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House panel advances bill letting local governments offer property tax breaks to spur cellular coverage
Summary
The Colorado House Finance Committee voted unanimously to send House Bill 10 80, as amended, to the committee of the whole. Sponsors said the bill empowers local governments to offer targeted property tax relief to communications providers in underserved areas, and a floor amendment was adopted to remove fiscal impact.
Representative Lauren Lukens, sponsor of House Bill 10 80, told the House Finance Committee the bill would give local governments another tool to encourage cell-phone carriers to extend service into underserved and unserved parts of the state.
The measure, as amended by adoption of amendment L005, allows local governments to offer property-tax relief to communication-service providers in designated underserved areas and clarifies the local relief language while removing a sales-tax description that had appeared in earlier drafts, sponsors said. Lukens said the amendment makes the bill “cost no money,” and a fiscal memorandum was distributed to the committee to reflect that change.
"This amendment . . . makes the bill cost no money," Representative Lukens said during the amendment phase, and members adopted L005 by unanimous consent. Sponsors said that because the amendment eliminated a fiscal impact, the bill no longer needed to be routed to Appropriations and could proceed to the committee of the whole.
Sponsors described the bill as one of three proposals that grew from the interim Cell Phone Connectivity Committee and said the measure is intended to be an optional tool for local governments that want to incentivize carriers to build coverage in expensive-to-deploy areas. Representative Lukens said the bill "provides local government support to our local governments that want to incentivize cell phone companies to work in their areas."
The committee recorded a unanimous roll call on the motion to send the bill to the committee of the whole. Ms. Shipley called the roll; the committee reported the measure passing unanimously and sent it on for further consideration.
The sponsors asked members for a yes vote; none opposed the amendment or the motion. With the amendment adopted, sponsors said the bill "still meets the intent" and will remain a voluntary tool for local governments.
The committee action was procedural: adoption of amendment L005, then motion and successful vote to advance HB 10 80 as amended to the committee of the whole.
