Bill Summary for Bill Number HB06-1145

Date: 02/09/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB06-1145

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment J). Th Moved prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment K). Th Moved prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment M). Th Moved prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment N). Th Refer House Bill 06-1145 to the Committee on Appro	Pass Without Objection Pass Without Objection Pass Without Objection TIE PASS

04:41 PM -- House Bill 06-1145

Representative Solano, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1145 concerning the methamphetamine problem in Colorado and provided statistics. She explained the bill section by section. The bill creates a legislative oversight committee to examine the prevention, intervention, and treatment of the abuse of methamphetamine. It also strengthens the laws concerning methamphetamine. Representative Solano responded to questions from the committee regarding possession of various amounts of methamphetamine.

04:45 PM -- Pat Ridley, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Ridley discussed his opposition to language that would create an offense of child abuse for individuals charged with manufacturing methamphetamine while a child is present. His concern is that this bill singles out the act of methamphetamine use for increased penalties when children are present. Mr. Ridley responded to questions from the committee regarding an appropriate way to amend the bill in order to mitigate the constitutional issues raised.

04:53 PM -- Chris Howes, Colorado Retail Council and Colorado Pharmacists Society, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Howes' opposition is addressed by prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment J), which deals with the sale of cold medicine. Mr. Howes responded to questions from the committee regarding how much cold medicine can currently be sold to consumers. The committee also discussed at length the issue of criminal liability for the sale of cold medicine.

05:04 PM -- Don Quick, District Attorney for the 17th Judicial District and the Colorado District Attorney's Council, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Quick discussed methamphetamine cases in Adams and Broomfield Counties. He provided statistics about the percentage of methamphetamine cases in relation to overall arrests. Mr. Quick also discussed the inherent dangers of producing methamphetamine. Mr. Quick responded to questions from the committee regarding criminal liabilities for sale of methamphetamine precursor drugs. Mr. Quick also responded to committee questions regarding the legislative oversight committee as proposed in the bill and regarding the proposal to place cold medicine behind the counter. In response to a committee question, Mr. Quick re-iterated that no action need be taken to amend lines 8 through 11 of page 1 of prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment K) since the crime of child abuse is already a strict liability crime under Colorado law.

05:39 PM -- Peg Long, Colorado Association of Family and Children's Agencies, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Long asked the committee to consider children who are victims and users of methamphetamine. She urged the committee to support the bill.

05:41 PM -- Carmelita Muniz, Colorado Association of Alcohol and Drug Service Providers, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Muniz provided a packet of information to the committee regarding her organization (Attachment L). She discussed the burden to the court system caused by methamphetamine cases. She stressed the need for prevention and treatment.

05:44 PM -- Lori Moriarty, Colorado Drug Unit, spoke in support of the bill. Commander Moriarty discussed the facts of several methamphetamine cases she has investigated. Commander Moriarty responded to questions from the committee about which elements of dealing with methamphetamine cases are the most difficult to deal with as a police officer or investigator. The committee also asked questions about how best to prosecute these cases, from the perspective of a law enforcement official.

05:57 PM -- Don Quick was asked to return to the table. Mr. Quick responded to questions from the committee regarding how many convictions are actually achieved for methamphetamine possession. Mr. Quick discussed the committee's concerns surrounding the issue of strict liability. Representative Solano expressed her amenability to amendments that deal with the strict liability issues.


BILL:	HB06-1145
TIME:	06:02:50 PM
MOVED:	Jahn
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment J). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Boyd
		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: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB06-1145
TIME:	06:04:17 PM
MOVED:	Jahn
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment K). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Boyd
		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: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB06-1145
TIME:	06:05:14 PM
MOVED:	Jahn
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment M). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Boyd
		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:	HB06-1145
TIME:	06:06:47 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment N). The motion was withdrawn after the chair ruled the matter to be a settled question.
SECONDED:
		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: WITHDRAWN

06:08 PM

Representative Solano wrapped up her presentation of the bill by reciting a poem written by a methamphetamine user.


BILL:	HB06-1145
TIME:	06:14:14 PM
MOVED:	Witwer
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1145 to the Committee on Appropriations, as amended. The motion passed on a vote of 9-2.
SECONDED:	Judd
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Clapp	No
	Decker	Yes
	Gardner	Yes
	Hefley	Yes
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	McGihon	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Carroll M.	No
	Carroll T.	Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS