Senate Committee on State, Veterans & Military Affairs (04/10/2006)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON STATE, VETERANS & MILITARY AFFAIRS

Date:	04/10/2006	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:43 PM to 02:14 PM	Fitz-Gerald	X
		Johnson	X
Place:	SCR 353	Lamborn	X
		May R.	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Windels	E
	Senator Tupa	Groff	X
		Tupa	X
This Report was prepared by
	Leslie Herod
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB06-225		Amended, Referred to Appropriations

01:44 PM -- Call to Order

Senator Tupa, chairman, called the committee to order.

01:44 PM -- Senate Bill 06-225

Senator Groff, prime sponsor, reviewed the provisions of Senate Bill 06-225, concerning the creation of a division in the Colorado State Patrol to address human smuggling. He explained that, currently, there are no officers who are trained to deal with this issue. This special unit would be able to utilize the federal training offered to the state. Senator Tupa emphasized that immigration is a federal enforcement issue, and therefore, the state should maximize receipt of federal dollars. Senator Groff replied that the state needs to respond to this issue and not wait for federal funding.

01:54 PM

The following persons testified:

01:54 PM -- Terry Campbell, representing the Colorado State Patrol, responded to questions from the committee. Senator Fitz-Gerald asked about the current shortfall in the department. Mr. Campbell indicated that the department is suffering a shortfall regarding resources and officers. He further responded to questions about the fiscal note.

02:02 PM -- George Epp, representing the Colorado County Sheriffs, responded to questions from the committee. He described the shortage of State Patrol officers and how this issue impacts the county sheriffs.

02:07 PM

Senator Groff provided closing comments on the bill. He spoke to the necessity of specially trained officers to deal with human smuggling. The committee discussed the fiscal impact of the bill.


BILL:	SB06-225
TIME:	02:14:42 PM
MOVED:	Groff
MOTION:	Moved to amend page 2, line 12, after "if", insert "either"; and strike "and" substitute "or". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Fitz-Gerald
	Johnson
	Lamborn
	May R.
	Windels	Excused
	Groff
	Tupa
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB06-225
TIME:	02:13:50 PM
MOVED:	Groff
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Fitz-Gerald
	Johnson
	Lamborn
	May R.
	Windels	Excused
	Groff
	Tupa
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB06-225
TIME:	02:15:00 PM
MOVED:	Groff
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 06-225, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 5-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Fitz-Gerald	Yes
	Johnson	Yes
	Lamborn	Yes
	May R.	No
	Windels	Excused
	Groff	Yes
	Tupa	Yes



YES: 5 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:15 PM

The committee recessed.