House Committee on Judiciary (02/23/2012)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	02/23/2012	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:33 PM to 03:51 PM	DelGrosso	X
		Duran	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Kagan	X
		Lee	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Nikkel	X
	Representative Gardner B.	Pabon	*
		Ryden	X
This Report was prepared by		Sonnenberg	*
	Jessika Shipley	Waller	*
		Barker	X
		Gardner B.	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB12-1036 HB12-1213 HB12-1209 HB12-1262		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to Appropriations Referred to Appropriations Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:34 PM -- House Bill 12-1036

Representative Gardner made announcements about the order of the bills on the calendar.

01:36 PM

Representative J. Kerr, prime sponsor, returned to the committee to discuss House Bill 12-1036. The committee took testimony on the bill January 31, 2012. He discussed the work done on the bill since that time.

01:42 PM -- David Blake, representing the Colorado Attorney General's Office, and Greg Romberg, representing the Colorado Press Association and the Colorado Broadcasters' Association, explained the process of drafting the bill and crafting an amendment to which all of the stakeholders agree. They responded to questions from the committee.


BILL:	HB12-1036
TIME:	01:59:52 PM
MOVED:	Lee
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.007 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Nikkel
		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

02:00 PM

Representative J. Kerr provided closing remarks and asked for a favorable recommendation.


BILL:	HB12-1036
TIME:	02:01:28 PM
MOVED:	Kagan
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 12-1036, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 8-1, with 2 excused.
SECONDED:	Pabon
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Excused
	Duran	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	No
	Waller	Excused
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

Final YES: 8 NO: 1 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: 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 Comission 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

03:14 PM -- House Bill 12-1209

The committee took a brief recess.

03:26 PM

The committee came back to order.

Representative Gardner, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 12-1209 concerning the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act. This bill adopts the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act, as recommended by the Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws. The act establishes procedures for the publication and authentication of certain state legal material that is available officially or exclusively through electronic media. For the purposes of the act, legal material is defined and limited to the Colorado Constitution; the Colorado Revised Statutes; Colorado Session Laws; and rules promulgated by state agencies, as published in the Code of Colorado Regulations. Authentication is a method for a person accessing legal material to verify that the electronic record is an accurate copy of the official record of the agency responsible for its publication. The bill also includes a presumption that official legal materials in other states that have adopted the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act are accurate. Comments from the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws must be included in the published version of the act.


BILL:	HB12-1209
TIME:	03:30:18 PM
MOVED:	Ryden
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 12-1209 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0, with 2 excused.
SECONDED:	Gardner B.
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	Yes
	Kagan	Excused
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Excused
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:33 PM -- House Bill 12-1262

Representative Gardner, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 12-1262 concerning enactment of amendments to the secured transactions provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code. The bill, recommended by the Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws, makes various technical and substantive changes to the section of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) regarding secured transactions, which governs any transaction, other than a finance lease, that couples a debt with a creditor's interest in a debtor's personal property. Among other things, the bill provides additional guidance as to the name of the debtor to be used on financing statements and clarifies the name of business entity that should be used.

Representative Gardner responded to questions from the committee.

03:40 PM -- Charles Calvin, representing the Colorado Bar Association, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Calvin spoke about his experience as a member of the Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws, which recommended the bill. He discussed the various choices made by the commission and the reasons for making each choice. He talked about the effect of the bill on consumers.

03:45 PM -- John Burrus, representing the Independent Bankers of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Burrus responded to questions from the committee about the process of drafting the bill.

03:47 PM -- Jenifer Waller, representing the Colorado Bankers' Association, testified about the bill. Ms. Waller stated that the commission considered two different options for the perfection clause in the bill. She indicated that various states made different choices about those options.


BILL:	HB12-1262
TIME:	03:50:03 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 12-1262 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Pabon
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	Excused
	Kagan	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

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

03:51 PM

The committee adjourned.