Date: 03/23/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-177

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment C). Th
Refer Senate Bill 06-177, as amended, to the Commi		Pass Without Objection
PASS


02:03 PM -- Senate Bill 06-177

Representative Larson, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 06-177 concerning modifications to the statutory requirements governing the rights of victims and witnesses to crimes. The bill modifies statutory provisions related to victim and witness rights by:

• expanding victim rights to include the right to be informed of a decision to file criminal charges;
• creating the right of a victim to be notified when an offender has been referred to community corrections and specifying when a victim can make a victim impact
statement regarding a community corrections referral;
• stating that a victim may prevent a defendant from requiring a witness to disclose the location of the witness;
• requiring law enforcement agencies to periodically notify victims of case status;
• requiring a probation department to notify the victim in a domestic violence case if the conduct of the offender results in an increased level of probation
supervision; and
• requiring the courts to make sure that entities responsible for victim notification have contact information for the victim.

The bill also expands certain existing victim rights and clarifies that notification of the victim is not necessary by the Attorney General's Office for appellate review. Representative Larson explained the bill section by section. He presented prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment C).

02:15 PM -- Ann Terry, Colorado Department of Public Safety and Colorado Organization of Victim Assistance, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Terry spoke about the genesis of the bill and the information gathered from victims and witnesses to learn what they think about the system. She pointed out that victims' rights are protected by law and do not belong to anyone other than the victim. She talked about the notification of victims and how it is a voluntary process. They may opt in or not, as they choose. Victims are notified of their rights by law enforcement, usually at the beginning of the process. Representative Hefley raised her concern about revictimization.

02:23 PM -- Michael Goodbe, Colorado Organization of Victim Assistance, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Goodbe spoke about the process of drafting of this bill. He also discussed the victim notification process.

02:26 PM -- Meagan Solevy, Colorado Department of Criminal Justice, spoke in favor of the bill. Ms. Solevy discussed the reason for defining a cold case as one that is unsolved after one year.
BILL:SB06-177
TIME: 02:29:23 PM
MOVED:Carroll T.
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Judd
VOTE
Buescher
Clapp
Decker
Gardner
Hefley
Jahn
Judd
McGihon
Witwer
Carroll M.
Carroll T.
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:SB06-177
TIME: 02:29:59 PM
MOVED:Carroll M.
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 06-177, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:Jahn
VOTE
Buescher
Yes
Clapp
Yes
Decker
Yes
Gardner
Yes
Hefley
Yes
Jahn
Yes
Judd
Yes
McGihon
Yes
Witwer
Yes
Carroll M.
Yes
Carroll T.
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS