Date: 03/31/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB15-178

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH CARE & HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 15-178 to the Committee of the WPASS



01:38 PM -- SB 15-178

Representative Danielson introduced Senate Bill 15-178. Effective July 1, 2015, the bill continues the Colorado Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Department of Human Services for nine years, until 2024. The bill also requires the commission to report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly, limits the terms of the commission members, repeals the requirement for Senate confirmation of commission appointments, clarifies that the commission also serves persons who are deaf and blind, and replaces a public member of the commission with a member who is deaf-blind.

01:41 PM -- Dee Martinez, Department of Human Services, testified in support of the bill.

01:41 PM -- Cliff Moers, Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, testified in support of the bill and discussed the services of the commission. He noted that the commission has made a number of accomplishments since its last sunset review. Ms. Martinez responded to questions from the committee regarding the bill's provisions limiting members to two four-year terms.

01:46 PM -- Leslie Ralphe, representing the late-deafened community, testified regarding her hearing loss. She discussed the services offered by the commission which she said are eliminating barriers for individuals who are late deafened. She described the commission's services which include providing captioning and interpreters in court proceedings. She discussed hearing loss among members of the military.

01:49 PM -- Cynde Vaughn, representing herself, discussed her experience as a member of a task force addressing issues of the deaf-blind community. She stated the commission has been addressing the need for services for the deaf-blind community in Colorado.

01:53 PM -- Carolyn Haas, representing herself, discussed her experiences as a member of a task force addressing issues of the deaf-blind community. She discussed her experience working with the commission to provide equipment and training to individuals who are deaf-blind.

01:55 PM -- Heidi Zimmer, representing herself, discussed the challenges that she has experienced as a member of the deaf-blind community. She sated that if the bill does not pass, she would likely have to move to another state to receive services.

01:58 PM -- Lucas Marquardt, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. He discussed Colorado's hard-of-hearing community and spoke in support of the services offered by the commission.

02:00 PM -- Lisa Weiss, representing herself and Colorado Hands and Voices, read the testimony of a parent discussing the commission's services for parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. She spoke in support of the bill.

02:04 PM -- Bill Levis, AARP, testified in support of the bill. He asked the committee to support legislation to update statutes related to telephone tariffs to include wireless and mobile providers. Representative Danielson noted that a task force is exploring potential legislation on this topic.

02:08 PM

Representative Danielson gave concluding remarks regarding the bill.

BILL:SB15-178
TIME: 02:09:50 PM
MOVED:Danielson
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 15-178 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-2.
SECONDED:Ginal
VOTE
Conti
Yes
Danielson
Yes
Everett
No
Ginal
Yes
Joshi
No
Landgraf
Yes
Melton
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Sias
Yes
Tyler
Yes
Windholz
Yes
Singer
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:11 PM

The committee recessed briefly.