Senate Committee on Judiciary (03/27/2012)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	03/27/2012	ATTENDANCE

Time:	09:44 AM to 10:09 AM	Giron	X
		King S.	*
Place:	SCR 356	Lundberg	X
		Nicholson	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Roberts	X
	Senator Carroll	Guzman	X
		Carroll	X
This Report was prepared by
	Hillary Smith
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SCR12-001		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

09:44 AM -- SCR 12-001

Senator Carroll, chair, called the meeting to order.

Senator Steadman, sponsor, presented Senate Concurrent Resolution 12-001. The concurrent resolution refers a constitutional amendment to voters at the 2012 general election that, if approved, will delete language in the Colorado Constitution rendered obsolete as a result of findings of the court in 1994 and 2010. Certain campaign finance provisions and certain bill of rights provisions are affected as outlined in the bill.

The concurrent resolution proposes several amendments to Article XXVIII of the Colorado Constitution, concerning Campaign and Political Finance, including: 1) the repeal of language that forbids expenditures that expressly advocate for the election of a candidate and that prohibit corporations or labor unions from providing funding for electioneering communication; 2) the repeal of four definitions that appear in Section 2 of the article, and; 3) the repeal of Sections 15, 16, and 17, which primarily deal with sole source government contracts.

Section 30b of Article II, adopted in 1992, also is repealed. This section prohibited the state from establishing a protected status based on homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual orientation and was declared unconstitutional in 1994. This decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996.

09:47 AM

Senator Steadman noted that there are limitations concerning the number of amendments to constitutional articles that the General Assembly may refer to the ballot. Senator Carroll spoke about the various articles addressed by SCR 12-001.

09:50 AM

Senator Lundberg asked for additional information concerning Article XXVIII of the Colorado Constitution. He asked when the last time a concurrent resolution was run that was similar to SCR 12-001, which addresses separate articles of the Colorado Constitution. Conversation continued between Senator Steadman and Senator Lundberg. Senator Lundberg expressed the view that the legislature should not treat court decisions as a fiat statement of government that should not be questioned. He said that courts can be wrong. Senator Steadman responded that it is not uncommon to delete obsolete provisions in this manner. Discussion ensued.

09:58 AM

Senator Nicholson sought clarification concerning the effect of the concurrent resolution.

The following individual testified regarding the concurrent resolution:

09:59 AM -- Mr. Richard Coolidge, representing the Colorado Secretary of State's Office, testified in support of the bill. He spoke about Secretary Gessler's efforts to clarify campaign finance provisions.

10:00 AM

Senator Steadman provided closing comments in favor of the bill. Senator Carroll distributed prepared Amendment L.001 (Attachment A). She explained her reasons for offering the amendment. Senator Steadman explained his position on the amendment. Committee discussion ensued.


BILL:	SCR 12-001
TIME:	10:05:32 AM
MOVED:	Carroll
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed on a vote of 5-2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Giron	Yes
	King S.	No
	Lundberg	Yes
	Nicholson	Yes
	Roberts	No
	Guzman	Yes
	Carroll	Yes

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

10:07 AM

Senator S. King explained his position on the concurrent resolution.


BILL:	SCR 12-001
TIME:	10:07:52 AM
MOVED:	Carroll
MOTION:	Refer Senate Concurrent Resolution 12-001, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 4-3.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Giron	Yes
	King S.	No
	Lundberg	No
	Nicholson	Yes
	Roberts	No
	Guzman	Yes
	Carroll	Yes

Final YES: 4 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

10:09 AM

The committee adjourned.