Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:04/20/2009
ATTENDANCE
Time:02:34 PM to 05:02 PM
Hudak
X
King K.
X
Place:SCR 352
Lundberg
*
Newell
E
This Meeting was called to order by
Renfroe
X
Senator Morse
Carroll M.
X
Morse
X
This Report was prepared by
Sara McPhee
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB09-1163
HB09-1123
HB09-1132
HB09-1316
Amended, Referred to Appropriations
Referred to Appropriations
Referred to Appropriations
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole


02:35 PM -- House Bill 09-1163

Senator Romer, bill sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1163 concerning crimes in which the victim is a child. He explained that the bill makes a number of changes to laws concerning crimes against children. These include:

Senator Romer distributed Amendments L.006 and L.007 (Attachments A and B).

09SenateJud0420AttachA.pdf 09SenateJud0420AttachB.pdf







The committee discussed with the bill sponsor the provision of the bill which amends the statute to make it a crime to possess one video recording when the existing statute makes it a crime to possess twenty videos.

02:41 PM --
Mike Harris, representing the Jefferson County District Attorneys Office, spoke in support of the bill. He explained that sexual predators are using cell phones as a means of luring children as opposed to computers. This bill makes it a crime to use instant messaging or text messaging to conduct communications in a sexually explicit manner with a child.

02:48 PM --
Ted Tow, representing the Colorado District Attorneys Council, spoke in support of the bill. He discussed the issue of internet sexual exploitation which makes it clear than an individual engages in this exploitation if he or she believes that it is a child who is being exploited. Mr. Tow explained Amendment L.006 which addresses the issue of text messages and includes them in the law. He also discussed section two of the bill which states that if someone commits child abuse and it is accompanied by an aggravated factor and a prior conviction then the child abuse is a class 5 felony. Currently, this provision only applies to prior convictions in the state and the bill requires a prior conviction, but it could be from anywhere. Amendment L.007 clarifies this section of the bill.


02:55 PM

Mr. Tow discussed the provision of the bill that makes it a crime to possess one video. He noted that a video is a series of pictures so it can be considered to be 20 images. He also stated that he believes that a video is much more reprehensible. The committee continued to discuss the specifics of the bill.


03:06 PM

The committee discussed the unintended consequences of making it a crime if it only includes one image. Senator King asked about the various felony levels and the different crimes in the bill. Mr. Tow discussed the specific crimes in the bill.


03:22 PM

Senator Carroll discussed drawing the distinction between pedophiles and activities that go on between teenagers. Senator Carroll also discussed the provision of the bill which amends the statute from possessing twenty videos to one video. The committee continued to discuss the specifics of the bill.

















BILL:HB09-1163
TIME: 03:42:32 PM
MOVED:Morse
MOTION:Adopt prepared Amendment L.006 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Hudak
King K.
Lundberg
Newell
Excused
Renfroe
Carroll M.
Morse
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:HB09-1163
TIME: 03:44:30 PM
MOVED:Morse
MOTION:Adopt prepared Amendment L.007 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Hudak
King K.
Lundberg
Newell
Excused
Renfroe
Carroll M.
Morse
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
















BILL:HB09-1163
TIME: 03:45:17 PM
MOVED:Morse
MOTION:Refer House Bill 09-1163, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 6-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Hudak
Yes
King K.
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
Excused
Renfroe
Yes
Carroll M.
Yes
Morse
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


03:47 PM -- House Bill 09-1123

Senator Schultheis, bill sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1123 concerning changes to crimes related to unlawful treatment of persons to align with similar law provisions. He explained that the bill came out of an immigration working group and is in response to recent trafficking cases. Senator Schultheis noted that the working group realized that trafficking of children is less of an offense than trafficking of adults. This bill aligns trafficking of children with adult trafficking.

03:51 PM --
Alice Borodkin, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. She discussed instances of human trafficking and the serious issues associated with it. Representative Borodkin related stories of individuals who have been forced into human trafficking. She noted that this crime is prevalent in Colorado. She also made the distinction between trafficking and smuggling.

03:59 PM --
Ted Tow, representing the Colorado District Attorneys Council, spoke in support of the bill.

04:01 PM --
Lauren Croucher, representing the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, spoke in support of the bill. She discussed the physical violence that accompanies human trafficking.
















BILL:HB09-1123
TIME: 04:03:21 PM
MOVED:Morse
MOTION:Refer House Bill 09-1123 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 6-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Hudak
Yes
King K.
Yes
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
Excused
Renfroe
Yes
Carroll M.
Yes
Morse
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


04:04 PM -- House Bill 09-1132

Senator Heath, bill sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1132 concerning the use of messaging systems to commit unlawful activity. This bill adds text messaging and instant messaging to the list of means to commit the crimes of internet luring of a child, internet sexual exploitation of a child, and harassment. The bill also adds text messaging and instant messaging to the means of committing computer dissemination of indecent material to a child.

04:06 PM --
Lauren Croucher, representing the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, spoke in support of the bill. She noted that this is a bill for prosecutors to be able to charge for these types of crimes.

04:08 PM --
Ted Tow, representing the Colorado District Attorneys Council, spoke in support of the bill. He discussed the ways that this bill relates to House Bill 09-1163. Mr. Tow noted that means of communications are evolving and it is necessary for the statute to keep up.



















BILL:HB09-1132
TIME: 04:10:11 PM
MOVED:Carroll M.
MOTION:Refer House Bill 09-1132 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 5-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Hudak
Yes
King K.
Excused
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
Excused
Renfroe
Yes
Carroll M.
Yes
Morse
Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


04:11 PM -- House Bill 09-1316

Senator Shaffer, bill sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1316 concerning public dissemination of personal information of a person working in the criminal justice system. He discussed potential amendments to the bill and distributed Amendment L.004 (Attachment C).

09SenateJud0420AttachC.pdf

04:15 PM --
Charles Rose, representing the Colorado Municipal Judges Association, spoke in support of the bill. He noted that the bill broadens the definition of who is included in the statute to include judges and magistrates. He related his personal experiences with an individual posting his personal information on the Internet.

04:20 PM --
Larry Hudson, representing Lexis Nexis, spoke in opposition to the bill. He explained that Lexis Nexis has information about judges from cases that may be available on the internet. He described his specific objections to the bill. Shayne Madsen, representing the Consumer Data Industry Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. She discussed all of the current federal regulations that govern the industry and the importance of being aligned with federal law.














04:30 PM

The committee discussed the provisions of the bill with the witnesses.


04:43 PM

Senator Renfroe discussed other types of companies that might require an exemption under this law.

04:46 PM --
Ted Tow, representing the Colorado District Attorneys Council, spoke in support of the bill. He noted that he opposes the amendments. Mr. Tow stated that the law already exists and this bill simply expands the provisions to include judges.

04:52 PM --
Peg Ackerman, representing the County Clerks, spoke about the bill. She noted that the clerks do not believe that they would be prosecuted for information that is required to be collected by statute. She also told the committee that there is a working group being convened this summer to look at these issues.


04:55 PM

Senator Shaffer discussed amending the bill to include a more precise definition of a judge.

04:57 PM --
Michael Dohr, representing the Office of Legislative Legal Services, spoke about the potential amendment.
BILL:HB09-1316
TIME: 04:58:53 PM
MOVED:Hudak
MOTION:Move a conceptual amendment to incorporate the definition of a judge as specified in the statute concerning retaliation against a judge. The motion passed without objection
SECONDED:
VOTE
Hudak
King K.
Lundberg
Newell
Excused
Renfroe
Carroll M.
Excused
Morse
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection











BILL:HB09-1316
TIME: 04:59:37 PM
MOVED:Morse
MOTION:Refer House Bill 09-1316, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 4-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Hudak
Yes
King K.
Excused
Lundberg
Yes
Newell
Excused
Renfroe
Yes
Carroll M.
Excused
Morse
Yes
Final YES: 4 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


05:01 PM

The committee adjourned.