House Committee on Judiciary (01/29/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	01/29/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:30 PM to 06:20 PM	Apuan	X
		Court	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Gardner B.	X
		King	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Miklosi	*
	Representative Levy	Pace	*
		Roberts	X
This Report was prepared by		Ryden	X
	Jessika Shipley	Waller	X
		McCann	X
		Levy	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB09-1049 HB09-1081 HB09-1090 HB09-1080 HB09-1137 HB09-1120		Postponed Indefinitely Amended, Referred to Appropriations Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Laid Over Amended, Referred to Appropriations

01:31 PM -- House Bill 09-1049

Representative May, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1049 concerning a prohibition on accepting a plea of guilty from an illegal alien that will result in avoiding removal from this country. The bill prohibits a trial judge from accepting a plea of guilty to any charge if the defendant is in the country illegally, and the plea is a result of a plea offer that will allow the defendant to avoid removal from the country. It provides an exception in cases where the prosecuting attorney could not prove the original charges if brought to trial, and the plea offer is not intended to allow the defendant to avoid removal from the country.

The committee discussed the fiscal note. Representative May asked for the committee to postpone the bill indefinitely.


BILL:	HB09-1049
TIME:	01:34:35 PM
MOVED:	Waller
MOTION:	Postpone House Bill 09-1049 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:36 PM -- House Bill 09-1081

Representative Looper, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1081 concerning an increase in the length of the statute of limitations for vehicular homicide. The bill extends the statute of limitations for vehicular homicide from three years to five years. Vehicular homicide may be a class 3 or class 4 felony, depending on the presence of alcohol or drugs. Representative Looper related details of a hit and run accident in her district.

01:40 PM -- Dan May, 4th Judicial District Attorney, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. May discussed the possibility of adding hit and run death to this bill. He talked about the difficulty in investigating and prosecuting these types of cases. Solving these cases after the statute of limitations expires is very frustrating for law enforcement. Hit and run is generally very random and hits communities very hard. He responded to questions from the committee about the reasons for statutes of limitations. The committee discussed statutes of limitations for vehicular homicide in other states and whether it would be possible to add a tolling provision to the Colorado statute of limitations if a crime is concealed. The committee talked about prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment A). The amendment adds the crime of leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in the death of a person to the bill.

01:50 PM -- Tom Davis, Fountain Police Department, spoke in support of the bill. Corporal Davis related details of vehicular homicide cases he has investigated.

01:53 PM -- Mike Barnett, Fountain Police Department, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Barnett is a traffic accident reconstruction expert and related details of his experience investigating vehicular homicide cases. He indicated his belief that scientific testing can be used to assist law enforcement officials with the investigation and solving of crimes if adequate time is available to do so.

01:56 PM -- Maria Moll, Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Moll discussed the examination of DNA evidence in vehicular homicides. She stated that the difference between three and five years provides law enforcement with a higher probability of closing cases and giving closure to victims and their families.

02:02 PM -- Doug Wilson, State Public Defender, spoke in opposition to L.001. Mr. Wilson was involved in discussions over the summer about extending the statute of limitations. He and the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar supported the idea of extending it by two years for vehicular homicide, but they do not support the idea of doing so for hit and run death. He stated his belief that the amendment will increase the fiscal impact of the bill. The committee discussed the changes proposed in the amendment.

02:13 PM

Representative Looper pointed out a letter from Leticia Lopez, whose husband was killed by a hit and run driver in Fountain in 2003 (Attachment B). She wrapped up her presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation. The committee discussed the expansion of the bill with L.001 and the difference between vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in the death of a person.


BILL:	HB09-1081
TIME:	02:20:02 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed on a vote of 9-2.
SECONDED:	King
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	No
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	No

Not Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB09-1081
TIME:	02:22:16 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1081, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	King
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:25 PM -- House Bill 09-1090

Representative Rice, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1090 concerning the use of titles associated with interpretation for deaf persons and making unauthorized use of such titles a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The bill makes it a deceptive trade practice to claim to be an interpreter for the deaf unless a person holds a current certification of competence from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Certificates must be prominently displayed at a person's business, if any, and made available to consumers or state officials upon request. Violations of a deceptive trade practice is punishable by a civil penalty, damages to a consumer, or both.

Representative Rice discussed the problem he is trying to address with this bill and responded to questions from the committee regarding enforcement of the bill. The committee talked about the qualifications of instructors who teach deaf interpretation certification courses. When something is a violation of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, the Office of the Attorney General may get involved in the prosecution of cases of such violations. The committee discussed the differentiation between situations in which an individual casually offers to assist a deaf or hard of hearing person by interpreting versus one where an individual represents themselves as a certified interpreter for a more formal proceeding.

02:45 PM -- Ray Kilthau, private citizen, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Kilthau conveyed his expectation that interpreters with whom he interacts be properly trained and certified. He discussed various scams that take advantage of the deaf community. The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) is the only organization in the state that certifies interpreters. The RID training course requires that interpreters pass both a written and oral exam. He responded to questions from the committee.

02:50 PM -- Ami Garry, DOVE, Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Women and Children, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Garry provided written testimony to the committee (Attachment C). She related details of her experience as a victim advocate coordinator advocating for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. She responded to questions from the committee regarding the costs for certified deaf interpreters in different situations.

02:57 PM -- Amie Seiberlich, RID, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Seiberlich provided the committee with written testimony (Attachment D). She read from her prepared remarks. She responded to questions from the committee about the process of becoming a certified interpreter. The committee discussed whether the bill is specific enough to address only deceptive trade practices rather than more casual interactions between people.

03:13 PM -- Kirk Neuroth, RID, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Neuroth provided the committee with written testimony (Attachment E). He read from his prepared remarks. He discussed the ethical practice of deaf interpretation. Mr. Neuroth relayed a story of his experience as a deaf interpreter in Denver. A sign language student represented herself as a professional sign language interpreter and misinterpreted a conversation between a doctor and an HIV-positive patient.

03:20 PM -- Carrie Ann Lucas, Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Lucas provided the committee with written testimony (Attachment F). She related three anecdotes concerning the provision of unqualified interpreters in legal situations.

03:25 PM -- Chris Lines, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Lines stated that this is a situation in which government processes are colliding. He asked the committee to table the bill for two weeks until a sunrise report is released in mid-February. The department is in the process of deciding whether to regulate deaf interpreters. The committee discussed prior DORA sunrise reports on this subject that recommended no regulation.

03:34 PM -- Brittany Potter, student interpreter, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Potter responded to questions from the committee about how interpreters best match their skills with the type of sign language required by a given audience.

03:37 PM -- Lynda Remmel, Front Range Community College (FRCC), spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Remmel is a faculty member with the FRCC interpretation program. She discussed educational opportunities for individuals who wish to learn sign language throughout the state. She talked about how businesses and individuals go about engaging the services of a deaf interpreter and the recruitment of interpreters.

03:43 PM

Representative Rice wrapped up his presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.


BILL:	HB09-1090
TIME:	03:44:12 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment G), which adds additional titles that might be used by deaf interpreters to the bill. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	McCann
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Court
	Gardner B.
	King
	Miklosi
	Pace
	Roberts
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy

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


BILL:	HB09-1090
TIME:	03:45:21 PM
MOVED:	Miklosi
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1090, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	McCann
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:51 PM -- House Bill 09-1080

Representative Marostica, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1080 concerning a grant of qualified immunity to building code officials rendering assistance during a disaster emergency. The bill grants qualified immunity from civil action to a building code official who, while acting in his or her official capacity, assists during a state of disaster emergency. A building code official is defined to mean an individual maintaining a certification in good standing by the International Code Council or similar association of building code officials.

Representative Marostica talked about his experience in the aftermath of the Windsor tornado in 2008. The committee discussed the fact that this bill adds building code officials to a current list of entities covered by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. These individuals will still be held responsible for gross misconduct, but this bill provides some measure of protection to them as they go about their business.

03:59 PM -- Greg Wheeler, Colorado chapter of the International Code Council (ICC) and the Colorado Municipal League (CML), spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Wheeler discussed the chapter's response to the 2008 Windsor tornado. They went through 696 buildings in a day and a half and tagged buildings with major structural damage. Other buildings were slightly damaged, while still others were almost undamaged. He talked about the various permits for repair that were issued. He discussed other disasters the chapter has responded to around Colorado in the last 20 years. Mr. Wheeler responded to questions from the committee about the kind of training and expertise that individuals certified by the ICC are required to have. Most of the members are architects or engineers, although several other trades are certified as building code inspectors. The committee discussed training and expertise for some time.

04:14 PM -- Erin Goff, Colorado Municipal League, appeared to respond to questions from the committee regarding the provision of the bill concerning abrogation of the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. CML asked that the provision be included as an abundance of caution.


BILL:	HB09-1080
TIME:	04:16:28 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1080 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Roberts
		VOTE
	Apuan	Excused
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:18 PM -- House Bill 09-1137

Representative Judd, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1137 concerning intercepting gambling winnings to pay outstanding criminal court obligations, restitution, and delinquent taxes and requiring the Department of Revenue to provide specified information to state agencies in conjunction with intercepts of tax refunds. The bill expands the Gambling Payment Intercept Act so that the following outstanding debts are to be treated in the same manner that unpaid child support debt and certain arrearages of child and medical support are currently treated under the act:

outstanding criminal court fines, fees, costs, or surcharges owed pursuant to a court order;
restitution; and
taxes, penalties, or interest that are delinquent and in distraint.

Under current law, the Gambling Payment Intercept Act contains a conditional repeal clause. The act is to be repealed if during FY 2008-09, no winner from limited gaming or from pari-mutuel wagering on horse or greyhound racing is identified in the registry created by the Department of Revenue as having unpaid child support or child support costs owed to the state. This bill removes the conditional repeal of the act.

Representative Judd discussed the fiscal note. He talked about the issue of a private business intercepting gaming proceeds which would be similar to how the state lottery operates. Representative Levy clarified that Representative Judd was only going to go forward with the victim restitution aspect of the bill rather than pursuing the rest of the remedies. The committee discussed the effective date of this bill. There was discussion about making the effective date 18 months from passage of the bill rather than being effective in January 2010.

04:31 PM

The committee continued discussing how the logistics of this new system would work. Representative Gardner asked whether the casinos should get a portion of the cost it would take to implement this type of system.

04:44 PM -- Adrienne Benavidez, Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA), spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Benavidez discussed the portion of the bill regarding certain tax information that is sent by the Department of Revenue to agencies when tax refunds are offset under the existing program. The Central Collections Services Unit in the DPA utilizes the tax refund offset program as a strong tool in the collection of outstanding state debt. Approximately $3 million was collected through the program in FY 2007-08. The DPA certifies the outstanding debt to the Department of Revenue by providing specific information. If a refund matches an individual's information, the refund is offset and forwarded to the Central Collections Services Unit for payment of the outstanding debt. The two departments would like to share current addresses of debtors and the bill would allow that. Ms. Benavidez does not believe this type of information sharing would violate any privacy laws.

04:48 PM -- Paula Brown, Colorado Department of Human Services, Child Support Enforcement, appeared to answer questions. Ms.Brown discussed the implementation of the intercept program.

04:51 PM -- Lois Rice, Colorado Gaming Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Rice opposes the bill because the limited gaming industry is in the business of entertainment, not debt collections. It is an industry with considerable competition. She believes this bill would infringe on individual entertainment experience. She also believes the time period for creating and bringing the database online is too short. Ms. Rice responded to committee questions about other states that use gambling intercepts to pay child support obligations and the state of the gaming industry in the current economy.

05:03 PM -- Denise Washington, Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV), spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Washington talked about the success of the existing law and asked that the bill be passed in order to help collect restitution for victims of crimes, especially domestic violence.


BILL:	HB09-1137
TIME:	05:08:00 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	WITHDRAWN - Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment H). The motion was withdrawn.
SECONDED:	Waller
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Court
	Gardner B.
	King
	Miklosi
	Pace
	Roberts
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE


BILL:	HB09-1137
TIME:	05:08:56 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment I). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Waller
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Court
	Gardner B.
	King
	Miklosi
	Pace
	Roberts
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy

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


BILL:	HB09-1137
TIME:	05:24:59 PM
MOVED:	Ryden
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1137, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. Members discussed their positions on the bill. Representative Judd asked the chair to take the bill off the table while he attempted to address some of the committee's concerns. The chair took the bill off the table.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Court
	Gardner B.
	King
	Miklosi
	Pace
	Roberts
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE


BILL:	HB09-1137
TIME:	05:24:49 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	A substitute motion was made to postpone House Bill 09-1137 indefinitely. The motion failed on a vote of 4-7.
SECONDED:	King
		VOTE
	Apuan	No
	Court	No
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	No
	Pace	No
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	No
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	No
	Levy	No

Not Final YES: 4 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

05:26 PM

The chair took the bill off the table.

05:27 PM -- House Bill 09-1120

Representative Stephens, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1120 concerning criminalizing certain acts in order to protect the safety of certain public servants. This bill expands the circumstances for committing second degree assault to include a person who, with the intent to:

infect,
injure;
harm;
harass;
annoy;
threaten; or
alarm

a peace officer, a firefighter, or an emergency medical technician causes that person to come into contact with certain biological or hazardous materials.

This bill states that a person convicted of second degree assault under the provisions of this bill will not be subject to the aggravating circumstances sentencing provisions that currently apply to the commission of second degree assault on a peace officer or a firefighter. Current law already prohibits these acts if they are inflicted by any confined individual on a person employed by a detention facility. Second degree assault under these circumstances is a class 4 felony.

Finally, the bill expands the definition of the crime of disarming a peace officer to include the removal of a self-defense electronic control device, a direct-contact stun device, or other similar device of a peace officer who is acting in the course of his or her official duties.

05:30 PM -- Mark Randall, Colorado District Attorneys Council, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Randall discussed a proposed amendment that would take the second degree assault provision of the bill and bringing it down to a third degree assault, which is a class 1 misdemeanor. This would decrease the fiscal impact of the bill. The amendment would also include a provision about testing the bodily fluids for infectious diseases. He discussed the provision of the bill regarding the disarming of a police officer. Mr. Randall responded to questions from the committee about why firefighters and emergency medical technicians are included in the bill. The committee discussed the potential fiscal savings if the bill is amended and the deterrent effect of the current statute for corrections officers.

05:47 PM -- Norm Rooker, Ouray County Emergency Medical Services, spoke in support of the bill. Chief Rooker worked for the city of San Francisco, where such a law has been in effect for 20 years. This law is a tool to help prevent assaults on paramedics, firefighters, and police officers. Firefighters and emergency medical technicians are seen as representatives of the administration, but they are not armed and are seen as easy targets. The bill, with the proposed amendment, would allow testing of individuals who use bodily fluids to harass the named public servants.

05:51 PM -- Marcos Mocine-McQueen, Professional Firefighters Association, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Mocine-McQueen discussed situations in which firefighters are called to assess a suspect who is been in an altercation with a peace officer. He stated his belief that this bill would provide protection for firefighters who provide emergency medical services.

05:55 PM -- Rick Brandt, Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Brandt stressed that the job of first responders is stressful and the possibility of being exposed to infectious diseases just raises that level of stress.

05:59 PM -- Ben Dengerink, emergency medical technician, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Dengerink related details of his experience providing emergency medical services.

06:01 PM -- Mike Haley, Fountain Police Department and El Paso County Sheriff's Department, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Haley related details of his experience as a police officer dealing with intoxicated individuals who have spit on him. He stated that the anxiety experienced by first responders with regard to infectious diseases.

06:04 PM -- Jamie Svalberg, Denver Police Department, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Svalberg related details of her experience as a police officer who has been spit on by a suspect.

06:08 PM -- Robert Hill, Canyon City Police Department, spoke in support of the bill. Sgt. Hill related his experience with being spit on by a suspect. The district attorney was not able to charge the suspect in his base because Sgt. Hill was outside of his patrol car when the incident happened.

06:11 PM -- Doug Wilson, State Public Defender, supports the bill if prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment J) is passed. Mr. Wilson responded to questions from the committee regarding juvenile offenders and how they would be handled under the bill.


BILL:	HB09-1120
TIME:	06:17:50 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment J). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Pace
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Court
	Gardner B.
	King
	Miklosi
	Pace
	Roberts
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy

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


BILL:	HB09-1120
TIME:	06:19:16 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Amend L.005, page 2, strike line 4 and substitute "or vomit to a person for whom probable cause has been found or been". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	McCann
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Court
	Gardner B.
	King
	Miklosi
	Pace
	Roberts
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy

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


BILL:	HB09-1120
TIME:	06:20:04 PM
MOVED:	Waller
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1120, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Roberts
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

06:20 PM

Representative Levy adjourned the committee.