House Committee on Judiciary (03/13/2012)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	03/13/2012	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:30 PM to 02:43 PM	DelGrosso	*
		Duran	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Kagan	*
		Lee	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Nikkel	*
	Representative Gardner B.	Pabon	*
		Ryden	X
This Report was prepared by		Sonnenberg	*
	Jessika Shipley	Waller	*
		Barker	X
		Gardner B.	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB12-110 SB12-066		Referred to Finance Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:32 PM -- Senate Bill 12-110

Representative Levy, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 12-110 concerning a fund consisting of surcharges on insurance premiums to pay for costs associated with criminal prosecution of insurance fraud investigations. Originally recommended by the Joint Budget Committee, the reengrossed bill establishes a two-tier fee schedule for insurance companies based on total income received in Colorado by companies in the prior year. The fee replaces the current fee of $561 and is capped at $3,000. It will be set by the Commissioner of Insurance based on the direct and indirect costs of the investigation and prosecution of allegations of insurance fraud. Insurance companies with income above $1.0 million will pay $1,900 and those with income less than $1.0 million will pay $500. The bill moves the Insurance Fraud Cash Fund from the Department of Regulatory Agencies to the Department of Law.

The funding increase from this change will allow for expansion of insurance fraud investigations and prosecutions in the Department of Law. The Attorney General will include in his annual report and post on his website the number of employees dedicated to insurance fraud, referrals, open investigations, and the number of restitutions, fines, costs, and forfeitures obtained by line of insurance if possible. Pinnacol Assurance, a workers' compensation carrier, currently pays $561 plus an additional $285,000 for insurance fraud investigations and prosecutions for their policies. Under the bill, Pinnacol will pay the same rate as other companies in their tier.

01:34 PM -- Michael Dougherty, representing the Colorado Attorney General's Office, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Dougherty discussed the Criminal Justice Division of the Attorney General's Office and explained the mission of the Insurance Fraud Unit. He indicated that the unit is overloaded and spoke about the specific work they do. He discussed the two-tier fee structure proposed by the bill. He expressed his opinion that the bill brings Pinnacol Assurance into the fold and treats them the same way as other insurance providers. Mr. Dougherty responded to questions from the committee.

02:02 PM

Discussion continued about the two-tier fee system in the bill and about whether the bill contains adequate checks and balances. Mr. Dougherty continued to respond to questions from the committee.


BILL:	SB12-110
TIME:	02:08:30 PM
MOVED:	Kagan
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 12-110 to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 9-1, with one member excused.
SECONDED:	Pabon
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No
	Waller	Excused
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:11 PM -- Senate Bill 12-066

The committee stood in a brief recess.

02:13 PM

The committee came back to order. Representative Gardner, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 12-066, concerning guardianship program eligibility. The bill allows persons with a family-like relationship to a child to receive guardianship assistance if they:

are committed to the child's permanency;

have assumed guardianship of the child; and

were foster parents of the child when they assumed guardianship.

The Department of Human Services is required to promulgate rules to implement this change. Under current law, only relatives are eligible for guardianship assistance.

The guardianship assistance program provides financial assistance to people who have assumed guardianship of a child to whom they provide foster care. Guardianship assistance is an optional service for counties. Guardianship assistance payments encourage foster parents to enter into a more permanent relationship with the child (rather than remaining in foster care until age 18) and provide support to guardians to care for children from foster care who can have social, behavioral, or psychological problems stemming from previous abuse or neglect and the difficulties of being placed in out-of-home care.

Representative Gardner responded to questions from the committee and distributed a fact sheet about the bill (Attachment A).

02:19 PM -- Frank Bennett, representing himself, the Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families, and the League of Women Voters of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Bennett spoke about his background in the area of child welfare and foster care. He expressed his opinion that, after providing a safe environment, the most important thing to do for a child is to provide a permanent and stable family arrangement. He indicated that children who leave the child welfare system without a permanent and stable family situation in place often end up homeless or incarcerated. He responded to questions from the committee about the difference between guardianship and adoption.

02:26 PM -- Katie Facchinello, representing the Tennyson Center for Children, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Facchinello expressed her opinion that the bill represents an easy fix to the barrier of permanence for at-risk children in the child welfare system. She discussed the importance of such permanence.

02:30 PM -- Sarah Ehrlich, representing Colorado Counties, Inc., testified in support of the bill. Ms. Ehrlich stated that the bill provides counties with additional options for placing children She responded to questions from the committee.

02:33 PM -- Professor Donald Bross, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Professor Bross explained the difference between foster care, guardianship, and adoption, in terms of the rights and responsibilities conferred by law.

02:38 PM -- Judy Rodriguez, representing the Colorado Department of Human Services, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Rodriguez shared personal experiences from her employment as a child welfare case worker. She indicated that the bill will result in children moving to permanence.


BILL:	SB12-066
TIME:	02:40:44 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 12-066 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Kagan
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

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

02:42 PM

Representative Gardner made closing remarks about a future committee meeting.

02:43 PM

The committee adjourned.