News Economic Development Council of Colorado

You are receiving this newsletter from the EDCC because of your interest in and commitment to a strong and healthy Colorado economy. The Board of EDCC hopes that you find this information to be helpful, informative and of value to you and your colleagues. Please feel free to pass along this newsletter as appropriate.

Colorado General Assembly

The Sixty-Seventh General Assembly of the State of Colorado

is in full operation. Monday, March 2 will be the 55th Legislative Day of the constitutionally limited 120 day session. You can see the Deadline Schedule for the 2009 Colorado General Assembly.

On Friday, March 20, the quarterly revenue forecasts will be presented by the Governor's Office of State Planning & Budgeting and by the Office of Legislative Council. These forecasts will be the basis of any further budget corrections necessary for the FY 2008-09 budget and as a basis for the FY 2009-10 budget which is being drafted by the Joint Budget Committee. Governor Ritter submitted further recommendations to the Joint Budget Committee on February 23, 2009.

HB 09-1293, the Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act was passed from the House HHS Committee on Friday, March 13. The bill will use revenue from a new hospital provider fee to cover more than 100,000 uninsured Coloradans through Medicaid and CHP+, increase hospital reimbursement rates under Medicaid and the Colorado Indigent Care Program (CICP), as well as pay the administrative costs of the program.

Governor Ritter on Friday, at a press conference held at the Community College of Aurora, announced the introduction of the ASCENT bill. The purpose of the bill, which will be introduced in the next week, is to allow high school students the opportunity to work towards, and possibly even receive, a college diploma while still attending high school. It is anticipated that the legislation will greatly enhance the ability of young people to enter the state's workforce. The bill has earned the endorsement of the Economic Development Council of Colorado.

Remember that you can listen to live audio broadcasts of the floor sessions and committee meetings through links on the home page of the Colorado General Assembly. If you have access to Comcast cable television, the floor sessions of the Colorado House are broadcast live and then repeated frequently on Channel 165.

Economic Development Legislation

HB 09-1001, Concerning an Income Tax Credit for Colorado Job Growth. The bill has now passed the full House of Representatives and the Senate Finance Committee. It is awaiting committee hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

HB 09-1010, Concerning Film Production in Colorado, passed from the House Finance Committee to the Appropriations Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

HB 09-1035, Concerning Clean Tech Medical Device Tax Refund, has passed from the House Finance Committee to the Appropriations Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

HB 09-1105, Concerning Innovation Investment Tax Credit, passed from the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee and the House Finance Committee to the Appropriations Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

HB 09-1298, concerning sales & use tax and enterprise zone tax credits for the trucking industry. The bill is scheduled for hearing in the House Finance Committee on March 18.

SB 09-016, Concerning Measures to Encourage the Reforestation of Forest Areas Affected by Bark Beetle Infestation has passed the Senate on February 18 and has passed from the House Ag Committee to the House Finance Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

SB 09-031, Concerning Clean Tech Research Grant Program has passed the Senate and is awaiting hearing in the House Transportation and Energy Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

SB 09-067, Concerning the Colorado Credit Reserve Program has passed from the Senate Appropriations Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

SB 09-076, Concerning Employment and Training Technology has passed the Senate and is awaiting hearing in the House Finance Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

SB 09-085, Concerning the Phase-Out of Business Personal Property Tax has passed the Senate Finance Committee to the Appropriations Committee. The EDCC Board will continue to monitor this bill and engage in dialogue with the proponents and opponents.

B 09-162, Concerning a Project to Create an Inventory of Broadband Service Areas, has now passed the Senate and the House Business Affairs Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

SB 09-177, Concerning the Valuation of New Solar Energy Facilities for the Purpose of Property Taxation, has passed the Senate and is awaiting hearing in the House Transportation & Energy Committee. The EDCC Board has endorsed this bill.

SB 09-233, Concerning the Entrepreneurial Uses of Property for Property Tax Purposes. This bill comes from the Jobs Committee and has not been scheduled for hearing.

SB 09-234, Concerning Enterprise Zone Recommendations to the General Assembly. This bill also comes from the Jobs Committee. The bill calls for a study, to be done by the Economic Development Commission within the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) on the feasibility of creating a statewide enterprise zone.

Most of the bills listed above have been vetted by the Joint Select Committee on Job Creation and Economic Growth.

As of close of business on Friday, March 13, the legislature had introduced 312 House bills and 246 Senate bills - a total of 558 of the expected 600-650 bills that we will see in 2009. Leadership in both houses have indicated that they will not be approving as many late bill requests as in past years.

Update on the American Economic Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)

The March 13 meeting of the Colorado Economic Leadership Coalition (CELC) featured Russ George, former Speaker of the Colorado House and currently Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Susan Kirkpatrick, Executive Director of the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA).

Executive Director George indicated that Colorado will receive approximately $500 million in stimulus money to be used for transportation projects. CDOT will receive about $330 million for highway construction/maintenance and approximately $12.5 million for transit planning and construction in non-urbanized areas. The balance of the stimulus funds will go to three large metropolitan planning organizations - Denver Regional Council of Governments, Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments and the North Front Range Planning Organization for their prioritized projects. Additional information on ARRA funds to be used for transportation and transit projects is available.

Executive Director Kirkpatrick gave a slide show presentation on ARRA to the CELC group. She spoke of the potential project funding available as well as the fact that additional stimulus funding may be available. Colorado is scheduled currently to receive about $37 million for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP); $8 million for Homeless Prevention Program (HPP); $2.8 million for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG); and $8.6 million for Community Services Block Grants (CSBG).

Also of interest is the Colorado Economic Recovery Accountability Board appointed by Governor Ritter to oversee the state's efforts to use federal stimulus funds (ARRA) wisely and effectively. Additional information on the Accountability Board is available at their website.

Property Taxes

With the April 15 payment of property taxes right around the corner, it might be helpful to have a little information on how property values are assessed and property taxes determined in Colorado.

With the help of our good friend Ron Kirk, the longtime Legislative Council staff to the House Finance Committee, we will hope to provide you with some information that will be useful in knowing how the state's complex tax structure operates. In 2003, the Colorado General Assembly authorized through HJR 03-1033: Study on TABOR, Amendment 23, the Gallagher Amendment and Other Fiscal Issues. The study is long - more than 200 pages - and complex, as you might expect.

Several cogent points that should be considered as you look at your tax bill:

Property taxes are limited by law - TABOR and Gallagher;
Biennial reassessment cycle of Colorado property creates a "sawtooth" effect: in odd-numbered years, values increase to reflect two years' worth of changes in the market;
Total funding for K-12 schools is growing faster than property taxes, thereby increasing the state "backfill" to local school districts.

It's important to remember that the assessed valuation of your residential property lags because of the two-year assessment cycle. So - the relative market value of your home is not necessarily reflective of the property taxes on your home. There will always be a "catch up" period. It could be argued that as residential property values increased in past times, we all benefited as homeowners. Now, with stable or declining property values, we may feel compelled to protest our property taxes to the local county clerk. Refer to Chapter 4 of the study, pages 63-91 for more detailed information.

EDCC Legislative Update

The Board of the EDCC has voted to support a number of bills this year. We have been actively working with legislators for successful passage of legislation that will stimulate the economy and put Coloradans back to work, or keep them in their jobs. The weekly update on legislation that is being monitored or actively lobbied by EDCC is available online at EDCC Legislative Update. We have identified those bills that the EDCC Board has taken formal positions on. Please remember to bookmark this website and then you can check the status of any of the bills at any time, with real-time updates. We hope that this bill-tracking service provided to you by EDCC is of value. If there are bills that are not included but you feel should be, please contact dtomlinson@msn.com with the bill number. Thanks!

Colorado Economic Leadership Coalition

The Colorado Economic Leadership Coalition (CELC) normally meets on the 2nd Friday of each month during the legislative session, at a location near the State Capitol.

The CELC met on January 16 at the Colorado Municipal League. Notes from that meeting are available.

The CELC met on Friday, March 13 at the Offices of CACI. Our speakers for the meeting were CDOT Executive Director Russ George and DOLA Executive Director Susan Kirkpatrick. Please see the section above for more information on their presentations.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of CELC is Friday, April 10, which happens to be Good Friday. We will likely not meet on April 10 - more to follow.

The CELC is under the sponsorship of the Economic Development Council of Colorado. Lunch is being sponsored this month by Preston Gibson and the Jefferson Economic Council. Thanks, Preston!

CELC has no dues - we are a group of folks interested in creating and maintaining a healthy, vibrant economy in Colorado and routinely discuss potential legislative ideas, regulatory change and other issues that will assist in that goal.

Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to attend - either Danny at dtomlinson@msn.com or Michelle at malcott21@comcast.net

Sincerely,

Danny Tomlinson
Tomlinson & Associates on behalf of the EDCC

EDCC

The Economic Development Council of Colorado (EDCC) is a state-wide, non-profit organization dedicated to successful, responsible economic development. EDCC professionally represents the collective economic development interests of both the private and public sectors. Our mission is to strategically retain, expand and attract primary employers. EDCC is committed to an equitable and balanced public/private partnership and to growing the economic climate of Colorado to the mutual benefit of employees, employers, governments and citizens.