Date: 09/07/2006

Final
Amendment 44

COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
add to end of first argument against "one ounce of
add to the end of the first argument against "one 		PASS
PASS

04:06 PM

Cathy Eslinger, Legislative Council Staff, discussed the ballot analysis for Amendment 44, concerning marijuana possession. Ms. Eslinger walked through the summary and analysis of the blue book which explains that under current law possession of one ounce or less of marijuana is a class 2 petty offense subject to a $100 fine, and that under Amendment 44 possession of one ounce or less of marijuana by an individual 21 years of age or older would no longer be illegal. Ms. Eslinger added that the analysis states that possession would include consumption or use that is not public and transferring one ounce or less of marijuana to an individual 15 years of age or older as long as there is no compensation. The analysis also includes marijuana offenses that would remain illegal under Amendment 44. Ms. Eslinger discussed each of the arguments for and against the measure and responded to questions from the committee. Senator Tupa asked a number of follow-up questions regarding the enforcement of federal law by local law enforcement.


04:12 PM

Ms. Eslinger responded to additional questions regarding federal law. She also responded to questions about the spelling of "marijuana" in the measure, which differs from the spelling in the ballot analysis. Ms. Eslinger continued answering committee questions in this area.


04:17 PM


04:17 PM -- Beverly Kinard, an opponent to the measure, testified. Ms. Kinard spoke to the effects of marijuana on teens. She spoke to the estimate of fiscal impact, describing her suggested changes to that section of the ballot analysis. She provided a number of statistics regarding the cost of marijuana treatment and the number of patients in treatment in the state. Speaker Romanoff referred the committee to the witness's written comments as the witness continued her testimony. Ms. Kinard provided a number of statistics regarding social services costs, caregiver costs, transportation costs, law enforcement costs, education costs, and the costs to society of suicide related to marijuana consumption.


04:26 PM

Ms. Kinard continued her testimony, discussing the impact of marijuana use on schools, emergency rooms, and the health care system along with businesses and productivity.


04:28 PM -- Tom Gorman, an opponent of the measure, testified. Mr. Gorman described his background to the committee. He spoke to the number of marijuana cigarettes contained in an ounce, noting that an ounce will make between 56 and 84 marijuana cigarettes. Mr. Gorman provided responses to questions asked by the committee earlier regarding state and local enforcement of federal law. In response to a question from President Fitz-Gerald, he noted that an ounce in Colorado sells for $50 to $400.


04:33 PM -- Robert McGuire, an opponent of the measure, testified. Mr. McGuire described his suggested changes to the portion of the ballot analysis describing current state law. He responded to questions from the committee.


04:37 PM -- Mason Tvert, a proponent of the measure, testified. He described his suggested change to the ballot analysis, noting the initiative addresses possession of marijuana by adults only. Mr. Tvert said the amendment would not change the current statutory definition of possession of marijuana and said the language in the ballot analysis in this regard is misleading. Mr. Tvert spoke to points made by previous witnesses regarding the number of cigarettes in an ounce of marijuana. He also spoke to Representative Butcher's earlier question regarding medical marijuana.


04:44 PM

Mr. Tvert responded to questions and comments from the committee. He described definitions and penalties in current law. Committee discussion of the amendment continued.


04:50 PM

Speaker Romanoff asked staff to return to the table to address fiscal issues described by Ms. Kinard. Gary Estenson, Legislative Council Staff and fiscal analyst for the measure responded.
BILL:Amendment 44
TIME: 04:51:54 PM
MOVED:Harvey
MOTION:Move to amend the blue book draft to add to the end of the first argument against "one ounce of marijuana is estimated to make between 31 and 80 marijuana cigarettes." The motion failed 7-6.
SECONDED:Hoppe
VOTE
Butcher
No
Cadman
No
Cerbo
No
Garcia
No
Gordon
Excused
Groff
Excused
Harvey
Yes
Hoppe
Yes
Johnson
Excused
Madden
Excused
May M.
Yes
McElhany
Yes
Spence
Excused
Teck
Yes
Tupa
No
Windels
No
Fitz-Gerald
Yes
Romanoff
Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 5 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:Amendment 44
TIME: 04:56:07 PM
MOVED:May M.
MOTION:Move to amend the blue book draft to add to the end of first argument against "one ounce of marijuana is estimated to make at least 30 marijuana cigarettes." The motion failed 11-2.
SECONDED:Cadman
VOTE
Butcher
Yes
Cadman
Yes
Cerbo
Yes
Garcia
No
Gordon
Excused
Groff
Excused
Harvey
Yes
Hoppe
Yes
Johnson
Excused
Madden
Excused
May M.
Yes
McElhany
Yes
Spence
Excused
Teck
Yes
Tupa
No
Windels
Yes
Fitz-Gerald
Yes
Romanoff
Yes
Not Final YES: 11 NO: 2 EXC: 5 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




05:00 PM

The staff blue book draft was accepted unamended.