Resources

Legislative Bill Tracking as of 2/2/2012

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Legislative Bill Tracking as of 1/20/2012

Legislative Musings #3. . . . . . zzzzzzz

Well, 2.285 weeks of this legislative session are in the books as of today (Friday), and only 14.957 weeks left to go. But then, who’s counting?

A somewhat uneventful week, unless you consider watching the House Local Government Committee kill the bill that would have subjected most governmental public works contracts to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements. House Bill 1082 was the annual prevailing wage bill sponsored by Representative John Soper, and it suffered the same fate as it has in the past.

On the same day, we briefed the House Local Government Committee on the history, law, and procedures of special districts. The committee members were cordial, interested, and the experience was pleasant. It was clear that the briefing was needed by most of the members of the committee, and we were happy for the opportunity. SDA has prepared a booklet, Legislators’ Guide to Special Districts, that explains most of the elements of special district operation, and is a resource for legislators to answer many of their constituents’ questions. Hopefully it also provides background information when they consider bills of concern to special districts.

A well-known legislator member of the Committee told me a short story before the briefing. Last summer he was in Kurdistan as an election observer. As he drove through a small village, he saw a young boy pumping water into a bucket from the village water well, then strapping the bucket to a burro, and transporting it to his home. His first thought was, “This village needs a special district.” A nice lead-in to briefing the committee.

Newly introduced bills worth watching include SB 081, that prohibits cities and counties from requiring fire protection sprinkler systems in single family residences. And while we are in the “prohibiting local control” mode, SB 088 attempts to preempt any authority of cities and counties to adopt rules or regulations on oil and gas operations within the city or county. Needless to say, cities and counties are fiercely protective of their rights of local control, and will oppose these bills vigorously.

Senate Bill 087 applies to interest imposed on property taxes illegally or erroneously levied and collected. Under current law, interest on such refunded moneys accrues only from the date payment of taxes and delinquent interest on such payment was received by the county treasurer from the taxpayer except as provided in specified circumstances. Under the bill, interest on the refunded moneys accrues from the later of the date a complete abatement petition is filed with the board of county commissioners or the date the taxes are paid.

Local public bodies, including special districts, will no longer be able to act by secret ballot if HB 1169 passes, except that they will be able to elect leadership by secret ballot. “Secret ballot” means a vote cast in such a way that the person voting is not able to be identified. Funny, I always thought that was already the law. Somebody somewhere must be voting by secret ballot. I just hope it’s not a special district, because you’ll need to change if it is.

The issue of the Health Department mandating standards for removal of nutrients from treated water has simmered for a while now, but it is now really heating up. At a briefing held on Wednesday, the Health Department explained the need for regulation to a room full of water provides, water district managers, and others who disagree with the regulations. More briefings will be held, and presumably a regulation will be adopted to implement the program. In the meantime, SB 017 has been introduced to prohibit the Water Quality Control Commission from adopting a numeric criteria for a standard or regulation regarding nitrogen or phosphorus, and House Bill 1161 establishes a nutrients scientific advisory board to review proposed nutrient standards to determine how proposed rules comply with Executive Order 5 (procedure for rules that impose mandates on local governments), and to do a cost-benefit study. This bill stays any further regulations until the report of the advisory board and presented by February 1, 2013.

The severance tax fund continues to be a popular target of state budget balancers and poachers with agendas other than dealing with the impacts of mining and other extractive industries. Senate bill 063 aims to cap the traditional distribution of state and local severance tax at $50 million each. For funds that exceed $100,000,000 per year, the general assembly would decide how the excess funds should be distributed, and “rural higher education” would get a share, half of which would go into a “rainy day fund” for future higher education needs. This is an overt raid on funds that have always been intended to offset the impacts on local streets, roads, water and sewer facilities, and fire protection services. SDA will be working with other local government advocates to head off this atrocity.

Human Resource Federal Updates from HRSentry

To view the full document of Federal Updates click here.

The Special District Association Newsletter

This is an excellent resource available to all SDA members. The newsletter is mailed to members and is also available for online viewing. The most recent online version of the newsletter can be viewed by clicking on the "Current Issue" link in the menu on the right. To view our online archive of older newsletters in PDF format click on the "Newsletter Archive (PDF) link in the menu on the right.

The Latest Version of HR Made Simple is Here

There are many ways to search for HR forms and policies on the Internet, but HRSentry has already done the search for you. In just a few clicks, you can find any HR related resource you need. With their staff of experienced HR professionals, HRSentry is your online Human Resources Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management Department open 24/7, helping you reduce the potential of devastating lawsuits.

And now, your CSD Pool is offering FREE 2011 Annual Subscriptions to their entire membership. To access:

Returning Users – view a 20-minute tutorial by signing in, clicking the Resources link, and finding the Tutorial. Once there, you can walk through the new site format.
New Users – click the CSD Pool Members Enroll for 2011 Free button and follow the prompts to register. Once in, find the Tutorial.

With HRSentry, you will find all your federal and state laws, forms, policies, and compliance posters, all in less than 30 seconds. If you need assistance with the website, or would like more information, please contact HRSentry support at support@hrsentry.com or 1-800-523-2564 or contact Joe DePaepe at jdepaepe@mcgriff.com.

Colorado Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA)

The Colorado Parks and Recreation Association is a non-profit education and advocacy organization whose members are dedicated to maintaining and improving our quality of life through parks, recreation, and leisure opportunities. To learn more about CPRA, click HERE

Election Judges Training

Coming soon.

Fiscal Emergency Measure

Click here to review a summary and analysis of a draft concurrent resolution, which would allow the transfer of net Lottery proceeds to the State Education Fund if a State Fiscal Emergency is declared.

2010 Board Member Manual

Click here to view and download a copy of the 2010 Board Member Manual.

Oath of Office Template

To download an Oath of Office Template in MS Word, click here

To download an Oath of Office Template in Adobe (pdf), click here

Colorado Supreme Court Decision

Review the recent Supreme Court decision in the matter of BOCC v. Hygiene Fire Protection District as it relates to special districts.

Complimentary Publications for New SDA Members

New SDA members receive a complimentary Board Member Manual for each board member, along with a copy of the Manual for the district office.
SDA members receive access to member only areas on the SDA website, including online publications and the directory of other SDA members.
New SDA members also receive a complimentary Laws Notebook which is updated annually.

Court of Appeals Opinion

Dear Members:

Please find a copy of the Court of Appeals decision for the

Plains Metropolitan District, a quasi-municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appelle,
V.

Ken-Caryl Ranch Metropolitan District, A quasi-municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Colorado, Defendant-Appellant,

The court has reversed the trial court finding. The case has been remanded back to the trial court in Jefferson County. We are not sure the exact course of action the parties plan for the case. If you have questions, please contact the attorney for your district.

A copy of the Opinion of the Court can be found HERE