House Committee on Judiciary (03/15/2012)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	03/15/2012	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:32 PM to 05:10 PM	DelGrosso	*
		Duran	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Kagan	*
		Lee	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Nikkel	X
	Representative Gardner B.	Pabon	X
		Ryden	X
This Report was prepared by		Sonnenberg	*
	Jessika Shipley	Waller	X
		Barker	X
		Gardner B.	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB12-1297 SB12-056 SB12-131 SB12-056 SB12-074		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:33 PM -- House Bill 12-1297

Representative Gardner, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 12-1297 concerning the Committee on Anticompetitive Conduct (CAC). The committee heard witness testimony on the bill on Thursday, March 1, 2012. Representative Gardner distributed a fact sheet (Attachment A) and prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment B). He explained that the amendment continues the CAC for one year, rather than repealing it outright.


BILL:	HB12-1297
TIME:	01:36:38 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Pabon
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Excused
	Duran
	Kagan	Excused
	Lee
	Nikkel
	Pabon
	Ryden
	Sonnenberg	Excused
	Waller
	Barker
	Gardner B.

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB12-1297
TIME:	01:37:00 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 12-1297, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0, with 2 excused.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	Yes
	Kagan	Excused
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Excused
	Waller	Yes
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

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

01:38 PM -- Senate Bill 12-056

Representative Holbert, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 12-056 concerning judicial appointments in domestic relations cases involving children. The reengrossed bill requires the following court appointees in domestic relations cases involving children to disclose within 10 days of their appointment any familial, financial, or social relationship with the child, either party, the attorneys of record, or the judge:

child and family investigators;

child's legal representatives;

parental responsibilities evaluators;

parenting coordinators; and

parental decision-makers.

If a relationship is disclosed, the court may terminate the appointment and reappoint the position. Any party to the case may object within 10 days following the disclosure based upon the information provided. The bill also requires the court to consider claims of domestic violence by one of the parties, rather than documented evidence of domestic violence, when considering the parties' ability to engage in parent coordination prior to appointing a parenting coordinator. In addition, the bill allows the court to order one or more of the parties to place a deposit towards the costs of an evaluation of the allocation of parental responsibilities and to allocate the total costs to one or both parties upon completion of the evaluation.

Representative Holbert responded to questions from the committee and distributed prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment C). He discussed the amendment at length.

01:58 PM -- Amy Miller, representing the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Miller spoke about the stakeholder meetings that led to the drafting of amendment L.004. She discussed the use of parenting coordinators in domestic relations cases and pointed out that the court will still have the discretion to appoint a parenting coordinator. She responded to questions from the committee about the potential effects of the amended bill. She stressed the importance of neutrality for child and family investigators and parenting coordinators.

02:08 PM

The committee discussed whether it is necessary for potential parenting coordinators or child and family investigators to disclose the nature of their relationship with any of the parties to the case.

02:19 PM -- Jeremy Ramp, representing the Colorado Bar Association, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Ramp addressed the disclosure issue previously discussed by the committee and stated that the Bar Association is in strong support of the language on page 1, line 20 of amendment L.004. He indicated that the language in the amendment maintains the status quo. Mr. Ramp responded to questions from the committee.

02:26 PM -- Maralee McLean and Dawn Canfield, representing themselves, testified in support of the bill. Ms. McLean spoke about her background in the area of child protection. She expressed her opinion that parenting coordinators and parental responsibilities evaluators are not being held accountable, which endangers children. She responded to questions from the committee. Ms. Canfield declined to speak.

02:39 PM -- Kevin Albert, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Albert spoke about his background as a child and family investigator and a parental responsibilities evaluator. He expressed his opinion that this type of work is very difficult and the people who do it should be trusted to do their job. He responded to questions from the committee about the costs for various court appointees in domestic relations cases involving children. Mr. Albert discussed the process of providing an evaluation in a domestic relations case.

02:59 PM

The committee continued to question Mr. Albert.

03:00 PM -- Jeff Clayton, representing the Colorado Judicial Branch, took a neutral position on the bill and the amendment. Mr. Clayton spoke about recent reforms made in the Judicial Branch to address complaints made against court appointees in domestic relations cases. He responded to questions from the committee about the differences between child and family investigators and parental responsibilities evaluators. Chad Edinger, also representing the Judicial Branch, responded to questions from the committee about a new complaint process for child and family investigators.

03:12 PM -- John Jarvis, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Jarvis provided details of his domestic relations case and expressed his dissatisfaction with the outcome of that case. He responded to questions from the committee.

03:22 PM -- Christine McMahon, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. Ms. McMahon spoke about a documentary she produced about protective parents and abused children. She discussed her personal experience in a domestic relations case.

03:28 PM -- Bill Fyfe, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Fyfe expressed his opinion that the current system works well and should not be changed. He indicated that the pool of people who act as court appointees in domestic relations cases is fairly small. He explained the process he follows when conducting a parental responsibilities evaluation. He discussed the fees and costs associated with such evaluations.

03:34 PM -- Carl Roberts, representing himself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Roberts expressed concern about child and family investigators who call themselves parental responsibilities evaluators in order to avoid the restrictions of a Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Directive on child and family investigators. He provided details about his personal domestic relations case. He responded to questions from the committee.

03:39 PM -- Sheryle Hutter, representing the Equal Justice Foundation, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Hutter raised concerns about language being stricken from current law on page 7, lines 8 and 9 of the bill.

03:42 PM -- Chris Neuhart, representing himself, testified in support of the bill and the amendment. Mr. Neuhart expressed at length his concerns with the domestic relations system in Colorado.

03:47 PM -- Judy Schure, representing herself, testified in support of the bill, but in opposition to lines 21 and 23 of amendment L.004. Ms. Schure distributed a handout (Attachment D) and discussed the information in the handout. She responded to questions from the committee about "the hired gun" concept related to parenting evaluation.

03:53 PM -- Dirk Durdy, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.

03:57 PM -- Janice Whitaker, representing Parents United for Change, testified in support of the bill.

04:02 PM -- Amy Stavans, representing Parents United for Change, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Stavans provided details of her domestic relations case, along with a handout about a particular parental responsibilities evaluator (Attachment E). She expressed her dissatisfaction with the current system and stated her opinion that it directly harmed her family.

04:06 PM -- Dr. Catherine Keske Hoag, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Keske Hoag provided the committee with copies of her sworn affidavit about an incident she witnessed (Attachment F) and read from the affidavit. She stressed the importance of disclosures. She responded to questions from the committee.

04:12 PM

Representative Gardner laid over action on the bill to follow Senate Bill 12-131.

04:13 PM -- Senate Bill 12-131

Representative Pabon, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 12-131 concerning the responsibilities of a fiduciary with regard to the estate of a person who may have executed a designated beneficiary agreement. The reengrossed bill clarifies a personal representative's liability in probate proceedings in the event that the trustee takes any actions that conflict with a decedent's wishes as contained in a designated beneficiary agreement (DBA). Specifically, the bill protects the personal representative of an estate from being penalized (surcharged) if the estate distribution conflicts with a DBA, as long as they have not received notification of a valid DBA and have searched for, and reviewed, any existing DBAs in every county in which they have actual knowledge that the deceased party lived in the last three years of his or her life. As a result of this review, if the personal representative does not have knowledge of valid, unrevoked DBAs, then the personal representative may not be held personally liable, nor be liable to third parties, for distributions made that do not take into consideration any DBA of which the personal representative is unaware.

Representative Pabon responded to questions from the committee and distributed prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment G).

04:20 PM -- Beth Bryant, representing the Colorado Bar Association, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Bryant discussed the responsibilities of fiduciaries in probate cases and responded to questions from the committee.


BILL:	SB12-131
TIME:	04:25:40 PM
MOVED:	Pabon
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		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

04:28 PM

Representative Pabon responded to questions from the committee and made closing remarks about the bill. Members of the committee commented about their positions on the bill.


BILL:	SB12-131
TIME:	04:38:13 PM
MOVED:	Pabon
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 12-131, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:41 PM -- Senate Bill 12-056

The committee returned to the discussion of Senate Bill 12-056.


BILL:	SB12-056
TIME:	04:42:08 PM
MOVED:	Nikkel
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Waller
		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


BILL:	SB12-056
TIME:	04:46:19 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.006 (Attachment H). The motion passed on a vote of 7-4.
SECONDED:	Pabon
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	No
	Kagan	No
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pabon	No
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	No

YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB12-056
TIME:	04:47:40 PM
MOVED:	Sonnenberg
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 12-056, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Nikkel
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:48 PM

The committee took a brief recess.

04:56 PM -- Senate Bill 12-074

The committee returned to order.

Representative Gardner, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 12-074 concerning services provided by a person designated by a person eligible for consumer-directed care services. The reengrossed bill allows a person designated as the guardian or conservator of a client enrolled in consumer-directed attendant support services (CDASS) to also act as the person's direct service provider or to act as both care manager (authorized representative) and direct service provider.

Representative Gardner distributed a fact sheet about the bill (Attachment I) and prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment J).

04:58 PM -- Marijo Rymer, representing The Arc of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Rymer explained how the bill fixes a problem in current law. She responded to questions from the committee.

05:04 PM -- Christy Blakely, representing Family Voices of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Blakely discussed her experience as a designated guardian for an individual enrolled in CDASS. She spoke about the existing checks and balances in the system that prevent individuals from being taken advantage of.


BILL:	SB12-074
TIME:	05:07:46 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment J). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Lee
		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


BILL:	SB12-074
TIME:	05:09:20 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 12-074, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0, with 2 excused.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Duran	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	Lee	Yes
	Nikkel	Excused
	Pabon	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Sonnenberg	Excused
	Waller	Yes
	Barker	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes

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

05:10 PM

The committee adjourned.