S_AGR_2017A 02/16/2017 Committee Summary

SB 17-135



Senator Sonnenberg announced that Senate Marble was running late and that remote testimony on Senate Bill 17-135 concerning the medical release requirement for animal chiropractors would proceed.



The following persons testified remotely on the bill:



01:31 PM -- Petra Sullwold, Animal Chiropractic, spoke in support of the bill.



01:36 PM -- Cindy Plummer, representing herself, discussed the benefits of animal chiropractic and spoke in support of the bill.



01:40 PM -- Dr. Michael Adney, Sport Horse, discussed the challenge of obtaining permission from a veterinarian prior to performing animal chiropractic and spoke in support of the bill.



01:44 PM -- Eliza Wester, representing herself, discussed the benefits of animal chiropractic and spoke in support of the bill.



01:47 PM -- Dr. Clinton Sullwold, representing himself, discussed the benefits of animal chiropractic and spoke in support of the bill.



01:51 PM -- Shelbi Phelps, representing herself, discussed the benefits of animal chiropractic and spoke in support of the bill.







01:55 PM -- Dr. Sharon Anable, read a letter from Dr Johnny Wyatt that discussed the benefits of animal chiropractic and his support for the bill.



01:59 PM -- Dr. Shalona McFarland, representing herself, discussed the benefits of animal chiropractic and spoke in support of the bill.



02:04 PM



Senator Marble, Prime Sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 17-135 concerning the medical release requirement for animal chiropractors. She also discussed the benefits of animal chiropractic on a horse she owned and identified chiropractic associations that support the bill. The bill removes the requirement that a registered animal chiropractor receive medical clearance by a licensed veterinarian to perform animal chiropractic treatment. If the animal patient is also under the care of a licensed veterinarian, the animal chiropractor is encouraged to collaborate with the veterinarian. The bill also allows a chiropractor who is not registered as an animal chiropractor to perform animal chiropractic treatment if a licensed veterinarian provides medical clearance. In this situation, the chiropractor is required to maintain professional collaboration with the veterinarian who provided the medical clearance.



The following persons testified, in person, on the bill:



02:23 PM -- Dr. Keith Roehr, Colorado Department of Agriculture, spoke in opposition to a provision of the bill related to the reporting of animal diseases. He also responded to questions from the committee about his concerns with the bill.



02:31 PM -- Dr. Will French, Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, spoke in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the bill and the practice of animal chiropractic.



02:38 PM -- Kevin Haussler, Colorado State University, spoke in opposition to the bill.



02:43 PM -- Dr. William Fredregill, Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, spoke in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the committee about fees charged to write a prescription for animal chiropractic services.



02:49 PM -- Dr. Sam Romano, Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, spoke in opposition to the bill and distributed a handout on his testimony (Attachment A).



170216 AttachA.pdf



02:54 PM -- Gail Meisner, Rocky Mountain Quarter Horse Association, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, spoke in support of the bill.



03:00 PM -- Dr. Mattie Leto, Chiropractic, spoke in support of the bill.



03:03 PM -- Dr. Jay Komarek, Chiropractic, spoke in support of the bill.









03:08 PM -- Bruce Zech, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill.



03:11 PM -- Rachel Wendt, Colorado Chiropractic Association, spoke in support of the bill.



03:14 PM -- Dr. Paige Mott, Chiropractic for Animals, spoke in support of the bill.



03:17 PM -- Donna Walter, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill.



03:21 PM -- Dr. Aaron Peterson, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill.



03:23 PM



The chair closed testimony on the bill and Senator Marble closed her remarks.

03:32 PM -- SB 17-105



Senator Garcia, prime sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 17-105 concerning the consumer's right to know electric utility charges and distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment B). This bill requires investor-owned utilities (i.e. Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy) to provide comprehensive billing statements, as set forth in the bill, to their customers. Beginning January 1, 2018, the Public Utilities Commission is required to review and approve the new format during the utility's rate filing, and again whenever a change is made.



03:35 PM



Senator Sonnenberg distributed Amendment L.002 (Attachment C), Amendment L.005 (Attachment D), Amendment L.006 (Attachment E), Amendment L.007 (Attachment F), and Amendment L.008 (Attachment G)



170216 AttachC.pdf170216 AttachD.pdf170216 AttachE.pdf170216 AttachF.pdf170216 AttachG.pdf



The following persons testified on the bill:



03:40 PM -- Heidi Morgan, Black Hills Energy, spoke in opposition to the bill and identified information included in customers' bills. She also expressed concern about the cost of implementing the bills and the timeline to address billing deficiencies. In response to questions from the committee, Ms. Morgan commented on the proposed amendments.



03:48 PM



Jenifer Berman, Office of Legislative Legal Services, discussed the proposed amendments to the bill.



03:57 PM -- Cindy Schonhaut, Director, Office of Consumer Counsel, spoke in support of the bill.



04:01 PM -- Terry Hart, Pueblo County Board of Commissioners, spoke in support of the bill.



04:04 PM -- Amy Cooke, Executive Vice President, Independence Institute, spoke in support of the bill and discussed the increase in utility rates. Ms. Cooke responded to questions from the committee about the bill and information currently included in billing statements.





04:12 PM



The chair closed testimony on the bill and Senator Garcia closed his remarks.

04:16 PM



The committee recessed.





04:17 PM -- SB 17-073



The committee returned from recess. Senator Garcia, prime sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 17-073 concerning the Runyon-Fountain Lakes State Wildlife Area. This bill requires the division of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the City of Pueblo, and the Pueblo Conservancy District to work with other stakeholders to engage in a long-term process to promote the beneficial development and maintenance of the Runyon-Fountain State Wildlife Area (SWA). This includes development and implementation of a multi-party master plan, exploration of funding sources, and a consideration of options to facilitate operation of the Runyon-Fountain SWA. The division, the City of Pueblo, and the Pueblo Conservancy District are required to report their progress to the General Assembly by March 1, 2018.



The following person testified on the bill:



04:18 PM -- Dan Prenzlow, Division of Parks and Wildlife, spoke in support of the bill.



04:24 PM



The chair closed testimony and Senator Garcia closed his remarks on the bill.

04:26 PM -- SB 17-035



Senator Sonnenberg, prime sponsor, described the provisions of Senate Bill 17-035 concerning tampering with oil and gas equipment. This bill adds placing another person in danger of death or serious bodily injury to the elements that comprise the crime of tampering with oil or gas gathering equipment. It also changes the penalty for this crime from a class 2 misdemeanor to a class 6 felony and states that a victim may seek all available remedies under law.



The following persons testified on the bill:



04:49 PM -- Tracee Bentley, Colorado Petroleum Council, spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the bill.



04:56 PM -- Jim Cole, Colorado Oil and Gas Association, spoke in support of the bill.



05:09 PM -- Sabrina Seaver, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill.



05:13 PM -- Zabrina Arnovitz, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and responded to questions from the committee about her testimony.



05:20 PM -- Dianne Theil, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the hazards of oil and gas development.



05:23 PM -- Shari Stratton, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the health hazards related to oil and gas development.



05:30 PM -- Rendee Webb, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest. She also expressed concern about the hazards of oil and gas development.



05:35 PM -- Elizabeth Murphy, Colorado People's Alliance, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



05:38 PM -- Lauren Petrie, Food and Water Watch, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the health hazards related to oil and gas development.



05:42 PM -- Andrew O'Connor, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest and distributed a copy of his testimony (Attachment H). He also explained that current law already addresses crimes against property.



170216 AttachH.pdf













05:46 PM -- Theresa Conley, Conservation Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill and explained that current law already addresses crimes against property.



05:49 PM -- Sara McCarthy, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



05:52 PM -- Ron Booth, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill.



05:56 PM -- Ellen Buckley, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



06:01 PM -- Allison Rodenberg, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



06:05 PM -- Betty Becker, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



06:08 PM -- Laura Richards, Indivisible Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill and and explained that current law already addresses crimes against property. She also expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



06:11 PM -- Wes Wilson, Be the Change, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest. He also expressed concern about the health hazards related to oil and gas development.



06:14 PM -- Mindy Miller, Indivisible Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



06:18 PM -- Barbara Gertz, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill.



06:22 PM -- Denise Shoaf, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



06:25 PM -- Elenor Cabell, Indivisible Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest. She also explained that current law already addresses crimes against property and crimes against persons.



06:28 PM -- Shelly Manter, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



06:33 PM -- Suzanne Cabral, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the health hazards related to oil and gas development. She also expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.















06:37 PM -- Jessika LeRoux, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the health hazards related to oil and gas development. She also expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest.



06:41 PM -- Shavonne Blades, spoke in opposition to the bill and expressed concern about the criminalization of peaceful protest. She also explained that current law already addresses crimes against property and crimes against persons.



06:45 PM -- Gary Ruff, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill and submitted written testimony (Attachment I).



170216 AttachI.pdf



06:47 PM -- Donna Walter, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill.



The following persons were not present and submitted written testimony on the bill:

Craig Meis, Tall Grass Energy, distributed information about the bill and why the company supports it (Attachment J).

Barbara Binder submitted a letter in opposition to the bill (Attachment K).

Gina Hardin submitted a letter in opposition to the bill (Attachment L).



170216 AttachJ.pdf170216 AttachK.pdf170216 AttachL.pdf



06:49 PM



The chair closed testimony on the bill and Senator Sonnenberg closed his remarks. He also distributed Amendment L. 001 (Attachment M).



170216 AttachM.pdf

06:59 PM



The committee adjourned.