s_agr_2017a_2017-04-06t13:37:40z5 Hearing Summary
Date: 04/06/2017
Location: SCR 357
BILL SUMMARY for HB17-1233
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, & ENERGY
| Votes: View--> | Action Taken: |
| Refer House Bill 17-1233 to the Committee of the W | PASS |
06:03 PM -- HB 17-1233
Senator Crowder, prime sponsor, described the provisions of House Bill 17-1233 concerning protection of water historical consumptive use analysis. Under current law, if the owner of a water right brings an action to water court to change the amount of water the owner may use, the amount of water that can be changed is limited to the historical consumptive use of water under the water right. Water usage that results from participation in a government-sponsored water conservation program is not considered in determining the historical consumptive use in water divisions 4, 5, or 6. The bill applies this rule statewide to include water divisions 1, 2, 3, and 7. The bill clarifies that water conservation projects include pilot projects, and that the applicable government-sponsored program approved by a state agency are limited to those with explicit statutory jurisdiction over water conservation or water rights.
The following persons testified on the bill:
06:05 PM -- Glen Hirikata, Hirikata Farms, spoke in support of the bill and explained that he has a farm in the Lower Arkansas River Basin.
06:06 PM -- Dr. John Stulp, Water Policy Advisor for the Governor, spoke in support of the bill and stated that the purpose of the legislation is to protect water users from future quantification of their water rights due to participation in a government sponsored program. He also discussed a program near the Town of Gilcrest to address high groundwater and how it would benefit from this bill and responded to questions from the committee about groundwater and surface water use in this area.
06:18 PM -- Dianna Orf, Colorado Water Congress, spoke in support of the bill.
06:19 PM -- Chris Treese, Colorado River Water Conservation District, spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee about the implementation of previous legislation related to water conservation.
06:21 PM -- Jim Miggs, representing himself, discussed recent legislation to authorize the use of rain barrels and proposed an amendment to expand the use of precipitation harvest.
06:24 PM
The chair closed testimony, and Senator Crowder closed his remarks on the bill.
| BILL: | HB17-1233 | |
| TIME: | 06:25:41 PM | |
| MOVED: | Donovan | |
| MOTION: | Refer House Bill 17-1233 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5. | |
| SECONDED: | ||
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VOTE
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Cooke
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No
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Coram
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No
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Court
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Yes
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Donovan
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Yes
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Fenberg
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Yes
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Fields
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Yes
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Jones
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Yes
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Marble
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Yes
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Scott
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No
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Baumgardner
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No
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Sonnenberg
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No
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Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
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