Bill Summary for Bill Number HB06-1022

Date: 02/09/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB06-1022

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View-->

Action Taken:

Motion to reconsider the conceptual amendment to L
Moved conceptual amendment to L.005, which would o
Moved L.004
Moved prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment O). The
Moved prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment). The
Moved prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment S). Th
Moved prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment). The
Moved to postpone the bill indefinitely. The moti
Moved to reconsider prepared amendment L.005. The
Refer House Bill 06-1022 to the Committee of the W

PASS
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
TIE
TIE
PASS
PASS
PASS
Pass Without Objection
TIE

06:16 PM -- House Bill 06-1022

Representative Clapp, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1022 concerning the 90-day waiting period preceding dissolution of marriage. The bill would eliminate the mandatory 90-day waiting period in cases that do not involve children. Representative Clapp stated that moving simple cases through the system quickly will be a benefit to an overloaded judicial system and to the parties filing for dissolution. She also proposed giving judges discretion as to the proper waiting period. She presented prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment O) and a conceptual amendment to line 16 of L.003, substituting "FINDING" for "ALLEGATION." Representative Clapp provided three letters from women who support the bill (Attachments P, Q, and R).

06:24 PM -- Marie Moses, Colorado Bar Association Family Law Section, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Moses stated her concern that the elimination of the 90-day waiting period will allow manipulation of parties to the dissolution who are uninformed or in a position of less bargaining power than the other party. Ms. Moses responded to questions from the committee regarding the need for quick dissolution of marriage. Ms. Moses talked about the potential problem of a quick decree of dissolution affecting property rights of a party. The committee discussed the timing of discovery in a dissolution of marriage action.

06:35 PM -- Gina Weitzenkorn, family law attorney, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Weitzenkorn reiterated the testimony of the previous witness and added comments about cases of domestic violence, wherein the parties are often not in equal positions of bargaining power. She also discussed the purpose of the 90-day waiting period and likened it to a safety net that protects children and other vulnerable individuals involved in the dissolution action. Ms. Weitzenkorn spoke about cases in which criminal charges are pending and how those cases might be affected by the elimination of the 90-day waiting period. Ms. Weitzenkorn responded to questions from the committee regarding the process for reopening a dissolution case after the decree if further assets are discovered.

06:43 PM -- Gretchen Beer-Djorup, private citizen, spoke in support of the bill. She offered her personal story of domestic violence and dissolution of marriage. She read a prepared statement that illustrated the reasons for her support for the elimination of the 90-day waiting period.


BILL:	HB06-1022
TIME:	06:47:18 PM
MOVED:	Clapp
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment S). The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:	Hefley
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Clapp	Yes
	Decker	Yes
	Gardner	Yes
	Hefley	Yes
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	McGihon	No
	Witwer	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Not Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB06-1022
TIME:	06:47:21 PM
MOVED:	Clapp
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment O). The motion was later withdrawn after the sponsor determined that L.004 was the proper amendment.
SECONDED:	Hefley
		VOTE
	Boyd
	Clapp
	Decker
	Gardner
	Hefley
	Jahn
	Judd
	McGihon
	Witwer
	Carroll M.
	Carroll T.
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: WITHDRAWN


BILL:	HB06-1022
TIME:	06:53:58 PM
MOVED:	Carroll T.
MOTION:	Moved conceptual amendment to L.005, which would, on line 2, strike "(HB1022_L.004)" and replace it with "(HB1022_L.004)".
SECONDED:	Jahn
		VOTE
	Boyd
	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:	HB06-1022
TIME:	06:54:27 PM
MOVED:	Carroll T.
MOTION:	Moved to reconsider prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment S). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Clapp
		VOTE
	Boyd
	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:	HB06-1022
TIME:	06:56:17 PM
MOVED:	Carroll T.
MOTION:	Motion to reconsider the conceptual amendment to L.005. (Attachment S) The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Clapp	Yes
	Decker	Yes
	Gardner	Yes
	Hefley	Yes
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	McGihon	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Not Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB06-1022
TIME:	06:56:20 PM
MOVED:	Clapp
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment T). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Hefley
		VOTE
	Boyd
	Clapp
	Decker
	Gardner
	Hefley
	Jahn
	Judd
	McGihon
	Witwer
	Carroll M.
	Carroll T.
Not Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS WITHOUT OBJECTION


BILL:	HB06-1022
TIME:	06:56:32 PM
MOVED:	Clapp
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment S). The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:	Hefley
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Clapp	Yes
	Decker	Yes
	Gardner	Yes
	Hefley	Yes
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	McGihon	No
	Witwer	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Not Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

07:00 PM

Representative Clapp wrapped up her presentation, stating that it is in the best interest of the court system to move dissolution cases through faster. Committee members made lengthy comments regarding their intent to vote for or against the bill.


BILL:	HB06-1022
TIME:	07:11:12 PM
MOVED:	Clapp
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1022 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. A substitute motion to postpone indefinitely was made.
SECONDED:	Hefley
		VOTE
	Boyd
	Clapp
	Decker
	Gardner
	Hefley
	Jahn
	Judd
	McGihon
	Witwer
	Carroll M.
	Carroll T.
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE


BILL:	HB06-1022
TIME:	07:11:39 PM
MOVED:	McGihon
MOTION:	Moved to postpone the bill indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 8-3.
SECONDED:	Carroll M.
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Clapp	No
	Decker	Yes
	Gardner	No
	Hefley	No
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	McGihon	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS