Date: 03/26/2013

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB13-1242

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer House Bill 13-1242 to the Committee on ApproPASS



01:35 PM -- House Bill 13-1242

Representative Pettersen, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 13-1242. Under current law, if a person fails to appear for court or knowingly violates the conditions of the bail bond, they are required to be incarcerated and are not eligible for probation or a suspended sentence. If the person was on bail for a felony offense, failure to appear or knowingly violating the conditions of the bail bond is a class 6 felony and requires a minimum of one year to be served consecutively to any other sentence. If the person was on bail for a misdemeanor offense, failure to appear or knowingly violating the conditions of the bail bond is a class 3 misdemeanor and requires a minimum of six months to be served consecutively to any other sentence. This bill repeals the mandatory sentencing provisions for these crimes, but leaves the existing sentencing ranges.

Representative Pettersen spoke about the interaction between HB 13-1236 and HB 13-1242.

01:40 PM -- Bridget Klauber, representing the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Klauber spoke about the legislative history of mandatory sentences for a violation of bail bond conditions. She discussed the importance of allowing judges and district attorneys the discretion to address bail bond violations on a individualized basis. She apologized for not bringing clients and attorneys to tell their stories, but cited confidentiality as the reason. She spoke generally about scenarios in which the bill would apply. She responded to questions from the committee about the current mandatory sentences for violations. The committee discussed the choices made by defendants on bail.


01:50 PM

Ms. Klauber continued to respond to questions from the committee about the importance of evaluating cases individually.

01:56 PM -- Jeff Clayton and Jason Armstrong, representing the Professional Bail Agents of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Clayton stated that bail agents believe in the use of judicial discretion. Mr. Armstrong provided a number of examples of situations in which bail bond violators should not have received mandatory one-year sentences.


02:00 PM

Representative Petterson wrapped up her presentation of the bill.
BILL:HB13-1242
TIME: 02:03:51 PM
MOVED:Pettersen
MOTION:Refer House Bill 13-1242 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:Murray
VOTE
Buckner
Yes
Court
Yes
Gardner
Yes
Lawrence
Yes
McLachlan
Excused
Murray
Yes
Pettersen
Yes
Salazar
Yes
Wright
Yes
Lee
Yes
Kagan
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS