Joint Committee Committee on Legislative Council (09/07/2006)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Date:	09/07/2006	ATTENDANCE

Time:	09:59 AM to 05:08 PM	Butcher	X
		Cadman	X
Place:	LSB A	Cerbo	X
		Garcia	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Gordon	X
	Representative Romanoff	Groff	X
		Harvey	X
This Report was prepared by		Hoppe	X
	Cathy Eslinger	Johnson	E
		Madden	X
		May M.	X
		McElhany	X
		Spence	X
		Teck	X
		Tupa	X
		Windels	X
		Fitz-Gerald	X
		Romanoff	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Amendment 41 Continued Amendment 42 - Colorado Minimum Wage Amendment 43 - Marriage Amendment 44 Ref J/Amend 39		- - - - -

10:01 AM

Jenny Flanagan, Colorado Common Cause, introduced herself and explained her work with the coalition sponsoring Amendment 41. She expressed her concern that the changes proposed by the opponents to the blue book would be unfair and would not be accurate.

10:04 AM -- Martha Tierney, proponent of Amendment 41, responded to questions from the committee regarding concerns about dependent eligibility for gifts or scholarships. Ms. Tierney explained her belief that such gifts would not be unlawful under the proposal because it does not directly benefit the employee. The Senate President expressed concern that such gifts would still be subject to subpoena request. Ms. Tierney emphasized that the purpose of the commission would be to make sure individuals are not using their office or responsibility for personal gain. Senator Teck noted his belief that the measure could create some unintended consequences and that the opponents' arguments seemed to more clearly reflect that possibility. Senator Gordon asked whether Denver's ethics commission has the same kind of subpoena power proposed in the measure. Ms. Tierney responded that many ethics commissions have subpoena power and that the legislature would be permitted to specify the circumstances under which a subpoena is appropriate in implementing legislation.

10:20 AM

Senator McElhany noted that the language of the measure gives power to the members of the commission and not the commission as a whole would have subpoena power. Ms. Tierney indicated that she does not see a distinction between the two. The Speaker asked Ms. Tierney to walk through the proposed changes of the opponents and then the committee members would be permitted to ask questions of Ms.Tierney. Ms. Tierney continued her discussion. The Speaker opened the discussion for questions from the committee members. Committee discussion ensued concerning areas of the measure that the members expressed could be interpreted broadly and possibly create problems. Representative Butcher asked Ms. Tierney about the rationale of the proponents in creating the standards of evidence discussed in the measure.

11:08 AM

Committee discussion and questions to Ms. Tierney regarding the provisions of the proposal. Ms. Flanagan made comments about the changes and she and Ms. Tierney finished their testimony. The Speaker noted that the committee would likely not finish at noon.

11:13 AM -- Scott Gessler, representing Nate Gorman, an opponent of the measure, introduced himself and made comments about the proposed analysis. He described a scenario under which, in his opinion, a complaint could be brought against a government employee or representative. He offered his interpretation of the measure regarding the appropriateness of dependents receiving scholarships. He noted his belief that a scholarship would be a direct benefit and thus fall under the scope of the gift ban in the measure. He responded to questions from the committee asking his interpretation of how certain language would be applied.

11:53 AM

Bob Lackner and Jennifer Gilroy, Office of Legislative Legal Services, introduced themselves and responded to questions from the members of the committee regarding the language of the proposed constitutional amendment and the possible interpretations of that language. Ms. Gilroy responded to the Speaker's question about the terms direct and indirect benefits and whether that definition was open to interpretation. She stated that a court could determine that a scholarship was a direct benefit as well as determine that it was an indirect benefit. She also discussed the possible interpretation of "special occasion" and "lawful consideration." Mr. Lackner noted that the legislature would have an opportunity to clarify language through statute that would provide meaning for terms such as "special occasion" that are not currently defined in the law. However, Ms.Gilroy added that there is some limitation to how far the legislature could go in such enacting language due to a restriction in the measure as it is currently drafted.

Representative May asked about the definition of a personal friend. Mr. Lackner said that such definition would either be made by the legislature through enacting legislation or by courts, thus creating a common law definition of the term.

12:06 PM

The Speaker announced a lunch break for one hour. The committee recessed.

01:12 PM

The committee returned from recess and Chris Ward, Legislative Council Staff, summarized the introductory bullets in the ballot analysis. The Speaker summarized the three types of gift bans addressed in Amendment 41. Mr. Ward responded to questions regarding language in the analysis and the effect of the gift ban in Section 3 related to nonprofit organizations (page 4, lines 4-10). Committee discussion followed about the adequacy of the bullets to address the full range of gifts banned by the proposal. Rep. Hoppe noted that the first bullet does not identify that the ban applies to gifts in a calendar year (page 3, line 21).


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	01:28:32 PM
MOVED:	Butcher
MOTION:	Moved a prepared amendment that is a "mock up" of the ballot analysis (see Attachment ?). The paragraph beginning on Page 1, lines 22 through 29 of the mock up was amended by an amendment moved by Sen. Windels and Rep. Butcher (see rollcall vote from 1:44 PM). Amendments to this paragraph were later lost on a separate vote of 9-7 (see the rollcall sheet from 2:12 PM concerning Severed Section A). Representative Butcher and Senator Groff withdrew the amendment to the paragraph on Page 2, lines 15 through 28 of this mock up. The amendment to Page 3 of the mock up passed on separate vote of 12-4 (see rollcall from 2:16 PM concerning Severed Section B).
SECONDED:	Groff
		VOTE
	Butcher
	Cadman
	Cerbo
	Garcia
	Gordon
	Groff
	Harvey
	Hoppe
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden
	May M.
	McElhany
	Spence
	Teck
	Tupa
	Windels
	Fitz-Gerald
	Romanoff
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE

Representative Garcia and Senator Tupa commented on the accuracy of the proposed amendment.


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	02:16:00 PM
MOVED:	Teck
MOTION:	Moved Severed Section B of Representative Butcher's mock up Amendment that was moved at 1:28 PM. This motion amends the paragraph on Page 3 of the mock up, lines 16 through 23, as amended by the Teck and Madden amendment (see rollcall from 2:04 PM). This motion to approve Severed Section B, as amended passed on a vote of 12 - 4.
SECONDED:	May
		VOTE
	Butcher	Yes
	Cadman	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Garcia	No
	Gordon	No
	Groff	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	Yes
	Fitz-Gerald	Yes
	Romanoff	No
Not Final YES: 12 NO: 4 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	02:12:28 PM
MOVED:	Garcia
MOTION:	Moved Severed Section A of Representative Butcher's mock up amendment (moved at 1:28 PM), Page 1, lines 22 through 29, and Page 2, line 1. This motion failed on a vote of 9 to 7.
SECONDED:	Butcher
		VOTE
	Butcher	Yes
	Cadman	No
	Cerbo	Yes
	Garcia	No
	Gordon	No
	Groff	No
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	Yes
	Fitz-Gerald	No
	Romanoff	No
Not Final YES: 9 NO: 7 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	02:04:23 PM
MOVED:	Teck
MOTION:	Move an amendment to Rep. Butcher's mock up Amendment (moved at 1:28 PM), Page 3, line 21, after "AMENDMENT 41" strike "REQUIRES" insert "MAY RESULT IN REQUIRING". This motion passed on a vote of 14-2.
SECONDED:	Madden
		VOTE
	Butcher	Yes
	Cadman	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Gordon	Yes
	Groff	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	Yes
	Fitz-Gerald	Yes
	Romanoff	No
Not Final YES: 14 NO: 2 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	01:44:56 PM
MOVED:	Windels
MOTION:	Moved an Amendment to Rep. Butcher's mock up Amendment (that was moved at 1:28 PM), Page 1, line 23, strike "EDUCATION" and substitute "EDUCATIONAL", insert "SEMINAR", line 27, strike "ALSO" and substitute "MAY", line 28 add strike "PROHIBIT" and substitute "PROHIBITS", after "FROM" insert "SOME"; Move this amendment (Page 1, lines 27 through 29, and Page 2, line 1), to Page 1, line 24, after "employment." This motion passed on a vote of 14-2. It was later rejected on a separate vote (see the rollcall sheet from 2:12 PM concerning Severed Section A).
SECONDED:	Butcher
		VOTE
	Butcher	Yes
	Cadman	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Gordon	Yes
	Groff	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	Yes
	Fitz-Gerald	Yes
	Romanoff	No
Not Final YES: 14 NO: 2 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	02:18:38 PM
MOVED:	Windels
MOTION:	Moved a prepared amendment that is a mock up of the final draft, Page 1, strike lines 2 through 9 concerning the bullets and substitutes the mock up with the following amendments (see Attachment ): Bullets 1, line 1, strike "ALL" after "STATE," insert "AND CERTAIN"; line 2, after "ACCEPTING" insert "IN ANY CALENDAR YEAR"; line 3, after "FAMILY" insert "OR PERSONAL FRIEND"; Bullets 2, line 1, after "STATE," insert "AND CERTAIN"; Bullet 3, after "OFFICIAL," insert "STATE AND CERTAIN LOCAL", bullet 5, The vote on this motion was taken at 2:53 PM. It passed on a vote of 13-3.
SECONDED:	Butcher
		VOTE
	Butcher	Yes
	Cadman	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Gordon	No
	Groff	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	Yes
	Fitz-Gerald	Yes
	Romanoff	No
Not Final YES: 13 NO: 3 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	02:42:21 PM
MOVED:	Gordon
MOTION:	Moved an amendment to Sen. Windels mock up amendment (that was moved at 2:18 PM). Amend Bullet 5, line 1, after "COMMISSION WITH" strike "INDIVIDUAL". This motion failed on a vote of 4-11.
SECONDED:	Hoppe
		VOTE
	Butcher	No
	Cadman	Excused
	Cerbo	No
	Garcia	No
	Gordon	Yes
	Groff	No
	Harvey	No
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	No
	McElhany	No
	Spence	No
	Teck	No
	Tupa	Yes
	Windels	No
	Fitz-Gerald	No
	Romanoff	Yes
Not Final YES: 4 NO: 11 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	02:55:30 PM
MOVED:	Teck
MOTION:	Moved a conceptual amendment to Page 2, line 28, after "appointment.", insert the following sentence: "AMENDMENT 41 IS SILENT ON THE MECHANISM FOR HOLDING COMMISSION MEMBERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR MALFEASANCE WHEN ACTING IN THEIR OFFICIAL DUTIES." This motion passed on a vote of 12-3.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Butcher	Yes
	Cadman	Excused
	Cerbo	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Gordon	No
	Groff	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	Yes
	Fitz-Gerald	Yes
	Romanoff	No
Not Final YES: 12 NO: 3 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	03:02:02 PM
MOVED:	Garcia
MOTION:	Moved the prepared"Madden Amendment #2 that inserts two sentences on Page 3, line 12, after "basis" (see Attachment ?) with changes to correct for spelling errors and the following change to line 5 of the Madden Amendment # 2, after "GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES," insert "AND HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTY AND EMPLOYEES". The motion passed on a vote of 12-3.
SECONDED:	Hoppe
		VOTE
	Butcher	Yes
	Cadman	Excused
	Cerbo	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Gordon	No
	Groff	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	Yes
	Fitz-Gerald	Yes
	Romanoff	No
Not Final YES: 12 NO: 3 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	03:17:31 PM
MOVED:	Windels
MOTION:	Moved to Amend Page 3 of the Final Draft, strike line 8, and substitute "ELECTED OFFICIALS"; line 9, strike "accountable to voters. They". The motion passed on a vote of 14-2.
SECONDED:	Garcia
		VOTE
	Butcher	Yes
	Cadman	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Gordon	Yes
	Groff	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	Yes
	Fitz-Gerald	Yes
	Romanoff	No
Not Final YES: 14 NO: 2 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	03:20:53 PM
MOVED:	Hoppe
MOTION:	Amend Page 3 of the Final Draft, line 8, insert the following sentence at the beginning of Argument 1 Against"THIS AMENDMENT DOES NOT BELONG IN COLORADO'S CONSTITUTION. IT MAY HAVE UNINTENDED AND UNDESIRABLE CONSEQUENCES.". The motion passed on a vote of 14-2.
SECONDED:	May M.
		VOTE
	Butcher	Yes
	Cadman	Yes
	Cerbo	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Gordon	Yes
	Groff	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	Yes
	Fitz-Gerald	Yes
	Romanoff	No
Not Final YES: 14 NO: 2 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	Amendment 41 Continued
TIME:	03:25:53 PM
MOVED:
MOTION:	No motion, delete this sheet
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Butcher
	Cadman
	Cerbo
	Garcia
	Gordon
	Groff
	Harvey
	Hoppe
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.
	McElhany
	Spence
	Teck
	Tupa
	Windels
	Fitz-Gerald
	Romanoff
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE

03:27 PM

Recess

03:40 PM

The committee returned from recess and Janice Baron, Legislative Council Staff introduced the drafters and editing team for the Amendment 42 Ballot Analysis.

03:41 PM

Jason Schrock, Legislative Council Staff, summarized the provisions of the Final Draft of the Amendment 42 Ballot Analysis. He responded to questions from Rep. May about the provisions of Amendment 42 concerning adjustment to the minimum wage to address inflation.

The following person testified on the Ballot Analysis:

03:48 PM -- Rich Jones, Bell Policy Center, spoke in support of the ballot analysis and requested that the committee not amend it. He also responded to questions from the committee regarding the provisions of Amendment 42 concerning adjustment to the minimum wage to address inflation.


BILL:	Amendment 42 - Colorado Minimum Wage
TIME:	03:52:29 PM
MOVED:	May M.
MOTION:	Add sentence to the ballot analysis Page 2, where appropriate an explanation concerning the adjustment for inflation based on the Denver-Boulder consumer price index.
SECONDED:	Cadman
		VOTE
	Butcher	No
	Cadman	Yes
	Cerbo	No
	Garcia	Excused
	Gordon	Yes
	Groff	No
	Harvey	Yes
	Hoppe	Yes
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden	Excused
	May M.	Yes
	McElhany	Yes
	Spence	Yes
	Teck	Yes
	Tupa	No
	Windels	No
	Fitz-Gerald	No
	Romanoff	Yes
Not Final YES: 9 NO: 6 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

Final draft was unamended.

03:56 PM

Carl Jarret, Legislative Council Staff, identified the drafter of the Final Draft of the Amendment 43 ballot analysis and described its provisions.

The following person testified on the ballot analysis:

03:58 PM -- Pat Steadman, Equal Rights Colorado, proposed an amendment to Page 1, lines 2 and 3: strike the first bullet and substitute" limits marriages that are valid or recognized in Colorado to those that consist of the union of one man and one woman."

04:02 PM

Mr. Jarret returned to answer why staff did not accept Mr. Steadman's proposed amendment to page 1.

There were no amendments.

04:06 PM

Cathy Eslinger, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to describe the ballot analysis for Amendment 44, which concerns marijuana possession. She responded to questions from the committee. She described current state law relating to the possession of marijuana. In addition, Ms. Eslinger described the interplay between the amendment and federal law. Senator Tupa asked a number of follow-up questions regarding the enforcement of federal law.

04:12 PM

Ms. Eslinger responded to additional questions regarding the 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.

04:26 PM

Ms. Kinard continued her testimony, speaking of impact on schools, emergency rooms, and the health care system. She described the impact of marijuana use on 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


BILL:	Amendment 44
TIME:	04:51:54 PM
MOVED:	Harvey
MOTION:	add to the end of the first argument against "one ounce of marijuana is estimated to make between 31 and 80 marijuana cigarettes"
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:	add to end of first argument against "one ounce of marijuana is estimated to make at least 30 marijuana cigarettes"
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

Analysis accepted unamended.

05:01 PM

Deb Godshall, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to describe a suggested change to Referendum J/Amendment 39 ballot analysis. She responded to questions from the committee. Senator Tupa suggested an additional change describing what would happen if neither passes.


BILL:	Ref J/Amend 39
TIME:	05:07:18 PM
MOVED:	Romanoff
MOTION:	indicate section of constitution to be changed
SECONDED:	Teck
		VOTE
	Butcher
	Cadman
	Cerbo
	Garcia
	Gordon
	Groff
	Harvey
	Hoppe
	Johnson	Excused
	Madden
	May M.
	McElhany
	Spence
	Teck
	Tupa
	Windels
	Fitz-Gerald
	Romanoff
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection