Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING
HOUSE
COMMITTEE ON
JUDICIARY
Date:
04/07/2005
ATTENDANCE
Time:
01:37 PM
to
06:09 PM
Boyd
X
Brophy
X
Place:
HCR 0112
Decker
X
Harvey
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Hefley
X
Representative
Carroll T.
Jahn
X
Judd
X
This Report was prepared by
Kerr
X
Jennifer Moe
McGihon
*
Carroll M.
X
Carroll T.
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed:
Action Taken:
HB05-1287
SB05-142
Amended, Referred to Committee on Appropriations
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
01:37 PM -- House Bill 05-1287
Representative T. Carroll called the committee to order. A quorum was present. The chairman announced that HB 05-1303 by Speaker Romanoff would not be heard today. He asked that witnesses limit their testimony to two to three minutes and try not to repeat prior testimony.
Representative Coleman, the prime sponsor of HB 05-1287, Concerning Limited Access to Information Related to an Adoption And, In Connection Therewith, Providing for Limited Access to Original Birth Certificates of Adoptees and Providing Biological Parents Opportunities to Provide Contact Information and Medical History, described why she was bringing the bill forward and summarized the bill's provisions. She responded to questions from the committee, acknowledging the difficulty of balancing the desire of adoptees to know who their parents are, with the desire of birth parents to remain anonymous due to the painful circumstances surrounding their decision to give a child up for adoption.
01:50 PM
Committee members commented on instances in which information such as medical history should be revealed upon a court finding of just cause, some potential unintended consequences of the bill (e.g., reliving a traumatic rape every three years when contact preference forms must be updated), the degree to which the bill makes state adoption law more open than it currently is, whether the public education campaign regarding contact preferences will extend to birth mothers who have moved out of the state or country, and the applicability of the new law to adoptees from another state whose birth parents now live in Colorado.
The following people testified on the bill:
02:06 PM --
Mr. Roger Uhrlaub, representing Adoptees in Search, spoke in support of the bill as an adoptee. Committee members were provided with talking points on the bill (Attachment A) and a history of adoption records in Colorado (Attachment B). Mr. Uhrlaub discussed Attachments A and B and explained why the bill was necessary. He then answered questions regarding similar legislation in other states and noted the positive effect of these laws, even to the surprise of their initial opponents. He also remarked on the cost of finding birth parents and how the bill will provide information to adoptees at a lower cost.
Committee members were provided with a memorandum prepared by Legislative Council Staff concerning the revised fiscal impact associated with Amendment L.008 (Attachment C), Amendment L.008 (Attachment D), Amendment L.009 (Attachment E), and a comparison of current law to the proposed changes under Amendment L.008, a strike-below amendment (Attachment F).
02:24 PM --
Ms. Peg Long, representing the Colorado Association of Family and Children Agencies, spoke in support of the bill but noted a few concerns. She described some of the bill's benefits to those in the adoption triad (i.e., the adoptee, birth parent, and adoptive parent), and discussed the possibility that birth parents will be precluded from filing future contact preference forms if they miss the January 1, 2007 filing deadline. Ms. Long responded to questions from the committee regarding confidentiality with respect to a deceased birth parent. Representative Coleman commented on the preclusion issue and clarified that after January 2, 2007, a person can begin the process of securing an original birth certificate.
02:38 PM --
Ms. Debbie Haskins, Office of Legislative Legal Services, further clarified that the cutoff date for filing the contact preference form would be January 1, 2007, and that the onus would be on the birth mother to renew her contact preference triennially. Ms. Haskins responded to several hypothetical scenarios involving the filing of contact preference forms and requests for contact, and discussion ensued.
02:44 PM --
Ms. Kathy Aderhold, representing herself as the birth mother of an adoptee, spoke in support of the bill. She cited her own experience and that of others to dispel misconceptions about reunions between adoptees and birth parents, confidentiality concerns, and concerns that removing secrecy from adoptions will increase abortions. She responded to questions from the committee regarding her daughter's desire to know about her as the birth mother.
02:55 PM --
Ms. Shayne Madsen, representing herself as an adoptee, spoke about the importance of access to health records by adoptees. She responded to questions from the committee regarding the renewal provision for the contact preference form, some problems associated with having some records that require a permanent opt-out and other records that require periodic opt-out renewal, and the need for persons with certain medical conditions to periodically review their contact preferences.
03:04 PM --
Mr. Uhrlaub returned to the table and indicated he was unaware of any state that has separate update requirements for medical records versus other adoption records.
03:05 PM
The chairman closed the public testimony portion of the hearing, and the committee began considering amendments.
BILL:
HB05-1287
TIME:
03:07:18 PM
MOVED:
Boyd
MOTION:
Move Amendment L.008 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
Hefley
VOTE
Boyd
Brophy
Decker
Harvey
Hefley
Jahn
Judd
Kerr
McGihon
Excused
Carroll M.
Carroll T.
Not Final YES:
0
NO:
0
EXC:
1
ABS:
0
FINAL ACTION:
Pass Without Objection
BILL:
HB05-1287
TIME:
03:06:54 PM
MOVED:
Harvey
MOTION:
Move Amendment L.009 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
Hefley
VOTE
Boyd
Brophy
Decker
Harvey
Hefley
Jahn
Judd
Kerr
McGihon
Excused
Carroll M.
Carroll T.
Not Final YES:
0
NO:
0
EXC:
1
ABS:
0
FINAL ACTION:
Pass Without Objection
03:09 PM
Representative Coleman made closing comments on the bill. Representatives Hefley, Harvey, and Brophy also commented.
BILL:
HB05-1287
TIME:
03:14:15 PM
MOVED:
Hefley
MOTION:
Refer HB 05-1287, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion carried on a vote of 9-2.
SECONDED:
McGihon
VOTE
Boyd
Yes
Brophy
No
Decker
No
Harvey
Yes
Hefley
Yes
Jahn
Yes
Judd
Yes
Kerr
Yes
McGihon
Yes
Carroll M.
Yes
Carroll T.
Yes
Final YES:
9
NO:
2
EXC:
0
ABS:
0
FINAL ACTION:
PASS
03:17 PM -- Senate Bill 05-142
The chairman announced that testimony for proponents and opponents of SB 05-142 would be limited to 45 minutes per side (additional time was added to account for the witnesses' responses to questions and comments from committee members). Representative Vigil, the prime sponsor of SB 05-142, Concerning Pro Rata Liability Provisions in Construction Agreements, summarized the bill's provisions. Committee members were provided with a letter of support for the bill from the Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado (Attachment G), a fact sheet on the bill (Attachment H), Amendment L.010 (Attachment I), Amendment L.011 (Attachment J), and Amendment L.012 (Attachment K). Representative Vigil explained that the bill represents a bottom-line compromise among those in the industry: whoever is responsible for the damage or injury is financially liable for it, and no other party can assume or be assigned that liability. He responded to questions from the committee.
The following people testified on the bill:
03:20 PM --
Mr. Mike Williams, representing Wood, Ris, & Hames and the Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA), and Mr. Dan Minzer, representing Continuum Partners and the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Williams elaborated on potential problems should the bill be adopted. Mr. Minzer commented on the same. Both witnesses responded to questions from committee. Committee members were provided with BOMA's position on the bill (Attachment L).
03:45 PM --
Mr. Doug Friednash, and Mr. Mike McCurdy, both representing Fairfield & Woods, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Friednash described his concerns with the bill and its effect on the industry and litigation. Mr. McCurdy described how the bill will impact various parties involved in a project, as well as innocent third parties, and suggested gaps in insurance coverage that may result. Mr. McCurdy responded to questions from the committee. Discussion ensued.
04:03 PM --
Mr. Rick Richter, and Ms. Mary Pierce, both representing the Colorado Association of Homebuilders, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Richter spoke in support of amendments to eliminate broad-form indemnification. He described some potential effects of passing the bill and answered questions from the committee. Ms. Pierce also responded to questions and comments from the committee.
04:33 PM --
Mr. Jim Bosshart, representing the Association of General Contractors of Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill. He stated support for eliminating broad-form indemnification and spoke about fairness issues. Mr. Bosshart also answered questions from the committee.
04:46 PM --
Mr. Patrick Hilleary, representing Brookfield Properties and BOMA, spoke in opposition to the bill. He spoke to issues raised in previous testimony.
04:55 PM --
Mr. Rob Cooney, representing Preferred Painting, Inc., spoke in opposition to the bill. He discussed his satisfaction as a small business with the existing system. He then asked how liability will be determined under the bill's provisions.
04:59 PM --
Ms. Theresa Wernimont, Mr. Richard Forsberg, and Mr. Gary Engen, all representing the American Subcontractors Association and the Colorado Construction Reform Coalition (CCRC), and Mr. Randy Sewald, representing the International Electrical Contractors (IEC) and the CCRC, came to the table together in support of the bill.
Ms. Wernimont responded to prior testimony. She indicated that numerous contractors and insurers support the bill. Mr. Forsberg refuted concerns raised by the opposition and described some of the bill's provisions. He and Mr. Engen responded to questions from the committee. Mr. Sewald spoke about the responsibilities of various parties to a contract and their respective authority over insurance coverage. He responded to questions from the committee. Ms. Wernimont and Mr. Engan responded to questions regarding liability in particular scenarios. Mr. Forsberg responded to questions from the committee.
05:31 PM --
Mr. Michael Levchik and Mr. Tim Van Stelle, both representing the Associated Builders & Contractors, spoke in support of the bill and provided the committee with a contractor/project manager's perspective. Mr. Levchik stated that the bill brings about the best benefit for the industry as a whole. He answered questions regarding the coverage in his contracts and how the bill will effect this coverage. Mr. Van Stelle indicated support for the bill as a solution to the concerns of a number of parties in the industry.
05:39 PM --
Mr. Bob Greene, representing the Colorado Building & Construction Trades Council, spoke in support of the bill and the concept of limited liability contracts.
05:41 PM --
Mr. Mark Hamouz, representing himself and the ACEC-CO, spoke in support of the bill. Committee members were provided with a letter of support from the ACEC-CO (Attachment M) and a letter of support from the American Institute of Architects (Attachment N). Mr. Hamouz responded to earlier testimony.
05:46 PM --
Mr. Gary Frisch, representing the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Colorado, Inc., spoke in support of the bill. He addressed issues raised in previous testimony.
05:50 PM --
Mr. Narender Kumar, representing the ACEC-CO, spoke in support of the bill. Committee members were provided with information about insurance provisions (Attachment O). Mr. Kumar described his experience with negotiations and establishing contracts with contractors.
05:58 PM
The chairman closed the public testimony portion of the hearing, and the committee began considering amendments.
BILL:
SB05-142
TIME:
05:58:46 PM
MOVED:
Carroll M.
MOTION:
Move Amendment L.011 (Attachment J). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
McGihon
VOTE
Boyd
Brophy
Decker
Harvey
Hefley
Jahn
Judd
Kerr
McGihon
Carroll M.
Carroll T.
Not Final YES:
0
NO:
0
EXC:
1
ABS:
0
FINAL ACTION:
Pass Without Objection
BILL:
SB05-142
TIME:
06:00:14 PM
MOVED:
McGihon
MOTION:
Move Amendment L.010 (Attachment I). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
Boyd
VOTE
Boyd
Brophy
Decker
Harvey
Hefley
Jahn
Judd
Kerr
McGihon
Carroll M.
Carroll T.
Not Final YES:
0
NO:
0
EXC:
0
ABS:
0
FINAL ACTION:
Pass Without Objection
BILL:
SB05-142
TIME:
06:01:50 PM
MOVED:
McGihon
MOTION:
Move Amendment L.012 (Attachment K). The motion was withdrawn after the chair ruled it was a settled question.
SECONDED:
Hefley
VOTE
Boyd
Brophy
Decker
Harvey
Hefley
Jahn
Judd
Kerr
McGihon
Carroll M.
Carroll T.
Not Final YES:
0
NO:
0
EXC:
0
ABS:
0
FINAL ACTION:
TIE
Committee members were provided with Amendment L.013 (Attachment P). The chairman ruled that portions of L.013 were a settled question, and ruled the amendment out of order.
06:07 PM
Representative Vigil made closing comments on the bill.
BILL:
SB05-142
TIME:
06:08:09 PM
MOVED:
Hefley
MOTION:
Refer SB 05-142, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion carried on a vote of 8-3.
SECONDED:
McGihon
VOTE
Boyd
Yes
Brophy
No
Decker
No
Harvey
No
Hefley
Yes
Jahn
Yes
Judd
Yes
Kerr
Yes
McGihon
Yes
Carroll M.
Yes
Carroll T.
Yes
Final YES:
8
NO:
3
EXC:
0
ABS:
0
FINAL ACTION:
PASS
06:09 PM
The committee adjourned.