Colorado State Archives
Executive Orders from the Administration of Governor Bill Owens 1999-2005
May 31, 2005
The Honorable Colorado House of Representatives
Sixty-Fifth General Assembly
First Regular Session
State Capitol
Denver, CO 80203
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am filing with the Secretary of State House Bill 05-1070, "Concerning water conservation measures," to the Colorado Secretary of State. I vetoed this bill as of 4:04 p.m. today and this letter sets forth my reasons for doing so.
H.B. 1070 is premised on a laudable goal, which is to conserve water. There are many different opinions and sound arguments both for and against this bill, but unfortunately the merits of the bill must be put in context of the process by which it was considered. H.B. 1070 was passed through the legislature based on a fiscal analysis that was fundamentally flawed.
When H.B. 1070 was submitted to executive branch agencies for review, an estimated fiscal impact on the state budget of over $1,000,000 was submitted to Legislative Council by several different state agencies. Despite this fact, the Legislature made an inexplicable finding of "No Fiscal Impact". The bill was amended in House committee, House second reading, Senate committee, and Senate second reading, but at no point was the bill reconsidered for a revised fiscal analysis.
This bill was debated and passed based on a false pretense - that it would not have an impact on the state's general fund, despite my administration's best efforts to communicate that in fact it would have a $1,000,000 impact.
Legislative wishes and hopes do not erase fiscal reality. The General Fund cannot absorb this significant cost.
Accordingly, I have vetoed this bill.
Sincerely,
Bill Owens
Governor
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