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<br />I . <br /> <br />conservation board is hereby authorized to make, from such <br />moneys as are or may hereafter become available to the <br />Colorado water conservation board construction fund, an <br />objective operational study of Colorado's water right <br />adjudication system together with systems employed in other <br />western states for fixing priority of rights, approving <br />changes in point of diversion, place and character of use, <br />protecting vested rights from injury and maximizing the <br />efficiency of water use, addressing without limitation: <br /> <br />(a) The frequency of administrative resolution of <br />potential injuries to vested rights; <br /> <br />(b) The monetary cost to water users and the state for <br />each type of adjudication or permitting procedure: <br /> <br />(c) The elapsed time required for final determinations <br />to be reached in each kind of proceeding: <br /> <br />(d) <br />and the <br />appeals: <br /> <br />The frequency of appeal from final determinations <br />monetary cost to water users and the state of such <br /> <br />(e) The extent to which the state assumes parens patria <br />responsibility for maintenance of stream regimen conditions: <br />and <br /> <br />(f) The extent and cost to the taxpayers of state water <br />administration programs. <br /> <br />(2) In addition to the analyses required by subsection <br />(1) of this section, the study shall compare how water quality <br />constructions are integrated into or otherwise taken into <br />account in Colorado's water rights adjudication system versus <br />the water rights determination systems of the other selected <br />western states. <br /> <br />(3) The board's cost for the said study shall not exceed <br />two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000). The board <br />shall contract with an independent consultant or consultants <br />to perform the study, which consultant or consultants must <br />have practical hydrological experience and must not have a <br />pecuniary interest in, or represent Colorado clients who have <br />an interest in, the study results. <br /> <br />(4) Prior to the commencement of the study, the request <br />for proposal to be issued by the board shall be approved by <br />the legislative council of the general assembly. <br /> <br />SECTION 5. Safety clause. The general <br /> <br />assembly hereby <br /> <br />PAGE 5-SENATE BILL NO. 15 <br />