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- The Pueblo Chieftain Online <br />Tuesday. <br />Page 2 of 2 <br />Owens, the state government's top- ranking Republican, also hasn't seen Salazar's amendment <br />and has not taken a position on it, reported Dan Hopkins, the governor's press secretary. <br />Salazar's bill requires water districts that have negotiated mitigation agreements to publish a <br />notice of the proposed terms on the Internet and to mail it to everyone who has requested <br />notice in advance of the water court's decision. <br />HB1040 also requires a public hearing allowing testimony in person or in writing on the <br />proposed terms of a mitigation agreement. <br />Salazar is on the 13- member House Agriculture Committee and counts on support from the <br />panel's four other Democrats - Reps. Carl Miller of Leadville, Alice Madden of Boulder, Lois <br />Tochtrop of Westminster and Mary Hodge of Brighton. <br />He expressed hope that at least two Republicans - Reps. Gregg Rippy of Glenwood Springs <br />and Ray Rose of Montrose - also will vote for HB1040, which he said has the backing of Club <br />20, an influential Western Slope group. <br />The committee's other Republicans are Reps. Diane Hoppe, the chairwoman from Sterling; <br />Ted Harvey, the vice chairman from Highlands Ranch; Greg Brophy of Wray; Ramey Johnson <br />of Lakewood; Bob McCluskey of Fort Collins; and Tom Wiens of Castle Rock. <br />If the bill reaches the House floor, Salazar would need to build a coalition of both rural and <br />urban legislators to pass it. HB1040 would be carried in the Senate by Sen. Jack Taylor, R- <br />Steamboat Springs, with Sens. Lewis Entz, R- Hooper, and Jim Isgar, D- Hesperus, co- <br />sponsors. <br />"I've been a farmer all my life, and I know how communities depend on water for their <br />livelihoods," Salazar, a San Luis Valley seed potato grower, said. <br />"I'm carrying this bill to protect basins of origin in small urban and rural Colorado," he said. <br />"Limited water and a growing population require us to make smart decisions about our <br />resources. This bill is one step that Colorado can take to make the best use of our water <br />supply." <br />©1996 -2004 The Pueblo Chieftain Online <br />http: / /www. chieftain .com /print /news/1075878000/3 2/4/2004 <br />