House Committee on Judiciary (02/14/2006)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	02/14/2006	ATTENDANCE

Time:	11:38 AM to 12:52 PM	Boyd	X
		Clapp	*
Place:	HCR 0112	Decker	X
		Gardner	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Hefley	X
	Representative Carroll T.	Jahn	*
		Judd	X
This Report was prepared by		McGihon	X
	Carl Jarrett	Witwer	X
		Carroll M.	X
		Carroll T.	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB06-1179 HB06-1123 HB06-1090		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

11:39 AM -- House Bill 06-1179

Representative Hall, bill sponsor, explained the provisions of HB 06-1179 that designate Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents as peace officers in Colorado with the authority to act as such in specified circumstances.

11:42 AM

John Kammerzell, Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, spoke in support of the bill. In response to a committee question, Mr. Kammerzell indicated that FBI agents currently have authority to arrest individuals who are in the process of committing a crime.

11:45 AM

Richard Powers, FBI, Denver, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke to the need for federal drug and gang task forces to work with local law enforcement agencies, for instance, to combat crime. He indicated that under current law, there are limitations on FBI agents in performing duties such as carrying out search warrants. Mr. Powers and Representative Hall responded to a committee question regarding a requirement that agents obey the constitution and not just the requirement that FBI agents acting as peace officers act in accordance with the rules and regulations of his or her employing agency as provided on lines 24 and 25 of page 2.

11:49 AM

John Cooke, County Sheriffs of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill.


BILL:	HB06-1179
TIME:	11:50:44 AM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment A). The motion carried without objection.
SECONDED:	Judd
		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:	HB06-1179
TIME:	11:51:06 AM
MOVED:	Judd
MOTION:	Refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on a 7-3-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Hefley
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Clapp	Excused
	Decker	Yes
	Gardner	No
	Hefley	Yes
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	McGihon	No
	Witwer	No
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 3 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:55 AM -- House Bill 06-1123

Rep Harvey explained the provisions of HB 06-1123 that address runaway teenagers and he spoke to prepared amendment 1123 L.001 (Attachment B) that is a strike below the enacting clause amendment to the bill. He indicated the intent of the bill was to allow law enforcement to get involved when teens run away from home (Attachment C). He spoke to the requirement in the strike-below that law enforcement take suspected runaways into custody. Representative Harvey responded to a committee question regarding the status of teenagers who have "emancipated" themselves.

12:05 PM

Mike Hoover, spoke in opposition to the bill as introduced and suggested that children who run away from home not be treated as criminals. He spoke in support of the strike-below amendment to the bill, but expressed concern for the bill even as amended. He indicated he believes the police have too much power to put runaway kids in jail.

12:09 PM

Beverly Hirsekorn, Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, spoke in opposition to the bill. She spoke to the ability of law enforcement to conduct welfare checks of children under current law. She indicated the strike-below amendment is better than the bill as introduced but questioned the wisdom in allowing law enforcement to get involved in cases in which children have developmental disabilities. In response to a committee question, Ms. Hirsekorn suggested the bill be amended to take into consideration children who run away from home for legitimate purposes such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, and incest.

Committee members questioned how abused children would be treated under the bill's provisions.

12:19 PM

David Rogers, Missing Children's Task Force, spoke in support of the bill. He indicated the bill will be a tool for law enforcement to recover missing children. In response to a committee question, Mr. Rogers said he does not believe law enforcement officers will return abused children to their parents despite the bill's provisions.

12:23 PM

Christine Watson, Colorado League of Women Voters, spoke in support of the bill as amended by the strike-below amendment to the bill.

12:25 PM

Paula Rhodes Hook spoke in support of the bill but questioned what will happen to children once they are taken into temporary custody. She also suggested the bill be amended to specify that abused children not be returned to an abusive situation.


BILL:	HB06-1123
TIME:	12:27:01 PM
MOVED:	Carroll T.
MOTION:	Prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion carried without objection.
SECONDED:	Carroll M.
		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:	HB06-1123
TIME:	12:30:53 PM
MOVED:	Decker
MOTION:	Refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on a 9-1-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Hefley
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Clapp	Excused
	Decker	Yes
	Gardner	Yes
	Hefley	Yes
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	No
	McGihon	Yes
	Witwer	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:31 PM -- House Bill 06-1090

House Bill 06-1090 was put back on the table (for prior discussion on the bill, see Staff Summary of Meeting dated February 2, 2006). Representative Green, bill sponsor, explained the prepared amendment to HB 06-1090 (L.008, Attachment D). Committee members discussed the provisions of prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment E) and L.007 (Attachment F).


BILL:	HB06-1090
TIME:	12:41:09 PM
MOVED:	Jahn
MOTION:	Prepared amendment L.008 (Attachment D). The motion carried without objection.
SECONDED:	Judd
		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:	HB06-1090
TIME:	12:43:53 PM
MOVED:	Gardner
MOTION:	Prepared amendment L.007 (Attachment F). The motion carried without objection.
SECONDED:	Witwer
		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:	HB06-1090
TIME:	12:48:26 PM
MOVED:	Boyd
MOTION:	Refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on a 6-3-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	McGihon
		VOTE
	Boyd	Yes
	Clapp	Excused
	Decker	No
	Gardner	No
	Hefley	Excused
	Jahn	Yes
	Judd	Yes
	McGihon	Yes
	Witwer	No
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Carroll T.	Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 3 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:52 PM

The committee adjourned.