Senate Committee on State, Veterans & Military Affairs (03/11/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON STATE, VETERANS & MILITARY AFFAIRS

Date:	03/11/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:34 PM to 03:37 PM	Boyd	X
		Cadman	X
Place:	SCR 353	Schultheis	X
		Bacon	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Williams	X
	Senator Williams

This Report was prepared by
	Geoff Johnson
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Conf 09-State Personnel Board Conf 09-Colorado Lottery Commission HB09-1186 HB09-1118		Recommended Recommended Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:34 PM

Senator Williams, Chair, called the meeting to order.

01:34 PM -- Confirmation - State Personnel Board

Mary Ann Whiteside, Denver, commented on her appointment to the State Personnel Board. The Governor's letter making her appointment to the commission and her resume are attached (Attachment A). She spoke of her employment history with the State of Colorado. She described the role of the board, and noted that the Judicial Branch has a separate personnel system.


BILL:	Confirmation - State Personnel Board
TIME:	01:37:41 PM
MOVED:	Bacon
MOTION:	Moved that the confirmation of Mary Ann Whiteside to serve on the State Personnel Board be recommended to the full Senate. The motion passed on a 4-0-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Boyd	Excused
	Cadman	Yes
	Schultheis	Yes
	Bacon	Yes
	Williams	Yes


Final YES: 4 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:38 PM -- Confirmations - Colorado Lottery Commission

Betty Martinez, Pueblo, commented on her appointment to the Colorado Lottery Commission. The Governor's letter making appointments to the commission, and the resumes of the two appointees are attached (Attachment B). Ms. Martinez said that she is a Pueblo native, and that she enjoys serving the public. She commented on the mission of the Lottery Commission.

01:43 PM -- Dana Franzen, Monument, said that he feels it is important to give back to the community. He spoke of his volunteer efforts in recent years. He said that his appointment fulfills the requirement that an accountant serve on the commission. He said that the current use of lottery proceeds is consistent with the desire of the residents of the state.


BILL:	Confirmations - Colorado Lottery Commission
TIME:	01:47:27 PM
MOVED:	Bacon
MOTION:	Moved that the confirmation of Dana Franzen and Betty Martinez to serve on the Colorado Lottery Commission be recommended to the full Senate. The motion passed on a 4-0-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Boyd	Excused
	Cadman	Yes
	Schultheis	Yes
	Bacon	Yes
	Williams	Yes


Final YES: 4 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:49 PM -- House Bill 09-1186

Senator Carroll, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1186, concerning the delivery of a mail-in ballot to the designated election official by the elector. She said that House Bill 09-1186 will alleviate confusion among the public regarding the locations at which a mail-in ballot may be dropped off. She said that these locations vary by county, and that it is more intuitive to allow the ballots to be dropped off at a voter's polling place. She said that House Bill 09-1186 will also allow an individual to drop off as many as ten mail-in ballots for other voters. She stated that "she dearly cherishes the right of citizens to vote." She said that the electoral system should be as user-friendly as possible, and that House Bill 09-1186 will increase the probability of ballots being delivered. Senator Carroll said that House Bill 09-1186 is a reasonable accommodation to busy voters. Senator Bacon said that House Bill 09-1186 will also eliminate problems with the issuance of provisional ballots.

The following persons testified in regard to House Bill 09-1186:

02:06 PM -- Nancy Doty, Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder, commented on procedures in her county for gathering mail-in ballots. She said that sending runners to pick up ballots will cost the county thousands of dollars. She outlined the expenses that her county expects to incur if House Bill 09-1186 is enacted.

02:22 PM -- Margit Johansson, representing Coloradans for Voting Integrity, stated concerns regarding the number of ballots that an individual may drop off.

02:30 PM -- Hillary Hall, representing the Colorado County Clerks Association, commented on procedures for dropping off mail-in ballots in Boulder County. She spoke of the cost of processing mail ballots. She said that 10 percent of ballots were returned on election day in Boulder County at the last general election. She said the association has no position on House Bill 09-1186.

02:35 PM -- Pam Anderson, representing the Colorado County Clerks Association, commented on the use of mail-in ballots in Jefferson County. She said that a preponderance of the polling places in her county are housed in schools. She said that if an excessive number of voters drop off mail-in ballots at schools it could impact the operations of the school and affect parking for other voters entering the polling place at the school. She said that there is no difference in the administration of the process, whether five ballots or ten ballots, are dropped off by an individual. She noted that, once a ballot is submitted to a polling place, it cannot be altered by the voter. She said that House Bill 09-1186 could drive a significant fiscal impact on her county.

02:55 PM -- Christine Watson, representing the League of Women Voters of Colorado, supported House Bill 09-1186. She said that many inquiries are received from voters who would like to drop off their mail-in ballots at their polling place. She added that House Bill 09-1186 will increase consistency in the process.

03:04 PM -- Faith Gross, representing the Legal Center for People with Disabilities, read testimony on behalf of Elena Nunez of Colorado Common Cause, supporting House Bill 09-1186. She testified that Denver County is the only county allowing mail-in ballots to be dropped off at numerous locations, and that this practice has eliminated much confusion among voters in the county.

03:08 PM -- Mike Scarpello, Elections Director, City and County of Denver, supported House Bill 09-1186. He commented on the practice of the City and County of Denver to allow mail-in ballots to be accepted at polling places on election day. He said that approximately 53 percent of the mail-in ballots are returned at polling places on election day. He said that this process has been implemented for less than $20,000 by the City and County of Denver, and that Denver simply purchased an additional polling box for each polling place. He said that the cost of implementing the process has been minimal, and that its implementation presented no difficulties to the city. He said that this opportunity should be implemented across the state and that it would make voting more convenient for all voters in the state. He added that many people forget to drop off their ballots until election day and that House Bill 09-1186 will increase voter turnout.

03:15 PM -- Kristen Thomson, representing the Vote by Mail Project, supported House Bill 09-1186. She said that there was a "massive increase in the use of mail-in ballots in the last election." She noted that she brought the idea for House Bill 09-1186 to Senator Carroll. She added that mail-in ballots allow the public to better study the candidates and issues on the ballot.


BILL:	HB09-1186
TIME:	03:29:04 PM
MOVED:	Bacon
MOTION:	Moved that House Bill 09-1186 be referred to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 3-2-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Cadman	No
	Schultheis	No
	Bacon	Yes
	Williams	Yes


Final YES: 3 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:29 PM -- House Bill 09-1118

Senator Kester, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1118, concerning the manner in which the records of certain governmental entities are kept. He said that House Bill 09-1118 will eliminate the requirement that certain records be kept in "well-bound books."

The following person testified in regard to House Bill 09-1118:

03:31 PM -- Representative Murray, House prime sponsor of House Bill 09-1118, said that House Bill 09-1118 was initiated by a special district management company that objected to the cost of creating bound books for record storage. She said that a number of requirements that records be kept in this fashion were identified in statute by legislative staff. She also noted that a representative of the Public Utilities Commission asked for some relief from their statutory record-keeping requirements, and that this request was accommodated in the amended bill. Senator Schultheis commented on a potential amendment to House Bill 09-1118 allowing electronic transmittal of records (Attachment C).


BILL:	HB09-1118
TIME:	03:35:02 PM
MOVED:	Bacon
MOTION:	Moved a prepared amendment to House Bill 09-1118 (Attachment C), L.004. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Boyd
	Cadman
	Schultheis
	Bacon
	Williams

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1118
TIME:	03:36:27 PM
MOVED:	Bacon
MOTION:	Moved that House Bill 09-1118 be referred to the Committee of the Whole, as amended, and with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendar. The motion passed on a 5-0-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Cadman	Yes
	Schultheis	Yes
	Bacon	Yes
	Williams	Yes


Final YES: 5 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:37 PM

The committee meeting recessed.