DENVER — House Bill 1012, which designates the Colorado Division of Wildlife as an "enterprise" under the TABOR amendment, has passed by the State House Finance Committee and is now headed for debate by the House of State Representatives.

Designating the Division as an enterprise fund would remove it from TABOR Amendment restrictions on the amount of revenue that can be earned. The Division receives no general tax funds. Instead, it is funded primarily by revenue from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.

The Division has argued that it needs increased financial flexibility in order to meet both increased demands from its customers as well as the changing requirements of natural resource management.

H.B. 1012 is sponsored by Rep. Joe Stengel (R-Littleton) and passed the House Finance Committee on a 10-0 vote.

Stengel, who chairs the House Finance Committee, told state representatives that he believed the Division should have been classified as an enterprise like the lottery or Colorado State Fair, which both generate their own funds, under the original TABOR amendment.

If enacted and signed by Governor Bill Owens, H.B. 1012 would allow the Division to earn and spend more money without affecting the state general fund and TABOR spending caps. Even so, the Colorado General Assembly will still retain all oversight authority over the agency, including setting license fees, auditing the agency’s performance, approving its annual budget and spending authority and authorizing the number of agency employees.

The Division’s mission and the role and authority of the Colorado Wildlife Commission, the policy making citizen board which establishes policy for the agency, would not change. The Division would also continue as a "Type II" agency under the authority of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

"The Division of Wildlife has come under increased pressure to meet the demands of its constituents who purchase hunting and fishing licenses, while continuing to provide watchable wildlife and species conservation programs," said Russ George, director of the Colorado Division of Wildlife. "In order to meet these increased demands, the Division requires increased flexibility."

"The Division’s long term ability to meet constituent concerns will be impaired by limits placed upon game cash dollars," he said. "Under TABOR, legislators cannot decide to address wildlife concerns without impacting the rest of the state’s budget detrimentally."