Bill Summary for Bill Number HB09-1163

Date: 02/05/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1163

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment D). Th Refer House Bill 09-1163, as amended, to the Commi	Pass Without Objection PASS

02:31 PM -- House Bill 09-1163

Representative C. Gardner, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1163 concerning crimes in which the victim is a child. This bill makes a number of changes to laws concerning crimes against children. These include:

adding an element to the crime of internet luring of a child to include instant messaging or text messaging to the means by which an actor can communicate a subsequent prohibited description of sexual conduct to a child under the age of 15 or an individual the actor believes to be under the age of 15;
clarifying that the crime of internet sexual exploitation of a child applies to an individual the actor knows or believes to be under the age of 15 and at least four years younger than the actor;
clarifying that previous convictions for child abuse in Colorado or another state apply to the aggravated sentencing provisions for that offense;
making other clarifications with regard to extraordinary aggravating conduct related to child abuse; and
modifying the crime of sexual exploitation of a child by possession of sexually exploitative material to include the possession of one video recording of child pornography. Currently, it is a class 4 felony to possess more than 20 different items of sexually exploitative material and, under the bill, one video recording would essentially equal the current 20 items.

Representative C. Gardner distributed information about child pornography in Colorado (Attachment C). He mentioned that he would like someone to offer prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment D), which makes changes to the child abuse section of the bill. The committee discussed the reasons for specifying the types of electronic communications.

02:39 PM -- John Suthers, Colorado Attorney General, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Suthers stated support for the bill from Colorado law enforcement. He discussed the passage of laws addressing internet-specific sexual predators and the prevalence of text messaging. The committee discussed the progression of various cases of internet luring of a child. They also discussed the penalties for sexual exploitation of a child by possession of sexually exploitative material.

02:51 PM -- Mike Harris, Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Harris is an investigator with the district attorney's office specializing in internet sex crimes. He related details of the numbers of investigations and arrests made in Jefferson County. He talked about the differences between seeing sexually exploitative photos and videos. He stated his belief that videos are a catalyst that pushes individuals to offend. He discussed his experience investigating sexual exploitation of a child in which a perpetrator was allowed to go free because the graphic conversations happened over a cell phone and text messaging.

02:59 PM -- Maureen Cain, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, spoke in opposition to Section 4 of the bill. Ms. Cain discussed the penalties for possession of sexually exploitative material. She stated that the bill makes an individual possessing a single video equivalent to a second offense of possession. The committee discussed the reasonableness of charging an individual with a class 4 felony for possessing a single video. Ms. Cain responded to questions about the sentencing requirements for a class 4 felony sex offender.

03:08 PM -- Wendy Schrieber, private citizen, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Schrieber related details of her daughter's relationship with a sexual predator.

03:10 PM -- James Hernandez, County Sheriffs of Colorado, expressed support for the bill.

03:11 PM -- Lauren Croucher, Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA), spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Croucher discussed the growing instances of using cellular phones to lure a child for sexual exploitation. She talked about the accessibility of cell phones to children and stated that it makes sense to expand these crimes to include text messaging. The added provisions add another tool in the toolbox to investigators and prosecutors. Ms. Croucher also supports adding out of state convictions to the list of extraordinary aggravating conduct that may be applied in child abuse cases.

03:13 PM -- Detective John Bowman, Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, spoke in support of the bill. Detective Bowman discussed his experience as an investigator of child sex crimes.

03:15 PM -- Ted Tow, Colorado District Attorneys Council (CDAC), spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Tow discussed the bill section by section and responded to questions from the committee.


BILL:	HB09-1163
TIME:	03:44:44 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Gardner B.
		VOTE
	Apuan
	Court
	Gardner B.
	King
	Miklosi
	Pace
	Roberts
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:45 PM

Representative C. Gardner wrapped up his presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.


BILL:	HB09-1163
TIME:	03:46:23 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1163, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Excused
	Levy	Yes

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