Senate Committee on Judiciary (03/16/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	03/16/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:33 PM to 04:35 PM	Hudak	X
		King K.	*
Place:	SCR 352	Lundberg	X
		Newell	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Renfroe	X
	Senator Morse	Carroll M.	X
		Morse	X
This Report was prepared by
	Sara McPhee
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB09-1180 HB09-1260		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:33 PM -- House Bill 09-1180

Senator Brophy, bill sponsor, discussed House Bill 09-1180 concerning allowing Colorado concealed handgun permits to satisfy background check requirements for transfers of firearms. Senator Brophy also distributed Amendments L.004 and L.005 (Attachments A and B). He indicated that the bill was amended in the House and Amendment L.005 would revert the bill back to the original form. Amendment L.004 concerns the expiration date for concealed weapons permits. The committee discussed the specifics of background checks and whether or not the concealed weapons permit constitutes a background check for the purposes of purchasing a gun at a gun show or at a store.

01:41 PM -- Tom Hill, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill. He noted that they support the bill in its original form. He indicated that the sheriffs were not in favor of the bill as introduced, but they did not testify at the House meeting.

01:42 PM -- Peg Ackerman, representing the County Sheriffs, spoke about the bill. She stated that the sheriffs were opposed to the bill as introduced. Ms. Ackerman explained that the sheriffs may not be able to determine if the concealed weapons permit is valid because not all sheriffs put the concealed weapon permit information info into the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) database. Because of this, an individual may have a permit that is not currently valid and a proprietor of a gun store would not be able to immediately check to see if it is valid.

01:45 PM

Senator Morse asked about checks on the street when people produced concealed weapons permits. Ms. Ackerman indicated that the process would be to check the database and if the information is not in the database then further research would be conducted with the issuing sheriffs office. She discussed the issue of forged concealed weapons permits. Senator Hudak asked if a background check is required at a gun show. Senator Lundberg asked about which sheriffs do not enter the information into the CBI database. Senator Carroll asked about the current punishment for presenting a revoked or forged permit. The committee discussed the specifics of background checks and concealed weapons permits.

01:58 PM

Senator Newell raised the issue of forged documents being used at gun shows. Senator Brophy discussed the backlog for background checks at gun shows and stated that this bill is a convenience for people who have concealed weapons permits.

02:02 PM -- Annmarie Jensen, representing the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, spoke about the bill. She stated that the chiefs are neutral on the bill as it is now, but they do not support the introduced version. As such, they are opposed to the bill if the proposed amendments were to pass. She discussed federal laws and whether or not this bill would be in violation of federal firearms laws. She noted that the Instacheck service is overloaded; however, a solution to that could be to assess fees on users of the Instacheck service.

02:09 PM -- Steve Schreiner, representing the Firearms Coalition of Colorado, spoke about the bill. He stated that he believes that the bill in its current form would lay the groundwork for creating a statewide database.

02:14 PM -- Amy Miller, representing the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, spoke about the bill. She stated that the coalition is neutral on the bill in its current form, but they were opposed to the original form. She noted that she believes that there were over 100 revocations of concealed weapons permits in 2008 and some of those were for people who have protection orders. She discussed the process for revoking concealed weapons permits.

02:22 PM

Senator King asked about instances where individuals have used concealed weapons in a domestic violence situation. The committee continued to discuss the specifics of the bill.

02:31 PM

Senator Brophy concluded his presentation of the bill. Richard Sweetman, representing the Office of Legislative Legal Services, spoke about the bill. He described Amendment L.004. According to Mr. Sweetman, current statute gives people six months to renew their permit and the amendment changes that to make the expiration date more clear. He noted that, as amended, the bill should be acceptable under federal firearms law.


BILL:	HB09-1180
TIME:	02:38:15 PM
MOVED:	King K.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.004 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak
	King K.
	Lundberg
	Newell
	Renfroe
	Carroll M.
	Morse

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


BILL:	HB09-1180
TIME:	02:38:37 PM
MOVED:	King K.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.005 (Attachment B). The motion passed on a 5-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak	No
	King K.	Yes
	Lundberg	Yes
	Newell	No
	Renfroe	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Morse	Yes

Not Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB09-1180
TIME:	02:49:24 PM
MOVED:	King K.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1180, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 5-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak	No
	King K.	Yes
	Lundberg	Yes
	Newell	No
	Renfroe	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Morse	Yes

Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:50 PM -- House Bill 09-1260

Senator Veiga, bill sponsor, discussed House Bill 09-1260 concerning designated beneficiary agreements. She explained that the bill enables two people to enter into a designated beneficiary agreement that allows them to be designated as beneficiaries for a variety of benefits, to make hospital visits and medical decisions, and to receive workers' compensation benefits. Senator Veiga explained that any two people could take advantage of executing a designated beneficiary agreement. She noted that it is a low cost option that may be most beneficial for low income people. Senator Veiga distributed Amendment L.029 and Amendment L.030 (Attachments C and D). Amendment L.029 includes changes at the request of the county clerks. Amendment L.030 concerns superseding documents and clarifies which documents control in an estate situation.

03:01 PM

Senator Lundberg asked about the provision concerning not allowing married people to enter into designated beneficiary agreements. Senator Lundberg discussed whether this bill creates a substitute for marriage. Senator King asked about the difference between Senate Bill 166 from a previous session and House Bill 09-1260. Senator Renfroe asked about the workers compensation benefit.

03:10 PM -- Pat Steadman, representing Equal Rights Colorado, spoke in support of the bill. He noted that the bill is patterned after a bill from a previous session brought by Senator Mitchell. He also indicated that other states have adopted similar laws. Mr. Steadman stated that these agreements create a mechanism for adults to have certain statutory protections. According to Mr. Steadman, too many people fail to plan and this bill would provide an easy and low cost way for people to plan for their own mortality. The designated beneficiary agreement operates where other documentation does not exist, but if an individual has a will or a power of attorney then those documents would supersede the designated beneficiary agreement. Mr. Steadman discussed the amendments.

03:20 PM

Senator Renfroe asked about the states that have passed similar legislation and how this bill differs from a domestic partnership. Senator Renfroe also asked about what provisions are not available to unmarried people under current law. Mr. Steadman indicated that the bill bundles many existing things, but also adds new provisions. The first new provision is for intestate succession if an individual dies without a will. The second and third new provisions are the ability to sue for wrongful death and the ability to receive workers compensation benefits. Senator King asked about the amendments from the House concerning intestate succession. Senator Lundberg discussed his concerns that this bill is creating a substitute for marriage. Mr. Steadman explained why he believes that this bill is very different from marriage.

03:39 PM

The committee continued to discuss the specifics of the bill with Mr. Steadman. The committee asked Mr. Steadman about individuals being designated as beneficiaries for multiple people.

03:56 PM -- Jacquelyn Kilmer, representing Colorado Organizations Responding to AIDS, spoke in support of the bill. She discussed the importance of this bill for individuals who do not have the resources to prepare a will.

03:59 PM -- Monica Rosenbluth, representing the Anti-Defamation League, spoke in support of the bill. She also discussed the importance of this bill for individuals to have a low cost method to plan for medical and end of life decisions.

04:01 PM -- Linda Meric, representing 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women, spoke in support of the bill.

04:04 PM -- JJ Watson, Eliza Stein, and Aleonya Hunter, representing themselves, spoke in support of the bill.

04:10 PM -- Indra Lusero, representing the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, spoke in support of the bill. She related the experience of non-married partners who did not have a plan for end of life.

04:13 PM -- Jeremy Shaver, representing the Interfaith Alliance, spoke in support of the bill. He indicated that he supports the bill because it provides basic protections in times of emergency.

04:16 PM -- Wayne Knox, representing the Colorado Senior Lobby, spoke in support of the bill. He discussed the importance of this bill for low-income seniors.

04:18 PM -- Kathy Glass and Carmah Lawler, representing themselves, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Glass related their personal experiences and how this bill may impact their lives.

04:23 PM -- Erica Johnson, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. She noted that she is an attorney who specializes in estate planning. Ms. Johnson discussed the types of people who may benefit from this bill.

04:28 PM -- Mindy Barton, representing the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, spoke in support of the bill.

04:31 PM

Senator Veiga concluded her presentation of the bill.


BILL:	HB09-1260
TIME:	04:33:17 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.029 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak
	King K.
	Lundberg
	Newell
	Renfroe
	Carroll M.
	Morse

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


BILL:	HB09-1260
TIME:	04:33:49 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.030 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak
	King K.
	Lundberg
	Newell
	Renfroe
	Carroll M.
	Morse

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


BILL:	HB09-1260
TIME:	04:34:25 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1260, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 4-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak	Yes
	King K.	Excused
	Lundberg	No
	Newell	Yes
	Renfroe	No
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Morse	Yes

Final YES: 4 NO: 2 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:34 PM

The committee adjourned.