Date: 03/14/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-102

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment C). The amen
Refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole. The
TIE
PASS
TIE



10:48 AM -- Senate Bill 06-102

Representative Larson, bill sponsor, explained the provisions of SB 06-102 that exempt medical caregivers form a charge of manslaughter when providing palliative care for intractable pain.


10:51 AM

Daniel Johnson, M.D., spoke in support of the bill and provided an explanation of palliative care. He explained the difference between palliative care and hospice care (Attachment A). He spoke to the fears of medical care providers that they will be prosecuted for manslaughter after providing opiates to terminally ill patients. Dr. Johnson responded to committee questions regarding the instance of manslaughter charges against medical care personnel in Colorado and whether the bill will make it easier for doctors to provide physician-assisted suicide.

Dr. Johnson responded to additional committee questions regarding whether palliative care hastens death.


11:01 AM

David Link, M.D., spoke in support of the bill and described the experiences of individuals needing pain relief at the end of life.


11:04 AM

Corot Kassner, Ph.D., Colorado Hospice Organization, Colorado Palliative Care Partnership, spoke in support of the bill and he explained the role of hospice in providing palliative care at the end of life. He responded to earlier committee questions regarding the relationship between palliative care and physician-assisted suicide. He also asserted that the bill does not provide immunity to doctors for reckless behavior. He spoke to the kinds of conversations and documentation hospice encourages individuals to have with regard to the end of life (Attachment B).


11:06 AM

R.J. Ours, American Cancer Society, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke to the role pain management plays in the society's work and he spoke to the pain cancer patients suffer. He noted there are barriers to pain management under current law and indicated the bill will provide greater authority to doctors to provide pain management.


11:09 AM

John Stoffel, Alliance for Retired Americans, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke to the need for pain management at the end of life.


11:11 AM

Representative Larson provided closing comments on the bill.


BILL:SB06-102
TIME: 11:11:48 AM
MOVED:McGihon
MOTION:Prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment C). The amendment was withdrawn after committee discussion.
SECONDED:Decker
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: WITHDRAWN
Mary Kay Hogan provided input on prepared amendment L.002.


BILL:SB06-102
TIME: 11:16:33 AM
MOVED:
MOTION:
SECONDED:
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



11:18 AM

Representative Larson provided closing comments on the bill and spoke to an incident in his district in which a doctor was charged with manslaughter for providing palliative care to a patient who died. The charges were later withdrawn.


BILL:SB06-102
TIME: 11:19:05 AM
MOVED:McGihon
MOTION:Refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on an 11-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Hefley
VOTE
Boyd
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