City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2009 01 27

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The League is also fighting similar legislation in the Congress which would preempt the powers of the states as well as local governments, and establish oversight by the National Labor Relations Authority into certifying state and municipal collective bargaining procedures. Bill: Collective bargaining mandate on local governments for fire and police Status: Not introduced Position: Oppose Staff: Kevin Bommer Federal mineral lease impact grants threatened Rep. Randy Baumgarder, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, introduced legislation that would preferentially direct 50 percent of the local government's share of federal mineral lease money to primarily to transportation projects, while forgoing environmental impacts, water and wastewater infrastructure, public facilities, and other impact-related items. CML supports the Department of Local Affairs and its administration of the grant fund, and HB 09-1051 would place one single type of impact - transportation - ahead of al! others. Local governments have multiple impacts, and the Energy Mineral Impact Advisory Committee and DOLA must maintain the flexibility to prioritize all grant requests together. In 2007, the most recent year for which all data was compiled. the grant fund returned $39.1 million to local governiTients for road and street projects. That was more than any other type of project by $11 million and nearly a third of the total grants awarded. HB 09-1051 also makes the Colorado Department of Transportation an eligible recipient of local impact dollars. It is very likely that local governments could lose out to COOT for money that was never intended to go to state transportation projects. In addition to funding the grant program, FML money is used as a source for emergencies like recent natural disasters in the state. Also, the FML monies in the grant fund are used in situations where a grant recipient is not de-Bruced, since federal money is exempt from TABOR requirements. Directing that money to other uses impairs DOLA's ability to use FML dollars in these situations, especially given the dramatic reduction in severance tax estimates in the years ahead. After all of the hard work done by the General Assembly on H B 08-1083 and SB 08-218, which dealt with the impact grant program and the allocation of FML revenue, it is premature and unnecessary 2 to yet again try to change a program that is returning nearly $40 million to local governments for transportation projects. CML will work with Rep. Baumgardner on the bill, as there may be some common ground on the issue. cuts earlier this decade. If that delay occurs, the state will make up the payments and assume responsibility for the accrued unfunded liability resulting from the delay. CML has asked the JBC to consider assisting local governments with similar relief by including language vetted through FPPA in any legislation delaying state payments. Specifically, the legislation would allow an Old Hire Plan that has previously reached full funding and subsequently returns to an underfunded status to amortize its unfunded liability over the period of the average remaining life expectancy of the plan members but not more than 20 years. Currently all Old Hire plans in this situation must amortize the unfunded liability through Dec. 31, 2021, as required under section 31-30.5-404. Although the statute does not require it, it has been the actuary's practice to calculate the payment due based on a shorter period Bill: HB 09-1051, FML money for transportation Sponsors: Rep. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs Status: H Agriculture Position: Oppose unless amended Staff: Kevin Bommer Fire and police pensions The Joint Budget Committee is likely going to suspend the state's payment to the Fire & Police Pension Association for Old Hire fire and police pensions for at least this year and possibly one to two more years, much like the state did in the recessionary Get t() know.. . Representative Josh Penry What motivated you to get involved in public Every person who has the monumental good fortune of being born in this country has an obligation to serve. And service takes many forms. For my dad, it was answering the call to serve in Vietnam; for my Mom, it meant raising a family and giving back to her community through her church. For my wife, it means instilling values like hard work in her players as a basketball coach, and reducing high school dropout rates through her work with at-risk kids. For me, it means working to make and shape good public policy The legislative process is fertile ground for creative thinkers committed to problem solving; that is what drew me into politics in the first place, and it is what has kept me motivated ever since. What are your top priorities for 2009? My top priority this year is to help enact policies that will create jobs and, conversely, to help defeat proposals that will put added pressure on family budgets. The legislature may not have a silver bullet to solve all of the economic ills facing our state, but the last thing we should. do is make an already dire economic situation worse by imposing new costs and heavy-handed regulations on the small businesses we rely on to create new jobs and keep our economy moving. Transportation is another area where Coloradans expect action. Over the last few years, investment in our roads and bridges has been far down the legislature's list of funding priorities. That needs to change. ! believe one option for addressing our transportation shortfall is through innovative financing. Many state and local governments around the country have addressed funding shortfalls by using equity in government assets - like state buildings - to generate cash to meet a variety of immediate and long-term needs. It is an effective and widely~used financing method that the State of Colorado has already taken advantage of to fund a variety of capital projects, and it is one of the many options we should consider as we craft a bipartisan solution to address our transportation problems. "Local control" means the authority of local elected officials to make decisions - even when state legislators in Denver may disagree. As a legislator, how do you feel about municipalities being allowed to make decisions with which you may personally disagree? I like Denver. It is a wonderful city and a great place for a state capitol. But Denver isn't the exclusive repository of all wisdom - and neither is the state legislature. STATEHOUSE REPORT