House Committee on Judiciary (03/23/2006)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	03/23/2006	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:36 PM to 06:10 PM	Buescher	*
		Clapp	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Decker	X
		Gardner	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Hefley	X
	Representative Carroll T.	Jahn	X
		Judd	X
This Report was prepared by		McGihon	X
	Jessika Shipley	Witwer	X
		Carroll M.	*
		Carroll T.	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB06-1379 SB06-177 HB06-1376 HB06-1380 SB06-192 HB06-1149		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Postponed Indefinitely Amended, Referred to Appropriations Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to Appropriations

01:37 PM -- House Bill 06-1379

Representative Garcia, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1379 concerning a requirement for training to implement witness protection programs. The bill requires district attorneys and law enforcement agencies to provide annual training, education, and risk-assessment programs for district attorneys and victims' advocates employed by or working with law enforcement agencies. Individual law enforcement agencies and victims' advocate groups are also encouraged to develop similar programs. Representative Garcia distributed prepared amendment L.001 and a written overview of the current witness protection program (Attachments A and B). The bill renames the witness protection program after two individual who were killed.

01:46 PM -- Rhonda Fields and Christine Wolfe, citizens, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Fields and Ms. Wolfe are the mothers of two individuals who were killed prior to testifying in a murder trial. Ms. Fields stated that her son was doing the right thing by cooperating with law enforcement officials, but our system failed him. She noted that the bill provides improvements to the current program and those improvements can be used as an effective tool by prosecutors and the court system. Ms. Wolfe reiterated the testimony of Ms. Fields. She stated that her daughter and her fiance were unaware of the danger of testifying and this bill would require law enforcement to adequately inform witnesses of the risks and protect against them.

01:54 PM -- Jeanne Smith, Witness Protection Board, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Smith discussed the witness protection board and the fund that is managed by the board. She talked about the process of drafting this bill. She noted that the bill represents a proactive approach to witness protection.


BILL:	HB06-1379
TIME:	01:56:30 PM
MOVED:	Carroll T.
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Carroll M.
		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:	HB06-1379
TIME:	01:59:19 PM
MOVED:	Carroll T.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1379, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Hefley
		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

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

02:32 PM -- House Bill 06-1376

Representative Jahn asked the committee to lay the bill over until May 11, 2006.


BILL:	HB06-1376
TIME:	02:32:15 PM
MOVED:	Jahn
MOTION:	Moved to lay over House Bill 06-1376 until May 11, 2006. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Clapp
		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

02:33 PM -- House Bill 06-1380

Representative Riesberg, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1380 concerning the development of measures to reduce the theft of retail goods. The bill extends the time frame to consider prior convictions from four years to 10 years. A person convicted of a third offense shall be ineligible for a sentence of community corrections. It also creates a Class 3 misdemeanor for the sale of certain baby foods, devices, drugs, infant formula, cosmetics, batteries, and razor blades at a flea market. An interagency task force on retail theft is also created. The purpose of the task force is to review methods of effectively preventing organized retail theft and developing recommendations to law enforcement to investigate retail theft. The committee discussed the fiscal note.

02:38 PM -- David Kaplan, Colorado Public Defender, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Kaplan spoke about Section 1 of the bill. He stated that mandatory sentencing for retail theft is unnecessary and talked about the current sentencing scheme for related crimes. He discussed judicial discretion in sentencing.

02:46 PM -- Chris Howes, Colorado Retail Council, spoke in favor of the bill. Mr. Howes talked about the national problem of organized retail theft. He defined organized retail theft and cited some statistics about the prevalence of the crime.

02:48 PM -- Jonathan Mayes, Safeway Corporation, spoke in favor of the bill. Mr. Mayes talked about organized retail theft from the perspective of Safeway. He distributed information about stolen retail goods (Attachment D).

02:52 PM -- Charles Memmer, Target Stores, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Memmer talked about the financial impact of organized retail theft on Target stores in Colorado. He cited statistics about losses and arrests attributed to organized retail theft. He responded to questions from the committee about the process of such crimes.

03:03 PM -- Gary Looney, King Soopers-City Market Stores, spoke in favor of the bill. Mr. Looney discussed the difference between shoplifting and organized retail theft. He pointed out that when King Soopers cannot sell goods due to theft, state and local governments do not receive sales tax revenues. He talked about the need for new shelving and security systems.

03:06 PM -- Mary Lou Chapman, Rocky Mountain Food Industry Association, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Chapman talked about infant formula as a target of organized retail theft rings.

03:12 PM -- Kim Robbins, Colorado District Attorneys' Council, took no position on the bill.


BILL:	HB06-1380
TIME:	03:15:12 PM
MOVED:	Carroll T.
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment E). 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:	HB06-1380
TIME:	03:18:43 PM
MOVED:	McGihon
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1380, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:	Decker
		VOTE
	Buescher	Yes
	Clapp	No
	Decker	Yes
	Gardner	Yes
	Hefley	Yes
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	McGihon	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:21 PM -- Senate Bill 06-192

Representative Riesberg, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 06-192 concerning a task force on drunk driving, The bill establishes an interagency task force on drunk driving to investigate methods of reducing drunk driving. It specifies membership of the task force and directs the task force to submit an annual report to the judiciary committees of the General Assembly.

03:25 PM -- Carolyn DeVries, citizen, spoke in favor of the bill. Ms. DeVries' daughter was killed by a drunk driver in 2004. She related the story of her daughter's death and the aftermath, as well as details of her daughter's life.

03:29 PM -- Emily Tompkins, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Tompkins talked about preventing the crime of drunk driving. She stated that an interagency task force is a solid step toward making Colorado highways safer.

03:33 PM -- Peg Ackerman, County Sheriffs of Colorado, spoke in favor of the bill. Ms. Ackerman stated that the crime of drunk driving is extremely frustrating to the sheriffs. She responded to questions from the committee regarding the organization of the bill and whether a task force will be effective in preventing drunk driving.

03:38 PM -- Annmarie Jensen, Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Jensen listed the members of the group that convened during the summer of 2005 to discuss this issue and recommend the drafting of this bill. She talked about the difference between a statutory task force and an ad hoc group discussing the same subject. This bill allows this issue to get attention for at least five years until the task force is dissolved.


BILL:	SB06-192
TIME:	03:42:35 PM
MOVED:	Judd
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 06-192 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed 8-3.
SECONDED:	McGihon
		VOTE
	Buescher	Yes
	Clapp	No
	Decker	No
	Gardner	Yes
	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

03:47 PM -- House Bill 06-1149

Representative M. Carroll, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 06-1149 concerning the regulation of persons involved in communicating with state public officials for the purpose of influencing official action. The bill, as amended in the House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee, expands reporting requirements for lobbyists. It also prohibits lobbyists from serving as a fund raising agent or campaign manager for any state elected official or candidate. Representative Carroll discussed the reasons for bringing this bill to the House Judiciary Committee and presented prepared amendment L.009 and a fact sheet about the amendment (Attachments F and G). She stressed the value of sunshine laws and stated that this kind of reporting is being done in other states. The committee had a lengthy discussion about enforcement of the bill.

04:14 PM

The committee continued their discussion of the possible onerous nature of the legislation from the perspective of a lobbyist and whether it is respectful of lobbyists. Further discussion centered on the issue of necessary disclosure for legislators and lobbyists.

04:32 PM -- Dan Cartin, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to answer questions about the definition of "principle" in the bill. The committee expressed concern that some union organizations may not be covered by that definition.

04:37 PM -- Pete Maysmith, Colorado Common Cause, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Maysmith stated his belief that this bill is an extension of the sunshine laws. He talked about his process for reporting on the bills for which he lobbies. He said that he does not believe this process would be onerous. Mr. Maysmith responded to questions from the committee about whether all lobbyists might just mark all bills as "monitor." The committee discussed the issue of credibility.

04:53 PM -- The committee continued their discussion of the bill. Mr. Maysmith talked about prepared amendment L.010 (Attachment H). In response to committee questions about compliance with the legislation, Mr. Maysmith explained the procedure he would potentially follow if the bill passes. The committee continued their discussion of the fact that bills are often amended, drastically changing their purpose. The committee expressed concerns about lobbyists who commit to a specific position on a bill, only to have that position change with amendments.

05:04 PM -- Peg Ackerman and Dianna Orf, lobbyists, took a neutral position on the bill. They expressed their concern about having to commit to a position on a bill when bills change daily. Ms. Orf suggested that lobbyists be required to report their positions on bills as of the terminal date of that legislation. She expressed concerns about having to report on every bill her clients ask her to "keep an eye on." The committee discussed the possibility of further defining the idea of being retained in connection with specific legislation in order to state that a lobbyist is retained to advocate a certain position in connection with specific legislation.

05:17 PM -- Frank DeFilippo, lobbyist, spoke in favor of the bill. Mr. DeFilippo expressed his belief that the bill will assist in the process of moving from paper files to electronic records in the Secretary of State's Office. He discussed the practicality of committing to a position on the bill at any given time. He responded to questions from the committee regarding enforcement of current laws. He talked about the unintended consequences of the reporting requirements. The sponsor commented on Mr. DeFilippo's testimony, then responded to questions from the committee regarding how Colorado compares to other states.

05:46 PM

The committee closed public testimony, and the committee began considering amendments.


BILL:	HB06-1149
TIME:	05:48:54 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Moved Amendment L.009 (Attachment F). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Carroll T.
		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:	HB06-1149
TIME:	05:51:17 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.015 (Attachment I). 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:	HB06-1149
TIME:	05:52:15 PM
MOVED:	McGihon
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.010 (Attachment H ). The motion passed on a vote of 6-4, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Witwer
		VOTE
	Buescher	Yes
	Clapp	Yes
	Decker	No
	Gardner	No
	Hefley	Excused
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	No
	McGihon	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Carroll M.	No
	Carroll T.	Yes
Not Final YES: 6 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB06-1149
TIME:	05:57:40 PM
MOVED:	Gardner
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.013 (Attachment J). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Clapp
		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:	HB06-1149
TIME:	06:03:06 PM
MOVED:	Gardner
MOTION:	Moved prepared amendment L.014 (Attachment K). The chair ruled that the amendment does not fit under the title of the bill.
SECONDED:	Witwer
		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: TIE


BILL:	HB06-1149
TIME:	06:08:29 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1149, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 8-2, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	McGihon
		VOTE
	Buescher	Yes
	Clapp	No
	Decker	No
	Gardner	Yes
	Hefley	Excused
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	McGihon	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 2 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

06:10 PM

The committee adjourned.