House Appropriations advances Senate Bill 3 after debate over fiscal changes, background checks and implementation

The Colorado House Appropriations Committee voted 7-4 to send Senate Bill 3 to the Committee of the Whole after extended questioning over sharply changed fiscal notes and how the bill would be implemented.

Committee members homed in on two major drivers that altered earlier fiscal estimates: the removal of a planned fingerprint background-check process tied to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and shifting implementation responsibilities to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).

Representative Taggart said committee staff had compared fiscal notes and found “what in heaven's name happened? Because those are very significant changes on 1 bill,” referring to a March 3 fiscal estimate that showed roughly $4,000,000 in costs and a TABOR impact and a March 14 estimate that reduced costs to about $1,400,000 and removed the TABOR effect.

Sponsor Representative Bassenacker told the committee the difference resulted from judiciary-committee amendments that removed the CBI fingerprint background-check requirement and assigned implementation duties to CPW. “What we amended out of the bill was the fingerprint background check that CBI was going to need to implement,” Bassenacker said, adding that removing CBI from the process eliminated the revenue stream that would have been TABOR‑covered because CPW is TABOR‑exempt.

Members also asked whether the system described in the fiscal note still requires integration with CBI, and how county sheriffs and the Department of Revenue would be accommodated. Representative Taggart pressed whether the Department of Revenue’s estimate — including a line described in the fiscal note as about $1,000,000 for system work — had been fully vetted. Bassenacker and the sponsors said they had worked closely with CPW and sheriffs and believed the price and security design were consistent with other state systems housing sensitive data.

Members questioned the assumptions behind the expected application volume and staffing. The fiscal note assumes up to 50,000 applications per year and three full-time employees to process them; Representative Luck noted that three FTE processing 50,000 applications implies roughly 64 applications per workday per employee, and asked whether that workload and the level of review were realistic. Bassenacker said the 50,000 figure was a high-end estimate and that CPW had informed the sponsors’ staffing assumptions.

The committee debated several proposed amendments. The panel adopted amendment L56 and amendment J2 (moved by Representative Bassenacker and seconded by the vice chair). Amendment L58 — which would have fixed a CPW fee at $33.33 for two years and expanded cash fund uses to include outreach and training — was moved by Representative Garcia Sander, seconded by Representative Taggart, and failed on a 4-7 vote after sponsors urged a no vote, saying the $33.33 figure lacked an evidentiary basis. Two other sponsor-proposed measures — L060 (a general-fund appropriation of $500,000 to the Department of Revenue for five FTE) and L059 (a $1.5 million litigation contingency fund) — were also moved and failed on 4-7 votes.

Sponsors described the bill’s funding structure as a temporary cash-fund float while fees are collected from applicants. Representative Bassenacker said the revised cash fund removes any Pittman‑Robertson federal dollars and instead relies on the parks cash fund (hunting and fishing license revenue and related fees). He said the cash fund is intended to float CPW implementation costs until applicant fees are collected and noted an amendment establishing a repeal or reconciliation date to ensure funds are returned or reconciled.

After amendments, Representative Bassenacker moved to advance the bill with a favorable recommendation. The committee recorded a final vote of 7 to 4 to send Senate Bill 3 to the Committee of the Whole.

Votes at a glance - L56 (amendment; add Department of Revenue L56 language): Moved by Representative Bassenacker; seconded by the vice chair; adopted, vote 7-4. - J2 (amendment): Moved by Representative Bassenacker; seconded by the vice chair; adopted (tally recorded in transcript). - L58 (fix CPW fee at $33.33 for two years; expand cash fund scope): Moved by Representative Garcia Sander; seconded by Representative Taggart; failed, vote 4-7. - L060 (general fund appropriations for Dept. of Revenue, $500,000 FY25-26 for 5 FTE): Moved by Representative Garcia Sander; seconded by Representative Luck; failed, vote 4-7. - L059 (litigation contingency fund $1,500,000): Moved by Representative Garcia Sander; seconded by Representative Luck; failed, vote 4-7. - Final: Move SB3 as amended to Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendation; moved by Representative Bassenacker; seconded; passed, vote 7-4.

Why it matters: The committee’s actions move implementation questions — staffing, fee design, database security and sheriff integration — into the next phase of consideration, while aligning the fiscal estimate with the version amended in judiciary. The changes also remove CBI fingerprint checks from implementation and rely on CPW staffing and a parks cash fund to float initial costs.

Next steps: Senate Bill 3 will go to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration.