BOARD02588

• Board Meeting Date: 5/24/1999
• Description: Directors' Reports
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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1999 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

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The 1999 General Assembly passed a number of bills and
resolutions that will affect the Department of Natural
Resources and its divisions. Complete text of the bills and
resolutions can be found on the Colorado General Assembly
web site at <www.state.co.us/gov_dir/stateleg.html>.

Colorado State Parks

. HB '1355 - Off Highway Vehicle Permits for Non-
Residents. (Dennis/Taylor) Changes the out'of-state
off-highway vehicle registration process to a more effi-
cient permit process.
. SB 136 - Reauthorization of the Colorado Natural
Areas Council. (Young/Dennis) Reauthorizes the
CNAC for a five-year period. The seven-member coun-
cil, which was created in 1977, sets policy and serves as
technical advisor and liaison with people interested in
and affected by the Colorado Natural Areas Program.

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Division of Water Resources

. HB 1222 - Augmentation for Water Well Pumping in
the Denver Basin Aquifer. (Young/Musgrave) Extends
the Special Water Committee until 2001 in order to moni,
tor the State Engineer's and the Water Conservation
Board director's progress in Implementing the recom-
mendations of the final report submitted to the commit-
tee. The special replacement requirements for out-of,
priority depletions in the Denver Basin Aquifer will not
begin until 2001 and run through 2004.

. HB 1284 - Elimination of $10 Per Diem for State
Engineer in County Disputes. (Spence/Evans)
Eliminates the $10 per diem that was allowed for the
State Engineer in solving boundary disputes between
counties and allows expenses for a survey to settle the
dispute to be bome equally by the counties involved.

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Colorado Water Conservation Board

. HB 1054 - Water Conservation Sunset Dates.
(Gotlieb/Chlouber) Extends the duties of the Office of
Water Conservation indefinitely.

. HB 1318 - Agriculture Commissioner Member of
CWCB. (HoppelWattenberg) Adds the Commissioner of
Agriculture or hislher designee to the Colorado Water
Conservation Board as a non-voting, ex officio member.

. SB 173 - Colorado Water Conservation Board
Projects. (DennislYoung) Concems the annual funding
of the Colorado Water Conservation Board's recom-
mended construction projects from the Construction
Fund and the Severance Tax Trust Fund. The bill autho-
rizes the board to:

. make loans from the CWCB Construction Fund for
construction of seven new water resource projects
totaling $12.5 million:

make a loan from the Severance Tax Trust Fund per-
petual base account for construction of one new
water resource project for $7 million, increase the net
amount approved on four previously authorized con-
struction project loans from the CWCB Construction

Fund by $7.3 million, de-authorize 12 previously
authorized loans in the CWCB Construction Fund to
free up $14.3 million for new loan projects;

expend up to $3.2 million from the CWCB
Construction Fund for design and development of the
Rio Grande Decision Support System: and

. use the CWCB Construction Fund for eight addifional
non-reimbursable projects totaling $1,055,000.

The bill also authorizes the State Treasurer to:

. transfer funds from the CWCB Construction Fund to
the Colorado River Recovery Program loan account
($5 million), the Arkansas River augmentation plan
loan account ($2 million) and the feasibility study
small grant account ($200,000) and

transfer $1 million from the litigation account in the
CWCB Construction Fund to the Species
Conservation Trust Fund.

Division of Minerals and Geology

. HJR 1023 - Hard-rock Mining Regulation. (Miller/
Chlouber) Requests the U.S. Department of the Interior
and the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw the
current proposal to amend the federal hard-rock mining
regulations at 43 CFR 3809. Requests the BLM to post-
pone publishing any further proposed changes to these
federal regulations until the BLM has fully considered the.
results of a National Academy of Sciences study, cur-
rently underway, of the adequacy of hard'rock mining
regulations. Requests the U.S. Congress to impose a
moratorium on any appropriations for the continuation or
completion of the current rule-making until the
Department of the Interior withdraws the current rule-
making and agrees to fully consider the National
Academy of Sciences study.

Division of Wildlife

. HB 1313 - Wildlife Commission. (AlexanderfTeck)
The bill changes the composition of Wildlife Commission
by converting one 'public'aHarge" slot to 'sportsmen/
sportswomen" slot; adds the executive director of the
DNR and the commissioner of agriculture, or their
designees, as non'voting, ex officio members of the
commission: prohibits commissioners from changing rep-
resentation slots upon reappointment: includes definition
for new 'sportsmen/sportswomen" slot and new definition
of existing ''wildlife organization" slot; requires individual
commissioners to host two town meetings annually;
imposes term limit on commission membership; changes
the Division of Wildlife from a Type Ito a Type lIagency;
adds meeting and workshop attendance requirements for
commissioners; and eliminates conference calls as a
means for taking commission action.

. HJR 1019 - Native Species Trust Fund. (Young/
Wattenberg) Authorizes funding from the Native Species
Trust Fund created in 1998 through HB 1006. Allows
$1.1 million in funding for San Juan and Upper Colorado