Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:05/03/2006
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:43 PM to 03:31 PM
Bacon
X
Dyer
X
Place:SCR 352
Gordon
X
Mitchell
*
This Meeting was called to order by
Traylor
*
Senator Grossman
Shaffer
X
Grossman
X
This Report was prepared by
Jessika Shipley
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB06-1407
HB06-1131
HB06-1391
SJR06-014		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Postponed Indefinitely
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Committee Discussion


01:43 PM -- House Bill 06-1407

Senator Boyd, sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1407 concerning workers' compensation coverage for an independent contractor working as a driver. The bill exempts an independent contractor operating a motor vehicle for hire as a taxicab under a certificate from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) from carrying workers' compensation or a private insurance policy that provides similar coverage.

01:47 PM -- Kyle Brown, Metro Taxi, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Brown represents three taxi companies. He stressed that the bill affects only taxicab drivers. He discussed the current workers' compensation insurance situation faced by taxicab drivers. He spoke about the difficulties that would be faced by drivers if they were required to obtain workers' compensation coverage. He stated that the only opposition to the bill comes from attorneys who represent workers' compensation claimants.

01:49 PM -- Michael Kaplan, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Kaplan is an attorney who represents workers' compensation claimants. He discussed the status of independent contractors and workers' compensation insurance. He disagreed with testimony of prior witnesses with regards to opposition to the bill. Mr. Kaplan responded to questions from the committee regarding the difference between workers' compensation plans and occupational insurance plans.

01:56 PM -- Ray Baldwin, Metro Taxi, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Baldwin drives a taxi. He stated that he currently has adequate coverage and additional coverage would be burdensome to drivers and their passengers.







01:58 PM -- Jack Kaufman, Denver Yellow Cab, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Kaufman has been a taxicab driver for over 30 years. He reiterated the testimony of the prior witness.

02:00 PM -- Bill Imig, Yellow Cab of Denver, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Imig is an attorney representing Yellow Cab of Denver. He discussed the status of taxicab drivers as independent contractors. He talked about adequate insurance coverage for drivers. He responded to questions from the committee regarding the difference between employees and independent contractors.


02:04 PM

Senator Boyd wrapped up her presentation of the bill.
BILL:HB06-1407
TIME: 02:05:12 PM
MOVED:Dyer
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed on a vote of 5-1.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Yes
Dyer
Yes
Gordon
Yes
Mitchell
No
Traylor
Yes
Shaffer
Yes
Grossman
Excused
Not Final YES: 5 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
BILL:HB06-1407
TIME: 02:06:10 PM
MOVED:Dyer
MOTION:Refer House Bill 06-1407 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended, with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 5-1.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Yes
Dyer
Yes
Gordon
No
Mitchell
Yes
Traylor
Yes
Shaffer
Yes
Grossman
Excused
Final YES: 5 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS







02:07 PM -- House Bill 06-1131

Senator McElhany, sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1131 concerning persons who provide surety to a court for a defendant that has been taken into custody. The reengrossed bill changes several laws governing bail bonds and bail bonding agents. If a person is determined to be in the country illegally after bail is posted, the state must return all documents concerning the defendant that are signed by the bail bonding agent, and the agent must return all fees collected for the bond. The bill sets forth methods for determining a defendant's immigration status, none of which require a specific action on the part of either law enforcement agents or bail bond agents. As amended, the bill allows a bail bond agent to accept a quitclaim deed as collateral for a bail bond.

The bill adds a requirement that a bonding agent's photograph appear on the pocket card issued to each licensed agent by the Division of Insurance. Under current law, a pocket card must show the agent's name, address, and classification. Bail bonding agents would have to complete 24 hours of continuing education every 2 years as a condition of license renewal.


02:15 PM

The committee discussed the language of the bill. Senator McElhany distributed a memorandum (Attachment B) to the committee prepared by Legislative Council Staff regarding the fiscal impact of proposed amendment L.010 (Attachment C).

02:16 PM -- Tom Remy, Colorado Bail Agents' Coalition, spoke in favor of the bill. Mr. Remy answered questions from the committee regarding the bonding process. He continued explaining the bonding process, including the liability carried by the bonding agent.

02:27 PM -- George Epp, County Sheriffs of Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill as drafted. Sheriff Epp discussed the procedure in all Colorado jails for reporting to ICE on recent inmates. His difficulty with the bill, as drafted, is that it requires sheriffs to make a determination as to whether an individual is in the country legally or not. He stated that local law enforcement has been told repeatedly that they are not qualified to make such a determination. Sheriff Epp discussed other problems with the language of the bill. He stated that prepared amendment L.014 (Attachment D) mitigates some of his concerns with the bill, but not all of them. The committee discussed the problem of knowing whether an individual is an illegal alien or not.

02:38 PM -- Guss Guarino, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Guarino stated that his concerns lie with sections six and seven of the bill. He discussed the issue of reduction of bond premiums and the fairness of the current statute. He also talked about enforcement procedures for compensated sureties.

02:44 PM -- Dave Thomas, Colorado District Attorney's Council, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Thomas stated his agreement with the statements of the two prior witnesses. He pointed out his concerns with each section of the bill. He talked about the costs of extradition.

02:54 PM -- Mary Ellen Pollack, professional bail agent, spoke favor of the bill. Ms. Pollack discussed the bill from the perspective of a bonding agent. She talked about reduction of bond premiums and a consent to surety. Ms. Pollack discussed the difficulty of extraditing fugitives. She stressed the fact that bonding agents are a part of the criminal justice system. She does not support the prepared amendments.







03:00 PM -- Sherry Kester, Judicial Department, spoke . Ms. Kester expressed concerns about the provisions of the bill that require the redaction of court files. She stated that she would like time to read the amendments carefully.

03:02 PM -- Patricia Angel, Colorado Bail Agents' Coalition, spoke in favor of the bill, as drafted.


03:05 PM

Senator McElhany wrapped up his presentation of the bill. He discussed his intentions in bringing this bill forward.
BILL:HB06-1131
TIME: 03:11:09 PM
MOVED:Dyer
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.010 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Dyer
Gordon
Mitchell
Traylor
Shaffer
Grossman
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

BILL:HB06-1131
TIME: 03:13:20 PM
MOVED:Dyer
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.014 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Dyer
Gordon
Mitchell
Traylor
Shaffer
Grossman
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

BILL:HB06-1131
TIME: 03:14:27 PM
MOVED:Dyer
MOTION:Moved to amend prepared amendment L.014, page 2, strike lines 5-7, and substitute "UNITED STATES, THEN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Dyer
Gordon
Mitchell
Traylor
Shaffer
Grossman
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:HB06-1131
TIME: 03:15:58 PM
MOVED:Dyer
MOTION:Refer House Bill 06-1131, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion failed on a vote of 3-4. A second motion was made to postpone indefinitely (See below).
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Yes
Dyer
Yes
Gordon
No
Mitchell
No
Traylor
Yes
Shaffer
No
Grossman
No
Not Final YES: 3 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:HB06-1131
TIME: 03:16:43 PM
MOVED:Gordon
MOTION:Moved to postpone House Bill 06-1131 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 4-3.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
No
Dyer
No
Gordon
Yes
Mitchell
Yes
Traylor
No
Shaffer
Yes
Grossman
Yes
Final YES: 4 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


03:22 PM -- House Bill 06-1391

Senator Groff, sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1391, the revisor's bill.
BILL:HB06-1391
TIME: 03:24:00 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Dyer
Gordon
Mitchell
Traylor
Shaffer
Grossman
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:HB06-1391
TIME: 03:24:17 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment F). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Dyer
Gordon
Mitchell
Traylor
Shaffer
Grossman
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:HB06-1391
TIME: 03:25:20 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.006 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Dyer
Gordon
Mitchell
Traylor
Shaffer
Grossman
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB06-1391
TIME: 03:25:56 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Refer House Bill 06-1391 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended, with a favorable recommendation, and with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendar. The motion passed on a vote of 4-0.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Bacon
Yes
Dyer
Yes
Gordon
Excused
Mitchell
Excused
Traylor
Yes
Shaffer
Excused
Grossman
Yes
Final YES: 4 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


03:28 PM

Senator Bacon asked the committee to consider an amendment to SJR 06-014 (Attachment H). The committee was not willing to do so. Senator Grossman adjourned the committee.