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Legislators attempt to sell property rights down the riverColorado Rep. Kathleen Curry (D-Gunnison) and a group of legislators on the Colorado House Judiciary Committee have launched a multi-pronged attack on private property rights in Colorado. HB 1188, introduced by Rep. Curry and passed by the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, constitutes a statutory right to trespass on private property and overturns decades of Colorado case law and state statute. Currently, HB 1188 would grant commercial river outfitters the right to enter private property without first getting the permission of the landowner if they choose to portage on stream banks while river rafting. This goes far beyond the "incidental touch" of a raft or boat, or a rafter on the bed or banks of a stream. Further, proponents of HB 1188 made it clear in their testimony that they would be supportive of the proposed legislation being expanded to include all types of boaters and fishermen. "We have not seen such a blatant attack on private property rights in this state for some time," explained Alan Foutz, Ph.D., president of Colorado Farm Bureau, the state's largest agriculture organization. "Representative Curry's bill effectively takes private property rights out of the hands of private landowners and grants them to commercial entities." With hundreds of miles of boatable water in Colorado, the $142 million-per-year floating industry has prospered in Colorado under current statute. HB 1188 was written to help alleviate one incident involving one small stretch of river and one river outfitter. "We are made to think that the floating industry and private landowners are in a constant battle over the floating issue. This is not true. This bill exempts rafters and river outfitters from trespass statutes all over Colorado for the benefit of one operator on one small stretch of river," continued Foutz. "I frankly see very little difference between what HB 1188 (if passed) would do to property rights and the terrible precedent set a few years back by the Kelo vs. New London, Conn., case in the US Supreme Court. I'm very disappointed to see just how little some legislators seem to think of the rights afforded to private property owners by the US and Colorado Constitution." The Colorado Farm Bureau vigorously opposes HB 1188. The bill passed out of the Colorado House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 8 on a 7 to 3 vote and is now eligible for consideration by the full House. Reps. Levy (D-Boulder), McCann (D-Denver), Court (D-Denver), Miklosi (D-Denver), Kagan (D-Denver), Pace (D-Pueblo), and Nikkel (R-Loveland) voted for the measure. Reps. Gardner (R-Colorado Springs), King (R-Grand Junction) and Waller (R-Colorado Springs) voted against it.
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