House Committee on Judiciary (04/21/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	04/21/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:35 PM to 03:31 PM	Becker K.	X
		Carver	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Court	X
		Dore	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Foote	X
	Representative Kagan	Lawrence	X
		Lundeen	*
This Report was prepared by		Pettersen	X
	Bo Pogue	Salazar	X
		Van Winkle	X
		Willett	X
		Lee	X
		Kagan	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB15-218 SB15-219 HB15-1356		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:35 PM -- SB15-218

Representative Williams, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 15-218, concerning requiring a law enforcement agency to disclose whether a peace officer has made a knowing misrepresentation in certain settings. Representative Williams explained the effect of the bill and discussed its merits. The following persons testified regarding the bill:

01:38 PM -- Chief Daniel Brennan, representing the Wheat Ridge Police Department, the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Colorado District Attorneys' Council, testified in support of the bill. Chief Brennan discussed efforts on the part of stakeholders to address through legislation untruthful activities undertaken by police officers. Chief Brennan responded to questions regarding background checks that police officer candidates undergo before hire, and the ability of certain confidentiality agreements to be pierced under the bill. Discussion ensued regarding this point. Representative Williams responded to questions regarding the reasons why the bill applies to only those officers employed on or after January 1, 2010. Chief Brennan responded to questions regarding the duration of acts to which the bill applies.

01:49 PM -- Ms. Peg Ackerman, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Ackerman explained that the bill will help to ensure that sheriff's offices that hire new deputies have some knowledge of acts of misrepresentation in their past employment. Ms. Ackerman responded to questions regarding the potential impact of the bill on nondisclosure agreements executed by peace officers. Representative Williams read the testimony of Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee.

01:54 PM

No amendments were offered to SB 15-218. Representative Williams provided closing remarks in support of the bill.


BILL:	SB15-218
TIME:	01:54:55 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 15-218 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Salazar
		VOTE
	Becker K.	Yes
	Carver	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Dore	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Lawrence	Yes
	Lundeen	Yes
	Pettersen	Yes
	Salazar	Yes
	Van Winkle	Yes
	Willett	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Kagan	Yes

Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:55 PM -- SB15-219

Representative Salazar, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 15-219, concerning measures to provide additional transparency to peace officer-involved shootings. Representative Salazar explained the effect of the bill and discussed its need. Representative Salazar responded to questions regarding the participation of law enforcement offices in multi-agency, critical-incident teams under the bill, and the need for the legislation. The following persons testified regarding SB 15-219:

02:01 PM -- Chief Daniel Brennan, representing the Wheat Ridge Police Department, the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, the Colorado Municipal League, and the Colorado District Attorneys' Council, testified in support of the bill. Chief Brennan discussed the benefits of conducting out-of-jurisdiction investigations to assess police officer-involved shootings.

02:04 PM -- Ms. Peg Ackerman, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado, testified in support of the bill.

02:06 PM -- Ms. Maureen Cain, representing the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Cain discussed a forthcoming amendment that will address a concern.

02:09 PM -- Mr. Ron Sloan, Director, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, made himself available to answer questions on HB 15-219. Mr. Sloan made a statement about the bureau's role in investigating officer-involved shootings, and noted some statistics concerning the bureau's investigative role. Mr. Sloan responded to questions regarding whether it is standard procedure for multi-jurisdictional investigations to take place for officer-involved shootings, and the process that takes place in a multi-jurisdictional investigation.

02:15 PM


BILL:	SB15-219
TIME:	02:16:04 PM
MOVED:	Salazar
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.003 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection. 15HouseJud0421AttachA.pdf
SECONDED:	Lee
		VOTE
	Becker K.
	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

02:16 PM

Representative Salazar provided closing remarks in support of SB 15-219.


BILL:	SB15-219
TIME:	02:16:49 PM
MOVED:	Salazar
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 15-219, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Pettersen
		VOTE
	Becker K.	Yes
	Carver	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Dore	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Lawrence	Yes
	Lundeen	Yes
	Pettersen	Yes
	Salazar	Yes
	Van Winkle	Yes
	Willett	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Kagan	Yes

Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:17 PM -- HB15-1356

Representative Salazar, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 15-1356, concerning measures related to enforcing federal immigration law. Representative Salazar provided background on the detention of certain individuals under federal immigration protocol, and explained the effect of the bill. He also discussed the benefits of the legislation. Representative Salazar explained the effect of prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment B). Representative Salazar responded to questions regarding the relationship between the bill and legislation previously approved by the General Assembly concerning law enforcement and immigration status. Discussion ensued on this issue. Representative Salazar responded to further questions regarding the effect of amendment L.005.

15HouseJud0421AttachB.pdf

02:34 PM

The following persons testified regarding HB 15-1356:

02:35 PM -- Ms. Kathy White, representing the Colorado Fiscal Institute, testified in support of the bill. Ms. White discussed the fiscal impact on local jurisdictions of detaining persons based on civil immigration detainer requests only.

02:38 PM -- Ms. Norma Marones, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Marones described a situation during which she was detained by the police, who discovered she had an immigration hold placed on her by the federal government. Ms. Marones discussed the impact of being held by the police on her life and her family, and her loss of trust in the police as a result of the incident. Ms. Marones recounted an incident where she failed to contact the police to report an abusive incident due to her fear of the police. Ms. Marones discussed the injustices of immigration detainers, and the potential for HB 15-1356 to increase the community's trust in the police.

02:46 PM -- Ms. Denise Maes, representing the American Civil Liberties Union, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Maes provided background on how the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency asks local law enforcement to detain possible violators of federal immigration law, and provided an overview of immigration enforcement. Ms. Maes responded to questions regarding local law enforcement activity under judicial warrants, and the process by which an immigration detainer is placed on a person. Ms. Maes responded to questions regarding the length of time that a law enforcement agency may hold a person under an immigration detainer.

02:54 PM -- Ms. Gabriela Flora, representing the American Friends Service Committee, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Flora discussed the impact of civil immigration detainers by local law enforcement on local community trust, and the need to create uniformity in rules pertaining to such detainers.

02:58 PM -- Ms. Peg Ackerman, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Committee members received a statement of support for the bill from Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle (Attachment C). Ms. Ackerman provided background on legislative activity in Colorado pertaining to immigration detainers, court rulings on the status of those being detained, and the resulting practices of sheriffs. Ms. Ackerman responded to questions regarding the amount of money county sheriffs have paid out based on illegitimate immigration detainers. Discussion ensued regarding the basis for the support of sheriffs for the bill.

15HouseJud0421AttachC.pdf

03:03 PM -- Reverend Tina Yankee, representing Together Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Reverend Yankee explained how the bill will increase the trust of certain populations in law enforcement, and discussed the benefits of the bill to both law enforcement and the public.

03:07 PM -- Mr. Jeff Clayton, representing the Professional Bail Agents of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Clayton discussed the impact of immigration detainers on the bail bonding process, and explained the benefits of amendment L.005. Mr. Clayton responded to questions regarding the court's taking into consideration the immigration status of a defendant when setting bail, and liability for a bail bond based upon the status of the defendant.

03:13 PM -- Mr. Miguel Guerrero, representing Goodfellas Bailbonds, testified in support of HB 15-1356. Mr. Guerrero explained how federal immigration officials often interfere with his clients. Mr. Guerrero responded to questions regarding the benefits of the bill to his profession.

03:15 PM -- Ms. Maureen Cain, representing the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Cain explained that the bill follows practice established through court rulings, and expressed concerns about a provision in the bill. Ms. Cain responded to questions regarding her position on amendment L.005.

03:19 PM -- Mr. Justin Valas, representing the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Valas provided background on the genesis of the bill, noting some court cases that influenced its introduction.

03:24 PM


BILL:	HB15-1356
TIME:	03:24:22 PM
MOVED:	Salazar
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.005 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Lee
		VOTE
	Becker K.
	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

03:24 PM

Representative Salazar provided closing remarks in supporting remarks in support of HB 15-1356. Various committee members provided their positions on the bill.


BILL:	HB15-1356
TIME:	03:25:23 PM
MOVED:	Salazar
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1356, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 12-1.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Becker K.	Yes
	Carver	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Dore	Yes
	Foote	Yes
	Lawrence	Yes
	Lundeen	Yes
	Pettersen	Yes
	Salazar	Yes
	Van Winkle	No
	Willett	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Kagan	Yes

Final YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:31 PM

The committee adjourned.