Date: 02/23/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1283

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment A). Th
Refer House Bill 09-1283 to the Committee of the W		FAIL
PASS



02:53 PM -- House Bill 09-1283

Representative Sonnenberg, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1283 concerning an increase in the penalty for careless driving resulting in death. The bill increases the penalty for careless driving, if the driver's actions result in the death of another person, to a class 1 misdemeanor. Under current law, the penalty for careless driving resulting in death is a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense. In addition to the penalties for a class 1 misdemeanor, individuals convicted of this crime must be sentenced to 8 hours of community service per month for a year and 32 hours of driver training.

02:56 PM -- Bobby Juchem, Colorado State Patrol, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Juchem explained the three main components of the bill. He discussed careless driving accidents and how they can generally be avoided. He stated his belief that the bill is a great start to addressing the problem of careless driving. He indicated that the mandatory community service sentence gives back to the community that was damaged by careless driving. Additionally, looking victims' families in the eye is an effective way to change bad driving behavior. He discussed the attitudinal adjustments that are included in driver training classes. Mr. Juchem responded to questions from the committee about careless driving offenses.

03:02 PM -- Douglas and Teresa Templeton, representing themselves, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Templeton described the accident that killed his son, a Colorado State Trooper, in October 2008, and the effect of his son's death on the family. He indicated that the current consequences for careless driving were not sufficient.

03:15 PM -- Robin and Terri Peterson, representing themselves, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Peterson described the accident that killed his daughter. He was not satisfied with the judicial process after her daughter's death and indicated that this bill would address his concerns.

03:19 PM -- Mark Randall, Colorado District Attorneys Council (CDAC), spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Randall responded to questions from the committee about the current penalties for careless driving resulting in death and how the bill would affect those penalties. He discussed the consequences of moving this offense from a traffic misdemeanor to a criminal misdemeanor.
BILL:HB09-1283
TIME: 03:31:09 PM
MOVED:Waller
MOTION:Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment A). The amendment strikes the portions of the bill relating to mandatory community service and driver's training. The motion failed on a vote of 5-6.

09HouseJud0223AttachA.pdf
SECONDED:Roberts
VOTE
Apuan
No
Court
No
Gardner B.
Yes
King
No
Miklosi
No
Pace
Yes
Roberts
No
Ryden
No
Waller
Yes
McCann
Yes
Levy
Yes
Not Final YES: 5 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


03:36 PM

Committee members commented about their positions on the bill.
BILL:HB09-1283
TIME: 03:44:08 PM
MOVED:Roberts
MOTION:Refer House Bill 09-1283 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:Gardner B.
VOTE
Apuan
Yes
Court
No
Gardner B.
Yes
King
Yes
Miklosi
Yes
Pace
No
Roberts
Yes
Ryden
No
Waller
No
McCann
Yes
Levy
No
Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS