Date: 02/16/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB06-1071

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved House Bill 06-1071 to the Committee of the W
Moved prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment D). A
Substitute motion to consider prepared amendment L		PASS
TIE
PASS


02:28 PM -- House Bill 06-1071

Representative Massey, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1071 concerning juvenile court proceedings and, in connection therewith, eliminating jury trials in dependency and neglect proceedings and clarifying the role and rights of county departments of human services. The bill eliminates the right to a jury trial in dependency and neglect hearings. It authorizes a county department of human services to intervene in delinquency cases in which the county department has custody of a child and allows a county department of human services to seek district court review of magistrate decisions.

02:31 PM -- Rocco Meconi, Fremont County Department of Human Services, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Meconi handles matters of dependency and neglect. He presented several scenarios of dependency and neglect cases with which he has been involved. Mr. Meconi responded to questions from the committee regarding the idea of eliminating jury trials. He stressed that this is an issue of the protection of children. He also mentioned that approximately 98% of these cases waive the right to a jury trial. The committee had a lengthy discussion regarding the need for this legislation and the fact that these are civil, not criminal, cases. Mr. Meconi discussed the process for dependency and neglect proceedings. Mr. Meconi talked about sections 2 and 3 of the bill.

02:38 PM -- Steve Clifton, Fremont County Department of Human Services, spoke in favor of the bill. Mr. Clifton made himself available to answer questions about dependency and neglect cases.

02:49 PM -- Pat Ratliff, Colorado Counties, Inc., spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Ratliff provided a handout to the committee explaining her position on the bill (Attachment C).

02:51 PM -- Brian Boatwright, Jefferson County District Court judge, spoke in support of the bill. Judge Boatwright discussed the fact that juries in these proceedings have a very difficult time determining their role. He stressed that these cases are about keeping children safe and not about assigning guilt or blame. These are not criminal prosecutions, they are matters of getting assistance or help for children who are in a bad situation. Judge Boatwright responded to questions from the committee regarding the feasibility of simply providing proper and more clear instructions to the juries rather than changing the law and removing the right to a jury trial. The committee had a lengthy discussion about the fact that if a jury does not find a child dependent and neglected, that child goes home with no assistance or services.

03:19 PM -- Catherine Hazouri, ACLU of Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Hazouri stated that the bill infringes on a parent's constitutional right to raise their children in whatever way they see fit. She explained that a jury lessens the chance that parents will indiscriminately lose their parental rights. She also stressed that the state must have an overwhelming interest in taking away the right to jury trial.


03:23 PM

Representative Massey wrapped up his presentation.
BILL:HB06-1071
TIME: 03:28:01 PM
MOVED:Carroll M.
MOTION:Moved prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment D). A substitute motion was made to consider prepared amendment L.002 (see below).
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: TIE
BILL:HB06-1071
TIME: 03:30:06 PM
MOVED:Carroll M.
MOTION:Substitute motion to consider prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment E). The motion passed on a vote of 7-4.
SECONDED:Clapp
VOTE
Boyd
No
Clapp
Yes
Decker
Yes
Gardner
Yes
Hefley
Yes
Jahn
No
Judd
No
McGihon
Yes
Witwer
No
Carroll M.
Yes
Carroll T.
Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
BILL:HB06-1071
TIME: 03:36:14 PM
MOVED:Carroll M.
MOTION:Moved House Bill 06-1071 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended, with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 8-3.
SECONDED:Clapp
VOTE
Boyd
No
Clapp
Yes
Decker
Yes
Gardner
Yes
Hefley
No
Jahn
No
Judd
Yes
McGihon
Yes
Witwer
Yes
Carroll M.
Yes
Carroll T.
Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS