Senate Committee on Business, Labor and Technology (02/06/2006)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY

Date:	02/06/2006	ATTENDANCE

Time:	02:41 PM to 05:41 PM	Evans	*
		Hanna	X
Place:	SCR 354	Kester	X
		Takis	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Wiens	*
	Senator Veiga	Tochtrop	X
		Veiga	X
This Report was prepared by
	Jeanette Chapman
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB06-167 SB06-071 SB06-091		Referred to State, Veterans & Military Affairs Witness Testimony Only Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

02:41 PM -- Senate Bill 06-167

Senator Veiga indicated that the sponsor of SB 167 would like the bill referred to the committee on State, Veterans, and Military Affairs.


BILL:	SB06-167
TIME:	02:42:16 PM
MOVED:	Takis
MOTION:	Refer SB 167 to the Committee on State, Veterans, and Military Affairs. The motion passed 6-0-1.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Evans	Yes
	Hanna	Yes
	Kester	Yes
	Takis	Yes
	Wiens	Excused
	Tochtrop	Yes
	Veiga	Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:42 PM -- Senate Bill 06-071

Senator Veiga noted a change to the order of bills to accommodate some individuals who had come to testify on SB 071 who have time limitations. The committee would first hear Senator Veiga's bill and then hear Senator Tupa's. Senator Veiga handed the gavel to Senator Takis and came to the table to discuss her bill that prohibits certain deceptive business practices with relation to foreclosure activities. The bill requires foreclosure consultants and purchasers of residences in foreclosure to give home owners specific information to ensure homeowners are able to make informed decisions.

02:45 PM -- John Suthers, Colorado Attorney General, spoke in support of the bill. He explained the impetus of the bill.

02:50 PM -- Jan Zavinslan, Attorney General's office, spoke in support of the bill. He described the provisions of the bill. Senator Evans talked about his experience with bad faith foreclosures. Committee discussion ensued.

03:21 PM -- Angela Dalich, Larimer County Public Trustee, spoke in support of the bill. She discussed her experiences dealing with criminal foreclosure activities. She responded to questions from the committee.

03:33 PM -- John Head, representing various homeowners, spoke in support of the bill. He described some of his experiences with clients who were victims of these criminal foreclosure activities. He responded to questions from the committee.

03:48 PM -- Zach Urban, Colorado Housing Counseling Coalition, spoke in support of the bill.

03:52 PM -- Heidi Baker, Housing Colorado, spoke in support of the bill.

03:53 PM -- Roxy Huber, Colorado Public Trustee Association, spoke in support of the bill. She responded to questions from the committee.

03:58 PM -- Bart Bartholomew, Colorado Association of Mortgage Brokers, spoke in support of the bill.

04:02 PM -- A/W/ Schnellbacher, AARP, spoke in support of the legislation. He provided a handout to the committee (Attachments A & B).

04:04 PM -- Becky Creighton, NARHRI, spoke about some concerns she has with the legislation. She indicated her willingness to work with the sponsor and the attorney general's office to address problems in the industry. Senator Veiga noted that she appreciated the input from legitimate secondary lenders to improve the bill.

04:09 PM -- Jenifer Saltzman, Colorado Bankers Association, spoke in support of the bill.

04:13 PM -- Robert Collett, representing himself, indicated his general support of the principles of the bill, but indicated concern with certain aspects of the bill. He described how he runs his real estate investment business.

04:19 PM -- William Bronchick, Colorado Association of Real Estate Investors, spoke in opposition to certain aspects of the bill. He provided a written copy of his testimony (Attachment C).

04:24 PM -- Gary Licata, representing himself, spoke about his experiences with real estate investors as a mortgage lender. He responded to questions from the committee.

04:30 PM -- Tom Kammerling, representing himself, spoke about his experience with foreclosure and his positive experience with a real estate investor. He expressed concerns with certain aspects of the bill that would push out legitimate businesses in an effort to address criminal behavior.

04:36 PM -- Michael Duever, representing himself, spoke about his experience as a real estate investor. He expressed concern with some aspects of the bill that would make it harder for him to do business.

04:45 PM

The chair indicated public testimony is closed and the bill is laid over.

04:46 PM -- Senate Bill 06-091

Senator Tupa introduced his bill concerning privacy of cell phone call records. He provided two handouts to the committee and a strike-below amendment (Attachments D, E, and F). He described the provisions of the bill.

04:56 PM -- Larry Clark, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill. He provided a written handout of his testimony (Attachment G). He responded to questions from the committee.

05:14 PM -- Greg Williams, Colorado Association of Society Executives, spoke in support of the bill. However, he indicated concerns with the introduced bill regarding the definition of "phone records".

05:16 PM -- Russell Sarezen, T-Mobile U.S.A, spoke in support of the bill. He responded to questions from Senator Evans regarding the cellular phone industry's policy to not sell phone records.

05:21 PM -- Lacee Artist, Cingular Wireless, spoke in support of the bill and indicated that Cingular does not sell cell phone numbers either.

05:22 PM -- Don Eberle, Verizon Communications, spoke about Verizon's general support for the legislation with some concerns about how it is drafted.

05:26 PM -- Gary Witt, Colorado Telecommunications Association, indicated similar concerns to Mr. Eberle and further indicated concerns with a proposed amendment to the proposed strike below amendment. He responded to questions from the committee.

05:35 PM

Senator Tupa made closing comments on the merits of the bill, while acknowledging the need for further clarification in some areas.


BILL:	SB06-091
TIME:	05:37:32 PM
MOVED:	Tochtrop
MOTION:	Amendment L.002. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Evans
	Hanna
	Kester
	Takis
	Wiens
	Tochtrop
	Veiga
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB06-091
TIME:	05:38:43 PM
MOVED:	Tochtrop
MOTION:	Amendment L.003. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Evans
	Hanna
	Kester
	Takis
	Wiens
	Tochtrop
	Veiga
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	SB06-091
TIME:	05:38:59 PM
MOVED:	Tochtrop
MOTION:	Refer SB091 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion passed 7-0.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Evans	Yes
	Hanna	Yes
	Kester	Yes
	Takis	Yes
	Wiens	Yes
	Tochtrop	Yes
	Veiga	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:40 PM

The committee recessed.