Rep. Marsha Looper held an open house at Espresso at Stratfordís Feb. 17, where she discussed legislation she has introduced in the Colorado House.On Feb. 20, hearings were held in Denver regarding Rep. Marsha Looper’s proposed toll road legislation, HB 1068, which seeks to change the current toll road law. Under the current law, the toll road company must immediately send notices to property owners when it announces plans for a toll road. The notices then appear on the title records, and those notices have often prevented property owners from selling their property or in some cases the notices have significantly reduced the sales price in a current negotiation.HB 1068 stops the notices from going to property owners early in the process. The bill also requires that a toll road company purchase 85 percent of the land before asking the state to use eminent domain.Calhan property owners and attorneys for the Prairie Falcon Parkway Express from Calhan testified at the hearing, Looper said in a Feb. 21 interview.The committee gave Looper an extension to modify HB 1068. She said she needs to clarify certain aspects of the bill, and she may add to it. Looper also said that most of the committee members are freshmen and have not realized the negative consequences of current toll road legislation on many property owners. Looper also introduced HB 1156, a bill to protect home buyers with a guarantee that they will know the source of their water supply. The bill was passed unanimously by the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee on Feb 7; it moves to the House for final debate.Contact Rep. Looper at MarshaLooper@hughes.net or call 303-866-2946
