Elbert County lobbyist briefs commissioners on multiple bills; board votes to meet in executive session over utility strategy

Elbert County lobbyist Steve Balsarovich briefed the county commissioners on a package of bills at the Colorado General Assembly during a March 4 special meeting, and the board voted to enter executive session to discuss strategy related to an impending utility hearing.

Balsarovich said the legislative session was on day 50 of 120, with 489 bills introduced and Elbert County tracking 32 of them. He guided commissioners through a paginated bill-tracking packet and reviewed several items he recommended the county monitor closely.

Among the bills discussed, Balsarovich summarized House Bill 12‑33, described as coming from county assessors, which would increase penalties tied to the property tax abatement process for nonresidential owners who provide inaccurate information and would allow the county to retain some funds when false information was provided. "I would guess that this is probably a good proposal," he said, calling it an incentive against false reporting.

He reviewed House Bill 12‑39, a 38‑page measure advanced by Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI) that would update county enforcement tools for rubbish, weeds and unsafe structures. Balsarovich warned that the realtor community may oppose the bill and that enforcement would require local ordinances and, for property-entry, court warrants. A commissioner asked whether acreage thresholds exist to protect large ranch properties that store equipment; Balsarovich said he saw no acreage designations in the bill and emphasized that private-property rights would require discretion and judicial authorization before entry.

Balsarovich said House Bill 12‑57 — which passed committee unanimously — would expand local enforcement tools for massage facilities to address conduct beyond human trafficking, naming prostitution and money-laundering concerns and enabling law enforcement to pursue those crimes.

He described House Bill 12‑72 as a repeat of a prior measure that would require governments and businesses to submit outdoor-employee condition data (including when temperatures exceed 90°F or drop below 30°F) to the Department of Labor, which would then adopt rules and require local plans. "The business community is strongly opposed," Balsarovich said; commissioners and staff raised practical concerns that recordkeeping and mandated shutdowns of equipment could be onerous or impractical for rural operations.

Balsarovich highlighted House Bill 12‑78, a bill initiated by Elbert County that would require local government permits to be secured before an investor-owned utility may begin condemnation proceedings; because that bill had a hearing scheduled the following day, he asked the board for authority to discuss strategy in executive session. He also summarized House Bill 12‑79, which would require utilities to give at least 90 days' notice to property owners by certified mail and to hold an in-person meeting 30–60 days after notice when beginning construction of new plant or lines.

The lobbyist noted a separate bill requiring individual sub-meters for certain new residential construction where master meters now exist; he cautioned that new meter costs could be passed to tenants as higher rent. He also updated the board on the Plains to Pines Scenic Corridor resolution — which he said had 49 House cosponsors and unanimous Senate cosponsorship — and said the designation allows the county to negotiate with CDOT on signage and other corridor provisions.

On the question of whether the board could enter executive session, county counsel (addressed on the record as Lance) and other staff cited Colorado statute 24‑6‑402(4)(e) and (g) as potential bases to discuss matters subject to negotiation and the deliberative-process privilege. The chair recognized a motion to enter executive session under those statutes; the motion was seconded, the board voted aye, and the chair said the motion carried. Staff then prepared to shut down the live feed and clear the room of the public for the closed discussion.

No formal policy decisions or votes on the legislative items were recorded in the public portion of the meeting; the executive session was convened to discuss negotiation strategy and legal recommendations related to pending hearings.

What happens next: the hearing for House Bill 12‑78 was scheduled for the day after this briefing; commissioners sent staff and counsel to discuss strategy in executive session immediately after the public meeting.