Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sb140 River Districts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances bill updating river district compensation and contract thresholds
Summary
Senate Bill 140, which updates per‑diem compensation for river district members and raises statutory contract thresholds while adding an inflation adjustment every five years, advanced unanimously out of the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee after brief testimony from irrigation district representatives.
The Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 20 advanced Senate Bill 140, a statutory update to long‑dated dollar values for water district governance and contract thresholds.
Sponsor Senator Pelton told the committee the bill updates language in statute governing 1905 river districts, increasing member compensation from $100 per day to $150 per day and raising certain contract thresholds from $400,000 to $650,000. The bill also adds an inflation adjustment that will revisit those dollar amounts every five years.
Don Chapman testified on behalf of Riverside Irrigation District, Hillrose Irrigation District and the Water Rights Association of the South Platte, telling the committee that catching up 20 years of inflation matters for ditch companies that purchase heavy equipment or perform small upgrade and rehabilitation projects. “Even small upgrade and rehab projects can trip these... levels where we have to seek consent of our land owners,” Chapman said, and the inflation adjustment would reduce the need for frequent legislative updates.
Committee members asked about accountability and the rationale for the specific threshold; witnesses replied the change is intended to preserve the original statutory purchasing power and to reduce repeated legislative interventions. Senator Pelton moved the bill to the Committee of the Whole; the committee recorded unanimous affirmative votes and the bill was placed on the consent calendar without objection.
No amendments were offered during the hearing and no cost‑estimate or fiscal note was introduced during testimony. The bill will proceed to the Committee of the Whole and remains eligible for placement on the calendar consistent with Senate procedure.
