House Committee on Judiciary (04/12/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	04/12/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:34 PM to 05:18 PM	Court	X
		Gardner B.	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Kagan	X
		King S.	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Miklosi	X
	Representative Levy	Nikkel	X
		Pace	*
This Report was prepared by		Ryden	*
	Jessika Shipley	Waller	X
		McCann	X
		Levy	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB10-1399 HB10-1395 HB10-1391		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:35 PM -- House Bill 10-1399

Representative Weissmann, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 10-1399 concerning the authority of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to assist a chief of a fire department in the investigation of a fire related to the crime of arson. The bill allows local fire chiefs to request assistance from the CBI for arson investigations. Currently, CBI responds to requests for assistance in investigations from local law enforcement agencies, but not from fire departments.

Representative Weissmann distributed prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment A). He responded to questions from the committee.

01:39 PM -- Rob Geislinger, representing the Fire Marshal's Association of Colorado and the Colorado State Fire Chiefs' Association, spoke in support of the bill with L.002. Chief Geislinger stated that the bill provides a needed tool for fire marshals.

01:42 PM -- Leif Skulborstad, Colorado Association of Arson Investigators, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Skulborstad discussed the difficulties inherent in investigating the causes of fires.

01:43 PM -- Ron Sloan, CBI, spoke in support of the bill with amendment L.002. Mr. Sloan discussed the arson investigation and accelerant detection unit of the CBI, which is one of the CBI's most heavily-used resources. The unit assists local law enforcement officials with suspicious fires. He responded to questions from the committee.

01:47 PM -- Grayson Robinson, County Sheriffs of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill with L.002.


BILL:	HB10-1399
TIME:	01:49:26 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L002 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Nikkel
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden	Excused
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1399
TIME:	01:50:19 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 10-1399, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Gardner B.
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Ryden	Excused
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:51 PM -- House Bill 10-1395

Representative B. Gardner, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 10-1395 concerning interlocutory appeals in civil cases. The bill specifies that the state court of appeals has the initial jurisdiction over interlocutory appeals of certified questions of law in civil cases. The state supreme court is required to make rules concerning when an interlocutory appeal may be permitted in circumstances where the review promotes an orderly disposition or the order involves a controlling and unresolved question of law.

Representative Gardner distributed prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The amendment allows a majority of the judges on the Colorado Court of Appeals to order that an interlocutory appeal be heard or reheard by all of the judges on the Colorado Court of Appeals rather than as a panel.

01:54 PM -- Richard Laugesen, Colorado Bar Association, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Laugesen distributed a handout concerning the bill (Attachment C). He explained how the Colorado Supreme Court Appellate Rules Committee goes about developing new court rules. The bill is necessary in order to permit the Colorado Supreme Court to promulgate rules. He discussed the definition of an interlocutory appeal, which is an appeal of a ruling by a trial court that is made before the trial has concluded. Interlocutory appeals are currently utilized in the Colorado Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals. Mr. Laugesen spoke about the grounds for proceeding with an interlocutory appeal. These are: 1) where an immediate review may promote a more orderly disposition or establish a final disposition of the litigation; and 2) the order involves a controlling or unresolved question of law. It is anticipated that the procedure will not be used often; however it will fill a need in cases where the only other means of resolving an impasse is to continue with the trial and the associated appeal. Such a resolution is costly and time-consuming. Mr. Laugesen responded to questions from the committee.

02:12 PM -- Jeff Ruebel, Colorado Defense Lawyers' Association, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Ruebel announced that the Colorado Trial Lawyers' Association and the Colorado Civil Justice League are also in support of the bill. He explained the benefits of interlocutory appeals. They help the judicial system work more efficiently by allowing appeals to be heard more quickly. Amendment L.001 addresses concerns that a proper decision based on a fairly limited record requires the input of more than three Colorado Court of Appeals judges.

02:21 PM

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


BILL:	HB10-1395
TIME:	02:21:25 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion passed on a vote of 8-1, with 2 excused.
SECONDED:	Kagan
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pace	Excused
	Ryden	Excused
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	No
Not Final YES: 8 NO: 1 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB10-1395
TIME:	02:22:54 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 10-1395, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Nikkel
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Ryden	Excused
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:23 PM

Representative Levy recessed the committee.

02:29 PM -- House Bill 10-1391

Representative Levy called the committee back to order.

02:29 PM

Representative Rice, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 10-1391 concerning the elimination of the repeal of certain provisions requiring that the CBI deny the transfer of a firearm to a person if the bureau receives certain information about the person's criminal history in response to a search of a criminal history records database. The bill eliminates the repeal date of July 1, 2010, for a statutory provision related to the grounds for denial of a firearm transfer. The provision concerns the denial of a firearm transfer if the prospective transferee has been arrested or charged with a crime that, if convicted, would prohibit the individual from purchasing or possessing a firearm or if the individual has been indicted for a crime that is punishable by imprisonment of more than a year according to federal law.

Representative Rice responded to questions from the committee about what part of statute would be repealed without the bill. The committee discussed circumstances under which an individual might be wrongly denied the transfer of a firearm.

02:37 PM -- Robert Edmiston, Firearms Coalition of Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Edmiston stated his opinion that the original law was intended to allow the Colorado courts to clean up a backlog of incomplete dispositions of cases, which is evident in the fact that there is a sunset provision in the law. He discussed the improper denial of firearms sales to certain people. He spoke about studies that show gun ownership is not related to elevated crime rates. Mr. Edmiston responded to questions from the committee about the number of individuals in Colorado who have been improperly denied a firearm. The committee discussed the grounds for denial of a firearms transfer.

02:52 PM -- Anthony Fabian, Colorado State Shooting Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Fabian explained that if the bill fails, it would not eliminate the Colorado Instacheck system. He spoke about mandatory protection orders that are entered against every individual charged with a crime in Colorado. Such orders are part of an individual's criminal record. He provided information about situations in which individuals who were improperly denied a firearms transfer spent a large amount of time and money to clear their names and legally purchase firearms. He stated that Colorado law enforcement agencies are not under any obligation to assist an individual in clearing his or her record. He stated that current state law is unconstitutional. In his opinion, there is currently an unfair presumption of ineligibility and Colorado law should be aligned with federal law. Mr. Fabian responded to questions from the committee about the constitutionality of the current law.

03:00 PM -- Dudley Brown, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Brown stated his opinion that current law is unconstitutional and the provision addressed by the bill should be allowed to sunset. He discussed the difficulties faced by individuals trying to clear criminal records. He responded to questions from the committee. The committee discussed the grounds for denial of a firearms transfer.

03:16 PM -- Wayne Williams, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Williams stated his opinion that constituents who query elected officials about problems are able to get faster results than those individuals who do not contact an elected official. He discussed United States Supreme Court decisions in cases concerning using the fact of an arrest to deny an individual certain rights. Mr. Williams responded to questions from the committee.

03:31 PM -- Ron Sloan, CBI, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Sloan discussed the problems faced by law enforcement officials in determining the ultimate disposition of an arrest. Colorado law allows the CBI to deny a firearms transfer upon a record of an arrest. He talked about situations in which peace officers are forced to retrieve firearms from individuals who are improperly sold a weapon they do not have a legal right to possess. In 2009, the CBI's Instacheck unit handled about 54,000 criminal background checks related to the purchase of a firearm and denied less than 1 percent (about 2,200) of those transfers due to an arrest without a matching disposition. Approximately 65 percent of those denials either did not appeal or were upheld upon appeal. Mr. Sloan discussed the appeals process and how individuals are informed about the appeals process. Each individual who is denied is given a packet of information at the time of denial. The information is also available on the CBI's website. If the individual obtains a certified letter from the court stating that criminal records are no longer available, the CBI is required to allow the transfer to continue. Mr. Sloan responded to questions from the committee.

04:03 PM -- Frank Vanecek, CBI, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Vanecek is the agent-in-charge of the CBI's Instacheck unit. He explained how the Instacheck criminal background check process works. He discussed denials of firearms transfers on the basis of an arrest without a matching disposition. He addressed some of the questions posed by the committee during the testimony of prior witnesses. Mr. Vanecek provided statistical information about firearms transfers and criminal background checks. He responded to questions from the committee.

04:24 PM -- Paul Schultz, Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, spoke in support of the bill. Chief Schultz stated that the bill is a matter of public safety and he feels strongly that it should be passed. He responded to questions from the committee about the arrest process.

04:28 PM -- Annmarie Jensen, Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Jensen discussed the use of firearms in incidents of domestic violence. She responded to questions from the committee.

04:34 PM -- Eileen McCarron, Colorado Ceasefire Capitol Fund, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. McCarron announced that the League of Women Voters also supports the bill. She commended Governor Owens for implementing the original legislation that will sunset without the bill. She stressed that the bill is about public safety. She spoke about newly arrested felons who should not be sold a firearm because of the danger that the individual might turn to violence to resolve the issues of his or her case. She expressed her opinion that current law provides an appeals process for individuals who are improperly denied the chance to purchase a firearm. Ms. McCarron responded to questions from the committee.

04:47 PM -- Ted Tow, Colorado District Attorneys' Council, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Tow addressed various committee questions raised during the testimony of prior witnesses.

05:04 PM

Representative Rice wrapped up his presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation. Members of the committee commented about their positions on the bill.


BILL:	HB10-1391
TIME:	05:17:05 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 10-1391 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. Members of the committee continued to comment about the bill. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:	Levy
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	No
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	No
	Miklosi	Yes
	Nikkel	No
	Pace	No
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	No
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:18 PM

Representative Levy adjourned the committee.