Date: 01/29/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1022

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion p
Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment C), as amended,
Refer House Bill 15-1022, as amended, to the Commi		Pass Without Objection

PASS



01:34 PM -- HB15-1022

The committee was called to order. A quorum was present. Representative McCann, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 15-1022, concerning juveniles charged with certain minor offenses. Committee members received a fact sheet on the bill (Attachment A). Representative McCann discussed the effect of the legislation. Representative McCann responded to questions regarding the ability of police departments to direct juveniles to the pre-diversion programming created by the bill, and the demand for this type of program. Representative McCann responded to further questions regarding the mixing of the law enforcement and corrections missions by the bill, and the effect of a provision in the bill that disallows certain documents and statements associated with a juvenile's participation in the program from being used against the juvenile should the juvenile not complete the bill's program.

15HouseJud0129AttachA.pdf15HouseJud0129AttachA.pdf

01:44 PM

Discussion ensued regarding the types of offenses that would make a juvenile subject to a petty offense contract under the bill, and how juveniles will be screened for petty offense contract eligibility. Representative McCann responded to questions regarding pre-diversion programs for juveniles currently operated by local governments, and the potential for creating a pilot program modeled on HB 15-1022. Discussion followed regarding how data on the program created by the bill will be collected, and who will serve as the custodian for petty offense contracts initiated under the bill.


01:55 PM

Discussion returned to how data will be tracked under the program created by the bill to associate it with juvenile petty offenders. Representative McCann responded to questions regarding the effectiveness of juvenile petty offense programs currently being undertaken.


01:57 PM

The committee recessed.


01:59 PM

The committee returned to order. Discussion ensued regarding the fact that HB 15-1022 was generated by the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. Discussion followed regarding how a local jurisdiction would decide to implement the provisions of the bill. Discussion returned to the admissibility of certain statements made by juveniles into evidence under the bill.


02:06 PM

The following persons testified regarding HB 15-1022:

02:08 PM -- Chief Bill Kilpatrick, representing the Golden Police Department and the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, testified in support of the bill. Chief Kilpatrick discussed his experiences with charging juveniles with criminal offenses, and the ability of law enforcement to put juveniles in touch with services without the need to charge them with a crime. Chief Kilpatrick discussed the benefits of putting juveniles on a human services track as compared to a criminal track. Chief Kilpatrick responded to questions regarding the types of services that are offered to juveniles who commit petty offenses, and the potential for the bill to drive cost increases for providing additional services to juveniles. Chief Kilpatrick responded to questions regarding the ability of law enforcement to put juveniles in touch with human services without charging them with crimes, and the costs associated with charging juveniles with petty crimes. Discussion ensued regarding juvenile assessment centers administered by local jurisdictions.

02:18 PM -- Chief Kevin Paletta, representing the Lakewood Police Department, the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, testified in support of House Bill 15-1022. Chief Paletta discussed the benefits of directing juveniles who commit petty offenses away from the criminal justice system. He explained how the bill might avail juveniles of human services. Chief Paletta responded to questions regarding a provision in the bill that allows certain statements made during the pre-diversion program to be admissible into evidence. Chief Paletta responded to questions regarding the benefits of keeping juveniles out of the justice system.


02:28 PM

Chief Paletta responded to questions regarding the potential for juveniles to participate in the pre-diversion program created by the bill multiple times.

02:30 PM -- Mr. Chris Johnson, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado, testified in support of HB 15-1022. Mr. Johnson discussed the benefits of keeping first-time offenders away from the criminal justice system.

02:32 PM -- Ms. Kim Dvorchak, representing the Colorado Juvenile Defense Center, the Colorado Juvenile Defense Bar, and the Juvenile Justice Task Force, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Dvorchak discussed the percentage of first-time juvenile offenses that are petty offenses, and the benefits of keeping juvenile petty offenders out of the criminal justice system. Ms.Dvorchak discussed the potential for creating a 90-day limit on juvenile petty offense contracts under the bill. Ms. Dvorchak responded to questions regarding the recidivism rate of juvenile petty offenders, and the keeping of data on "lecture and release" incidents by law enforcement under the bill. Ms. Dvorchak responded to questions regarding the ramifications of creating a 90-day limit for contracts created under the bill, and the ability of local jurisdictions to conduct a pre-diversion program for juvenile petty offenders absent a state law. Discussion ensued on this last point.

02:45 PM -- Ms. Carla Bennett, representing the Colorado League of Women Voters, testified in support of HB 15-1022. Ms. Bennett explained that her organization supports the bill because it creates an alternative to the criminal justice system for juveniles.

02:47 PM -- Mr. Jeff McDonald, representing the Jefferson County Juvenile Assessment Center and the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, testified in support of the bill. Mr. McDonald discussed the merits of the bill.

02:49 PM -- Mr. Hal Sargent, representing the First Judicial District and the Colorado District Attorneys' Council, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Sargent discussed statistics associated with recidivism for juvenile petty offenders and the dangers of putting low-level juvenile petty offenders with higher-level offenders, and addressed earlier questions about the need for legislation to conduct the program created by the bill. Mr. Sargent also addressed the earlier questions about statement admissibility, and the restraints of creating a 90-day limit for juvenile petty offense contracts. Mr. Sargent clarified the Colorado District Attorneys' Council's position on the bill. Discussion ensued regarding the benefits of enshrining the program created by the bill in state law. Discussion followed regarding potential savings associated with diverting juvenile petty offenders away from the criminal justice system. Mr. Sargent responded to questions regarding the benefits of placing a 90-day limit on the contracts created under the program.


03:00 PM

Representative Salazar explained the effect of prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment B). Discussion ensued regarding the process by which data will be managed by the bill, as amended by L.001.

15HouseJud0129AttachB.pdf15HouseJud0129AttachB.pdf
BILL:HB15-1022
TIME: 03:00:58 PM
MOVED:Salazar
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Lee
VOTE
Buckner
Carver
Court
Dore
Foote
Lawrence
Lundeen
Pettersen
Salazar
Van Winkle
Willett
Lee
Kagan
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


Representative Lee explained the effect of prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment C). Mr. Jerry Barry, Office of Legislative Legal Services, provided input on the effect of the amendment. The amendment sponsors agreed to conceptually amend the amendment to change the bill page number on which the amendment is made. Discussion ensued regarding the potential for allowing exceptions to the 90-day contract limit created by amendment L.002.

15HouseJud0129AttachC.pdf15HouseJud0129AttachC.pdf
BILL:HB15-1022
TIME: 03:03:19 PM
MOVED:Lee
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment C), as amended, page 1, line 1, strike "4" and substitute "3". The amendment was withdrawn.
SECONDED:Kagan
VOTE
Buckner
Carver
Court
Dore
Foote
Lawrence
Lundeen
Pettersen
Salazar
Van Winkle
Willett
Lee
Kagan
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION:


BILL:HB15-1022
TIME: 03:12:40 PM
MOVED:Court
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1022, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-2.
SECONDED:Salazar
VOTE
Buckner
Yes
Carver
Yes
Court
Yes
Dore
Yes
Foote
Yes
Lawrence
Yes
Lundeen
No
Pettersen
Yes
Salazar
Yes
Van Winkle
Yes
Willett
No
Lee
Yes
Kagan
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS