Bill Summary for Bill Number HB08-1004

Date: 02/13/2008

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB08-1004

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt prepared amendment L.007 (Attachment M). Th Allow the Judiciary Committee to work from the Edu Postpone House Bill 08-1004 indefinitely. The mot Refer House Bill 08-1004 to the Committee of the W	FAIL TIE PASS TIE

03:09 PM -- House Bill 08-1004

Representative Todd, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 08-1004 concerning the authorization of law enforcement agencies to work jointly with school districts in enforcing compulsory school attendance laws. The bill, as amended in the House Education Committee, creates a pilot program directed toward truancy prevention. Under the bill, school districts that participate in the pilot program:

● establish a community resource team comprised of key stakeholders;
● enter into intergovernmental agreements with appropriate entities regarding law enforcement training, community outreach, parental notification, and the actions the school district
will take to determine why students are truant and the interventions that will be used to remediate any problems;
● establish an opportunity for parents to exclude their children from the pilot program, under certain circumstances; and
● submit an annual report regarding the results of the program.

The amended bill allows a uniformed law enforcement officer, under certain circumstances, to detain students within the boundaries of school districts that are participating in the pilot program. It establishes procedures for detaining students and repeals the pilot program as of July 1, 2011.

Representative Todd distributed information to the committee regarding truancy problems in Colorado (Attachments H and I).


BILL:	HB08-1004
TIME:	03:19:59 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Allow the Judiciary Committee to work from the Education Committee report (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Levy
		VOTE
	Carroll M.
	Gardner B.
	Jahn
	Kerr A.
	King
	Levy
	Marshall
	Roberts
	Stephens
	Stafford
	Carroll T.
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE

03:22 PM

The committee discussed the amended bill, focusing on the pilot program created under the bill, which attempts to combat the truancy problem in Colorado.

03:59 PM -- Julie Gonzales, Padres y Jovenes Unidos, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Gonzales stated her belief that the bill criminalizes students and lets schools off the hook for not keeping children engaged. She also believes the bill paves the way to violate the constitutional rights of juveniles. She appreciates the intent of the bill, but does not believe this is the right method of preventing truancy.

04:07 PM -- Pat Steadman, ACLU of Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Steadman indicated that the ACLU has discussed the bill extensively with Representative Todd, but the bill still raises Fourth Amendment issues.

04:11 PM -- Maureen Cain, Colorado Defense Bar, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Cain reiterated the testimony of the prior witness with regard to concerns about the constitutional issues raised by the bill. She talked about the possibility of creating new crimes through the contact with law enforcement officers allowed by the bill. Juveniles are prone to lying to and running away from police officers when they feel threatened.

04:17 PM -- John Riley, Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Riley related personal experience with juvenile delinquency. He sees this bill as a step backwards.

04:20 PM -- Christie Donner, Denver Inner City Parish, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Donner read a letter from Dr. Todd Clough, Executive Director of the Denver Inner City Parish (Attachment J).

04:23 PM -- Cheyenne Hughes, Colorado Progressive Coalition, spoke in opposition to the bill.

04:30 PM -- Niko Gonzales, private citizens, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Gonzales discussed valid reasons that some students have to be out of school during regular school hours. He believes it would be counter-productive to be stopped by law enforcement. He also raised concerns about the demographic of students addressed by the bill.

04:33 PM -- John Barry and Barbara Cooper, Aurora Public Schools, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Barry is the superintendent of the Aurora Public Schools. He discussed some strategies the school district has tried or is currently trying in order to prevent truancy. Ms. Cooper provided two handouts to the committee regarding efforts by the Aurora Public Schools to keep kids in school (Attachments K and L). Mr. Barry addressed the authority to enter into intergovernmental agreements with municipalities.

05:01 PM -- Treon Goossen, Home Education Legislative Liaison, was undecided about the bill. Ms. Goossen is a mother who home schools her children. She is concerned about what might happen to her children if they are stopped by a police officer.


BILL:	HB08-1004
TIME:	05:03:32 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.007 (Attachment M). The amendment amends the House Education committee report. The motion failed on a vote 4-7.
SECONDED:	Stafford
		VOTE
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Gardner B.	No
	Jahn	No
	Kerr A.	Yes
	King	No
	Levy	No
	Marshall	Yes
	Roberts	No
	Stephens	No
	Stafford	Yes
	Carroll T.	No
Not Final YES: 4 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB08-1004
TIME:	05:20:15 PM
MOVED:	Kerr A.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 08-1004 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed for lack of a second.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Carroll M.
	Gardner B.
	Jahn
	Kerr A.
	King
	Levy
	Marshall
	Roberts
	Stephens
	Stafford
	Carroll T.
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE


BILL:	HB08-1004
TIME:	05:20:34 PM
MOVED:	Stafford
MOTION:	Postpone House Bill 08-1004 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:	Marshall
		VOTE
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	Jahn	Yes
	Kerr A.	No
	King	Yes
	Levy	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Stephens	Yes
	Stafford	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:21 PM

Representative T. Carroll adjourned the committee.