SENATE 3rd Reading Unamended April 26, 2011 SENATE Amended 2nd Reading April 25, 2011First Regular Session Sixty-eighth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO REENGROSSED This Version Includes All Amendments Adopted in the House of Introduction LLS NO. 11-0062.01 Michael Dohr SENATE BILL 11-044 SENATE SPONSORSHIP Steadman, HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Levy, Senate Committees House Committees Judiciary A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning the collateral consequences of a conviction. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill creates a process for persons to seek relief from the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction. The state public defender shall identify and publish a collection of the collateral consequences that are possible in Colorado based on state and federal laws and regulations. The judicial department shall publish the collection on its web site. The court, at a defendant's first appearance and at sentencing, shall inform the defendant about the possible collateral consequences of a conviction. An individual may petition the court, with notice to the district attorney, for limited relief from a collateral consequence of a conviction or for restoration of rights. The court may grant the relief if the relief will help the individual obtain employment, housing, public benefits, or occupational licensing, the individual has substantial need for the relief, and granting the petition would not pose a public safety risk. If the court grants the limited relief, the court must specify the relief and any restrictions. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. Title 16, Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW ARTICLE to read: ARTICLE 24 Colorado Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act 16-24-101. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Colorado Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act". 16-24-102. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds that: (a) The number of individuals in Colorado who have been convicted of a crime has increased substantially since the 1970's. The growth of this convicted population means that every year in Colorado thousands of individuals are released from incarceration, probation, and parole supervision. These individuals must successfully reintegrate into society or be at risk for recidivism. (b) Colorado has a strong interest in preventing recidivism among its convicted population. An individual who cannot successfully reenter society due in part to collateral consequences of his or her original crime and subsequently reoffends generates the financial and human costs of the new crime, including expenditures of law enforcement, judicial and corrections resources, and the loss of the productive work that the individual could have contributed to the economy. (c) Major challenges exist for individuals with criminal records, including the increasingly burdensome legal effect of those records and the availability of public record information, including criminal convictions, about all Coloradans to all arms of government and the general public; (d) A criminal conviction negatively affects an individual's legal status through the enforcement of collateral consequences against the individual. In recent years, those collateral consequences have increased in number and severity. (e) A strong connection exists between employment and housing stability and an individual's ability to live as a law-abiding citizen. (2) Therefore, the general assembly declares that it is necessary to provide individuals charged with criminal offenses, being sentenced after a criminal conviction, or released from supervision or incarceration after a criminal conviction with notice of potential collateral consequences. This information will allow these individuals to consider such consequences when entering plea agreements, preparing for reintegration after supervision, or developing a parole plan. 16-24-103. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Collateral consequence" means a collateral sanction or a disqualification. (2) "Collateral sanction" means a penalty, disability, or disadvantage, however denominated, imposed on an individual as a result of the individual's conviction of an offense which applies by operation of law whether or not the penalty, disability, or disadvantage is included in the judgment or sentence. The term does not include imprisonment, probation, parole, supervised release, forfeiture, restitution, fine, assessment, or costs of prosecution. (3) "Conviction" or "convicted" means a verdict of guilty by a judge or jury or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere that is accepted by the court or an adjudication for an offense that would constitute a criminal offense if committed by an adult, or a conviction of a crime under the laws of any other state, the United States, or any territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, which, if committed within this state, would be a felony or misdemeanor in Colorado. "Convicted" or "conviction" also includes having received a deferred judgment and sentence or a deferred adjudication; except that a person shall not be deemed to have been convicted if the person has successfully completed a deferred sentence or a deferred adjudication. (4) "Disqualification" means a penalty, disability, or disadvantage, however denominated, that an administrative agency, governmental official, or court in a civil proceeding is authorized, but not required, to impose on an individual on grounds relating to the individual's conviction of an offense. (5) "Offense" means a felony, misdemeanor, or petty offense under the law of this state, another state, or the United States or a municipal ordinance violation. (6) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. 16-24-104. Limitation on scope. (1) This article does not provide a basis for: (a) Invalidating a plea, conviction, or sentence; (b) A cause of action for money damages; or (c) A claim for relief from or defense to the application of a collateral consequence based on a failure to comply with section 16-24-105, 16-24-106, or 16-24-107. (2) This article does not affect: (a) The duty an individual's attorney owes to the individual; (b) A claim or right of a victim of an offense; or (c) A right or remedy under law other than this article available to an individual convicted of an offense. 16-24-105. Identification, collection, and publication of laws regarding collateral consequences. (1) The state public defender: (a) Shall identify all provisions in the Colorado and United States constitutions, Colorado and United States statutes, and Colorado administrative rules which impose a collateral sanction or authorize the imposition of a disqualification and any provision of law that may afford relief from a collateral consequence; (b) Not later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this article, shall prepare a collection of citations to, and the text or short descriptions of, the provisions identified under paragraph (a) of this subsection (1); (c) Shall update the collection of citations within one hundred eighty days after each regular session of the general assembly; and (d) May rely on the study of this state's collateral sanctions, disqualifications, and relief provisions prepared by the national institute of justice described in section 510 of the federal "Court Security Improvement Act of 2007", Pub.L. 110-177 in complying with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection (1). (2) The state public defender shall include the following statements in a prominent manner at the beginning of the collection required by subsection (1) of this section: (a) This collection has not been enacted into law and does not have the force of law. (b) An error or omission in this collection is not a reason for invalidating a plea, conviction, or sentence or for not imposing a collateral sanction or authorizing a disqualification or does not give rise to a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel or claim for a disciplinary proceeding against the state public defender or an attorney employed by the state public defender. (c) The laws of other jurisdictions and political subdivisions of the state which impose additional collateral sanctions and authorize additional disqualifications are not listed in this collection. (d) This collection does not include any law or other provision regarding the imposition of or relief from a collateral sanction or a disqualification enacted or adopted after the last date the collection was updated. (3) The state public defender shall publish the collection prepared and updated as required by subsection (1) of this section on its web site without charge not later than thirty days after it is created or updated as a service to the public. The collection shall be available to the public on the state judicial department's web site without charge not later than thirty days after it is created or updated. 16-24-106. Notice of collateral consequences in pretrial proceeding. When an individual receives formal notice that the individual is charged with an offense, the court at the individual's first court appearance shall communicate the following information to the individual in writing and in the following form: NOTICE OF ADDITIONAL LEGAL CONSEQUENCES If you plead guilty or are convicted of an offense you may suffer additional legal consequences beyond jail or prison, periods of parole, and fines. These consequences may include: Being unable to get or keep some licenses, permits, or jobs; Being unable to get or keep benefits such as public housing or education; Receiving a harsher sentence if you are convicted of another offense in the future; Having the government take your property; and Being unable to vote or possess a firearm. If you are not a United States citizen, a guilty plea or conviction may also result in your deportation, removal, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of citizenship. Further information about the consequences of conviction is available on the internet at the state judicial department's web site. 16-24-107. Notice of collateral consequences at sentencing and upon release. (1) At an individual's sentencing hearing, the court shall advise the individual in writing: (a) That collateral consequences may apply because of the conviction; (b) Of the internet address of the collection of laws published under section 16-24-105 (3); (c) Of contact information for government or nonprofit agencies, groups, or organizations, if any, offering assistance to individuals facing collateral consequences; and (d) Of when an individual convicted of an offense may vote under this state's law. (2) If an individual is sentenced to imprisonment or other incarceration, the officer or agency releasing the individual shall provide the notice required by subsection (1) of this section not more than thirty, and, if practicable, at least ten days before release. SECTION 2. No appropriation. The general assembly has determined that this act can be implemented within existing appropriations, and therefore no separate appropriation of state moneys is necessary to carry out the purposes of this act. SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act shall take effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 10, 2011, if adjournment sine die is on May 11, 2011); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part shall not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2012 and shall take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.