Larson bills advancing

Larson bills advancing

Jan. 22, 2002

The session is in full swing now with bills making their way through committee. Two of my bills were heard last week and both made it through.

My resolution initiating a Palliative Care Interim Study Com-mittee barely made it past the State, Veterans and Military Af-fairs Com-mittee hearing. This study committee will look at the myriad chro-nic-illness and end-of-life issues with a focus on patient-driven care options. The idea was hatched out of a Bighorn Center (a Denver-based think tank for non-partisan political activism) Leadership Program held in Durango this summer.

Some of the State Affairs Committee members felt that the statutorially created Health Care Task Force would be the appropriate venue for such an endeavor. The Task Force already has a plethora of mandated health-care issues to consider and attempt to reform or improve. However, palliative care is relatively new in the health-care environs and it could be reasonably anticipated that the Task Force could consume an entire summer delving into this topic. An interim committee dedicated to palliative care discussion and review is warranted and will allow the Health Care Task Force to address the more definitive issues it has under its charge. The State Affairs Committee agreed on a 5-4 vote. The resolution will not be heard again until mid-April when all proposed interim committees are prioritized.

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I am working on the Surface Use Agreements Bill that failed last year. Due to deadlines, I introduced a bill as drafted this summer. I sought input from many stakeholders and came away realizing that I would not be able to satisfy all. The basic concept of requiring that a surface-use agreement be struck before allowing a developer to post a bond and drill remains the focus. Since the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission does not ask questions about why a surface-use agreement was not struck and essentially requires only that a bond be posted before drilling, many surface owners felt that they negotiated as if there was a gun to their head, subsequently striking the best deal they could knowing that the developer could post a bond and drill anywhere they deemed appropriate.

My bill will require that a surface-use agreement must be struck before drilling. If the negotiations reach an impasse, then a panel of appraisers will determine the fair market value of the surface used. Negotiations will again be attempted and, if there is still an impasse, a court will determine the settlement.

The industry has already begun working its lobbying magic by convincing the Speaker that the bill be assigned to the State, Veterans and Military Committee instead the committee of reference that heard it last year, the Ag Committee. The final draft of this bill will be posted at www.LarsonColorado.com early next week. Anyone wishing to testify should contact me now.

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My article last week discussed the very controversial topic of redistricting. In that column, I quoted House Speaker Doug Dean as saying that if the House did not pass his redistricting bill that we would not pass any redistricting bills at all.

This week several members of leadership informed me that they did not remember that quote as I did.

I would never knowingly print anything false. However, recognizing that I could have misunderstood the Speaker’s comments, and recognizing how damaging such misquotes can be, I offered my apologizes to Speaker Dean. Sometimes in the heat of politics and the impassioned debates that ensue, misunderstanding can fuel substantial firestorms. Indeed, the House is still working on other redistricting bills.

Mark Larson (R-Cortez) represents the 59th District, which includes Cortez, in the state House of Representatives. Reach him at the Capitol by phone, (303) 866-2914 or by fax (303)-866-2218; at home by phone (970) 564-0999 or by fax (970) 564-9236; or by e-mail at marklarson@qwest.net .