Bill Summary for Bill Number HB12-1213

Date: 02/23/2012

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB12-1213

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment B), whi Refer House Bill 12-1213, as amended, to the Commi	Pass Without Objection PASS

02:02 PM -- House Bill 12-1213

Representative Fields, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 12-1213 concerning the penalty for a person who escapes from a place of confinement other than a county jail or correctional facility. She distributed prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment B), which strikes everything below the enacting clause. She indicated that her presentation would apply to the strike-below amendment, rather than to the printed bill. She also distributed a fact sheet and two other handouts about the bill (Attachments C, D, and E). Under current law, persons who are convicted of a certain number of felonies over a designated time period are judged as habitual criminals and face enhanced sentencing penalties. This bill, with the amendment, exempts a person who is convicted of felony escape or attempt to escape from a place other than a county jail or a correctional facility from being designated a habitual criminal. Examples of such places include community corrections and the Division of Youth Corrections. The bill applies to escape crimes that occur on or after the effective date of the bill.

A person convicted of any class 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 felony who has been convicted of two felonies within the previous ten years is considered a habitual criminal and must be sentenced for a term of three times the maximum of the presumptive sentencing range for the felony. In addition, a person convicted of any felony who has been previously convicted of three or more felonies within any time frame is also considered a habitual criminal and must be sentenced for a term of four times the maximum of the presumptive sentencing range for the felony.

02:12 PM -- Michael Dougherty, representing the Colorado Attorney General's Office, and Doug Wilson, Colorado State Public Defender, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Wilson explained that the bill is recommended by the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. He discussed the three-year process that led to the drafting of the bill. He spoke about escapes from various custodial facilities and about habitual criminal statutes. Mr. Wilson responded to questions from the committee.

02:27 PM

The committee continued to discuss the frequency with which escapes from community corrections occur and whether the bill would allow for sufficient penalties to deter such behavior. Mr. Wilson walked the committee through a number of the statistics contained in Attachment D. He continued to respond to questions from the committee about the number of individuals to which the bill will apply. Mr. Dougherty provided comments about the fact that the bill will not remove the penalties for escape crimes and expressed his strong support for the bill. He also responded to questions from the committee.

02:39 PM

The committee discussed the fiscal note. Hillary Smith, representing Legislative Council Staff, responded to questions about the number of individuals to which the bill would apply. Mr. Dougherty offered additional comments about whether the bill applies only to presenting offenses or also to predicate offenses.

02:47 PM

Mr. Wilson explained the habitual offender statute in Colorado and expressed his opinion about the charging and plea bargaining practices of prosecutors in Colorado. Mr. Dougherty provided remarks on this topic.


BILL:	HB12-1213
TIME:	02:56:09 PM
MOVED:	Ryden
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment B), which strikes everything below the enacting clause. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Pabon
		VOTE
	DelGrosso
	Duran
	Kagan
	Lee
	Nikkel
	Pabon
	Ryden
	Sonnenberg
	Waller
	Barker
	Gardner B.

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

02:57 PM

Members of the committee commented about their positions on the bill. Discussion ensued about laying the bill over in order to get a new fiscal note with more detailed information about savings to the Department of Corrections.


BILL:	HB12-1213
TIME:	03:12:53 PM
MOVED:	Nikkel
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 12-1213, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:	Pabon
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No
	Waller	Yes
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS