm Bureau, spoke
in support of the bill.  She also responded to questions from the
committee about why farmers and ranchers would need the internship program.
02:03:14 PM  
Meghan Lovelace, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, spoke in support of the bill.
02:04:45 PM  
James Dula, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, spoke in support of the bill.
02:06:16 PM  
Allen Funk, National Young Farmers Coalition,
spoke in support of the bill and distributed a letter of support for the
bill from Richard Murphy, Veterans to Farmers,  [Attachment D].
02:08:17 PM  
The chair closed testimony on the bill.
 Senator Crowder and Senator Donovan closed their remarks on the bill
and explained that the bill drafter said the internship program authorized
by the bill would be available to foresters, as well as farmers and ranchers.


02:11:30 PM
 Motion Refer Senate Bill 18-042 to the Committee on Appropriations.
Moved Donovan
Seconded
Cooke Yes
Coram Yes
Donovan Yes
Fenberg Yes
Fields Yes
Garcia Yes
Jones Yes
Marble No
Scott Yes
Baumgardner No
Sonnenberg Yes
Final YES: 9   NO: 2   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS



SB18-063 - Postponed Indefinitely

02:12:01 PM  
Senator Jones, prime sponsor, discussed the provisions of Senate Bill 18-063 concerning financial assurance for oil and gas operators. The bill requires an oil and gas operator to provide financial assurance to the state that it is capable of fulfilling every obligation of the Oil and Gas Conservation Act. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) must conduct an up-front financial viability analysis of an operator, and may only accept an assurance that clearly demonstrates the ability to finance every reasonably foreseeable eventuality related to compliance. The COGCC must set a fee by rule to recover the commission's cost to conduct the up-front financial viability analysis.
02:13:08 PM  
The Surety and Fidelity Association of America and the America Insurance Association, submitted a letter of opposition to the bill [Attachment E].
02:16:37 PM  
Jan Rose, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill and discussed a recent decision of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) concerning spending from the Emergency Response Fund.
02:21:37 PM  
Phil Doe, Be the Change, spoke in support
of the bill and discussed the costs of remediating abandoned oil and gas
wells [Attachment E].
02:24:54 PM  
Brett Eggers, Rocky Mountain Surety Association,
spoke in opposition to the bill.  He also responded to questions from
the committee about risk factors considered when companies issue reclamation
and plugging and abandoning bonds.
02:30:51 PM  
Tracee Bently, Executive Director, Colorado
Petroleum Council, spoke in opposition to the bill.
02:32:59 PM  
Ken Wonstollen, Colorado Petroleum Council,
Colorado Oil and Gas Association, spoke in opposition to the bill.  He
also identified bonds required under current law for oil and gas development
and related activities.  He responded to questions from the committee
about bonds he has sought for oil and gas development and state bonding
requirements.
02:36:38 PM  
Barbara Mills Bria, President of Be the
Change, spoke in support of the bill.
02:37:56 PM  
Marcia Martin, City of Longmont, spoke in support of the bill and distributed a copy of a soil, groundwater, and soil gas investigation that was commissioned by the city [Attachment F].
02:43:40 PM  
Wes Wilson, Science Advisor for Be the Change, spoke in support of the bill.
02:46:05 PM  
Marilyn Hughes, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill.
02:49:07 PM  
Michael Watkins, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill.
02:49:51 PM  
Megan Rast, Colorado Sierra Club, spoke
in support of the bill.  She also discussed problems associated with
abandoned wells in Colorado and current well drilling activity.
02:53:48 PM  
Brad Gibson, representing himself, spoke
in support for the bill and respond to prior testimony that was in opposition
to the bill.  He also distributed a fact sheet on the bill [Attachment
G].
02:57:03 PM  
Josh Joswick, Earthworks, spoke in support
of the bill and submitted a copy of his testimony [Attachment H].
03:04:12 PM  
Andrew J. O'Connor, representing himself,
spoke in support of the bill and distributed information about subsidies
for oil and gas producers [Attachment I].
03:06:35 PM  
Jeri Shepard, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill.
03:07:02 PM  
Cindi Dominico, Boulder County Board of County Commissioners, spoke in support of the bill and discussed environmental and public safety problems related to oil and gas development.
03:13:20 PM  
Dianna Orf, Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill.
03:15:28 PM  
Anita Lynch, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill.
03:17:56 PM  
Jacob Forman, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill.
03:20:55 PM  
Matt Sura, Conservation Colorado, spoke
in support of the bill and discussed the cost to properly plug and abandon
an oil and gas well.  He also distributed a letter from Matt Lapore,
Executive Director of the COGCC, to Senator Ray Scott and Representative
Bob Rankin concerning the cost to properly plug and abandon a well the
number of abandoned wells [Attachment J].
03:23:19 PM  
Sandy Toland, representing herself, spoke in supoort of the bill.
03:24:41 PM  
The chair closed testimony and Senator
Jones closed his remarks on the bill.


03:30:20 PM
 Motion Refer Senate Bill 18-063 to the Committee on Appropriations.
Moved Jones
Seconded
Cooke No
Coram No
Donovan Yes
Fenberg Yes
Fields Yes
Garcia Yes
Jones Yes
Marble No
Scott No
Baumgardner No
Sonnenberg No
YES: 5   NO: 6   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  FAIL


03:30:41 PM
 Motion Postpone Senate Bill 18-063 indefinitely using a reversal of the previous roll call. There was no objection to the use of the reverse roll call, therefore, the bill was postponed indefinitely.
Moved Baumgardner
Seconded
Cooke Yes
Coram Yes
Donovan No
Fenberg No
Fields No
Garcia No
Jones No
Marble Yes
Scott Yes
Baumgardner Yes
Sonnenberg Yes
Final YES: 6   NO: 5   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS



SB18-064 - Postponed Indefinitely

03:30:49 PM  
Senator Jones, prime sponsor, discussed
the provisions of  Senate Bill 18-064 concerning the renewable energy
requirement.   He distributed Amendment L.001 [Attachment K] and Amendment
L.005 [Attachment L].  He also distributed a handout concerning recent
bids for electric generation received by Xcel Energy for renewable and
other energy sources [Attachment M].   This bill modifies the state's
renewable energy standard (RES) to require that all investor-owned utilities
(IOUs), cooperative electric associations (CEAs), and municipally-owned
utilities (MOUs) generate 100 percent of their electricity from eligible
renewable resources by 2035.  The bill also removes recycled energy
sources from the types of energy eligible for meeting the RES.
03:34:49 PM  
Senator Donovan distributed Amendment L.004
[Attachment M].
03:35:24 PM  
Carol Sidofsky, representing herself, spoke
in support of the bill if amended to address her concerns.  She also
expressed concern about noise associated with wind power generation and
related wind turbine syndrome that some persons have experienced.  She
distributed a document that highlighted some of her concerns with the bill
[Attachment N] and a letter to Representative Salazar that further discussed
her concerns with wind power generation facilities [Attachment O].
03:40:17 PM  
Michael Watkins representing himself, spoke in support of the bill.
03:43:42 PM  
Megan Rast, Colorado Sierra Club, spoke
in support of the bill and identified Colorado municipalities that have
adopted resolutions in support of obtaining 100 percent of their electricity
from renewable energy sources by 2035.  She also responded to questions
from the committee about the cost of implementing the bill.
03:49:10 PM  
Sandy Toland, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill and expressed concerning about the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
03:50:49 PM  
Jeri Shepard, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill.
03:53:12 PM  
Phil Doe, Environmental Director for Be
the Change, spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions from
the committee about changes to California's renewable energy requirements.
 He also expressed concern about oil and gas pipelines and responded
to questions from the committee about the need for renewable energy mandates.
03:57:58 PM  
Jan Rose, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill.
03:58:44 PM  
Barbara Mills-Bria, President of Be the
Change, spoke in support of the bill.
04:02:08 PM  
Wes Wilson, Science Advisor for Be the
Change, spoke in support of the bill.
04:04:35 PM  
Dan Hodges, Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities, spoke in opposition to the bill and discussed the effect of the bill on the ability of municipal utilities to obtain their power from federal hydroelectric generation.
04:10:14 PM  
Jacob Forman, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill.
04:14:35 PM  
Anita Lynch, representing herself, spoke
in support of the bill.  She also responded to questions from the
committee about the evidence for human caused climate change.
04:16:42 PM  
Tracee Bentley, Executive Director, Colorado Petroleum Council, spoke in opposition to the bill. She also responded to questions from the committee about jobs related to the oil and gas industry in Colorado and consumption of water related to oil and gas development. She also discussed tax revenue generated from oil and gas development.
04:28:15 PM  
The chair closed testimony on the bill. Senator Jones closed his remarks on the bill.


04:32:07 PM
 Motion Adopt amendment L.001
Moved Jones
Seconded
Cooke
Coram
Donovan
Fenberg
Fields
Garcia
Jones
Marble
Scott
Baumgardner
Sonnenberg
YES: 0   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  Pass Without Objection


04:32:35 PM
 Motion Adopt amendment L.005
Moved Jones
Seconded
Cooke
Coram
Donovan
Fenberg
Fields
Garcia
Jones
Marble
Scott
Baumgardner
Sonnenberg
YES: 0   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  Pass Without Objection


04:34:31 PM
 Motion This is a conceptual amendment to allow municipal utilities to acquire power from federal hydropower facilities. Not offered
Moved Jones
Seconded
Cooke
Coram
Donovan
Fenberg
Fields
Garcia
Jones
Marble
Scott
Baumgardner
Sonnenberg
YES: 0   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  Withdrawn


04:35:35 PM
 Motion Adopt amendment L.004
Moved Donovan
Seconded
Cooke
Coram
Donovan
Fenberg
Fields
Garcia
Jones
Marble
Scott
Baumgardner
Sonnenberg
YES: 0   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  Pass Without Objection
04:36:28 PM  
Committee discussion followed on the bill, as amended.


04:39:30 PM
 Motion Refer Senate Bill 18-064, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations.
Moved Jones
Seconded
Cooke No
Coram No
Donovan Yes
Fenberg Yes
Fields Yes
Garcia Yes
Jones Yes
Marble No
Scott No
Baumgardner No
Sonnenberg No
YES: 5   NO: 6   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  FAIL


04:39:44 PM
 Motion Postpone Senate Bill 18-064 indefinitely using a reversal of the previous roll call. There was no objection to the use of the reverse roll call, therefore, the bill was postponed indefinitely.
Moved Baumgardner
Seconded
Cooke Yes
Coram Yes
Donovan No
Fenberg No
Fields No
Garcia No
Jones No
Marble Yes
Scott Yes
Baumgardner Yes
Sonnenberg Yes
Final YES: 6   NO: 5   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS


04:40:02 PM   Committee Adjourned






Colorado legislature email addresses ending in @state.co.us are no longer active. Please replace @state.co.us with @coleg.gov for Colorado legislature email addresses. Details

The effective date for bills enacted without a safety clause is August 7, 2024, if the General Assembly adjourns sine die on May 8, 2024, unless otherwise specified. Details