House Committee on Judiciary (03/12/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	03/12/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	02:48 PM to 05:58 PM	Apuan	X
		Court	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Gardner B.	X
		King	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Miklosi	X
	Representative Levy	Pace	X
		Roberts	X
This Report was prepared by		Ryden	X
	Jessika Shipley	Waller	X
		McCann	*
		Levy	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB09-048 SB09-036 SB09-013 SB09-047 SB09-060 SB09-109		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole

02:49 PM -- Senate Bill 09-048

Representative Primavera, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-048 concerning the financial audit of the Office of the Child's Representative. The bill removes the independent financial audit provision from the duties of the Office of the Child's Representative. Under current law, the office must have an annual, independent financial audit and report the findings to the Office of the State Court Administrator and the General Assembly.

The Office of the Child's Representative was implemented, through legislation, with a requirement for an annual independent audit because the office had not established internal fiscal policies and procedures. Each year, the Office of the State Auditor has contracted with an external auditing agency to perform the audit. At the request of the Legislative Audit Committee, the State Auditor conducts a review of agencies that are audited on a regular basis to determine which may not require an audit review. The State Auditor has recommended, based on the lack of audit findings in recent years, that the independent audit provision be eliminated from the requirements for the Office of the Child's Representative. Any resources that were used for conducting this audit will be used for other pending audit requests.

02:51 PM -- Theresa Spahn, Office of the Child's Representative, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Spahn discussed the legislation that created her office in 2001 and talked about the audit requirement that was established at that time. The bill was initiated by the State Auditor, not by the Office of the Child's Representative. She explained the goals of her office.


BILL:	SB09-048
TIME:	02:54:01 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-048 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	McCann
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:55 PM -- Senate Bill 09-036

Representative Scanlan, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-036 concerning theft of sound recordings. Under current law, it is a class 1 misdemeanor to sell illegally packaged recorded materials. This bill, as amended by the Senate Judiciary Committee, expands the definition of the crime of selling illegally packaged recordings. The amended bill specifies that any person who knowingly and for commercial advantage or private financial gain transports recorded articles that do no clearly display the name of the manufacturer on the cover commits dealing in unlawfully packaged recorded articles. Current law applies only to those that advertise, sell or possess such articles.

In addition, the amended bill specifies that if the offense involves 100 or fewer articles, the fine must be at least $100. For more than 100 articles, the minimum fine is $1,000. The bill also requires law enforcement to confiscate all illegally labeled, transferred or recorded articles recordings as well as any equipment used to produce or manufacture those recordings. These items will be delivered to the local district attorney who may request a court order to destroy the recordings and a court order to distribute the equipment to a charitable or educational organization.

Finally, the amended bill requires a convicted offender to make restitution to the owner or lawful producer of the recorded article. Such restitution is to be based on the aggregate, wholesale value of the number of articles involved in the offense if they had been lawfully manufactured.

Representative Scanlan responded to several questions from the committee.

03:10 PM -- Carlos Linares, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Linares described the problem of music piracy and talked about lost revenues that result from it. He discussed the methodology for determining the amount of the losses that occur through music piracy. Mr. Linares addressed the deterrent effect of leveling strict penalties against perpetrators of music piracy. He responded to questions from the committee. The committee held a lengthy discussion that raised a number of concerns about the bill.

04:01 PM -- Judith Negley, Independent Records, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Negley stressed the importance of this issue and talked about the legitimate business of retail music. She discussed the effect of music piracy on her business. She responded to questions from the committee.

04:15 PM -- Ralph Fernandez, RIAA, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Fernandez talked about the right of fair use of lawfully purchased music. He discussed training provided by the RIAA to various law enforcement agencies about music piracy. The RIAA conducts music piracy investigations in order to assist law enforcement. Mr. Fernandez stated that putting hefty fines and restitution on the books will hurt criminals and deter them from committing acts of piracy. He responded to questions from the committee.

04:38 PM

Representative Scanlan explained L.005 (Attachment A). The amendment removes the appropriations and capital constructions clauses from the bill.


BILL:	SB09-036
TIME:	04:38:32 PM
MOVED:	Pace
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Roberts
		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


BILL:	SB09-036
TIME:	04:38:53 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.009 (Attachment B). There was discussion about the amendment. The motion passed on a vote of 9-2.
SECONDED:	Pace
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	No
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	No
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Not Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB09-036
TIME:	04:42:25 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.008 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		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


BILL:	SB09-036
TIME:	04:50:05 PM
MOVED:	Pace
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.010 (Attachment D ). The amendment addresses individuals who record live performances with permission from the artist. The motion failed on a vote of 5-6.
SECONDED:	Miklosi
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	No
	Gardner B.	No
	King	No
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	No
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	No
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	No

Not Final YES: 5 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

04:52 PM

Representative Scanlan wrapped up her presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation. Committee members commented about their various positions on the bill.


BILL:	SB09-036
TIME:	05:04:46 PM
MOVED:	King
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-036, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 9-2.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	No
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	No
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:06 PM -- Senate Bill 09-013

Representatives King and Levy, sponsors, presented Senate Bill 09-013 concerning the extension of civil immunity to persons engaged in emergency response activities. The bill recommended by the Interim Committee on Wildfire Issues in Wild Land-Urban Interface Areas, exempts fire departments or other entities that donate surplus firefighting equipment from civil and criminal liability resulting from the use of such equipment. The bill also exempts volunteer firefighters and their volunteer organizations from civil liability resulting from any action taken or not taken during firefighting efforts or other emergency services. In addition, the bill provides that no state, county, or municipal agency that is engaged in emergency or disaster planning, training, or response activities is liable for the death of or injury to any person or loss of or damage to property, except in cases of willful or wanton acts or omissions.

05:10 PM -- Paul Cooke, Colorado State Fire Chiefs Association, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Cooke discussed the donation of fire safety equipment among fire departments around the state. Larger fire departments may have better resources to upgrade equipment than smaller departments. The larger departments are interested in donating older equipment, but have liability concerns. Mr. Cooke talked about the problems with recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. He discussed prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment E) and prepared amendment L.006 (Attachment F).

05:17 PM -- Jeff Berino, Lake Dillon Fire Department, spoke in support of the bill. Deputy Chief Berino discussed his experience as the leader of a regional incident management team and indicated that these teams need civil liability in order to be able to be fully effective. The teams are neighbors helping neighbors through disaster situations. Incidents can be escalated due to overcautious behavior resulting from fear of civil liability. Deputy Chief Berino discussed problems with the donation of fire safety equipment and the value in being able to safely donate such equipment.

05:24 PM -- John Singer, State Firefighters Association, spoke in support of the bill.

05:24 PM -- Tim Gablehouse, Colorado Emergency Planning Association, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Gablehouse addressed prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment G) with regard to the planning and training of emergency response personnel. The amendment replaces language that was removed by the Senate.

05:26 PM -- Kevin Bommer, Colorado Municipal League, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Bommer spoke to the portion of the bill addressing incident management commanders.


BILL:	SB09-013
TIME:	05:28:27 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		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


BILL:	SB09-013
TIME:	05:29:52 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.006 (Attachment F), which amends L.004. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Ryden
		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


BILL:	SB09-013
TIME:	05:30:28 PM
MOVED:	King
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Levy
		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

05:31 PM

Representative King wrapped up the presentation and asked for a favorable recommendation.


BILL:	SB09-013
TIME:	05:31:29 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-013, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	King
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:32 PM -- Senate Bill 09-047

Representative Roberts, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-047 concerning the oversight of crime victim services and creating the Crime Victim Services Advisory Board and repealing the Victims Compensation and Assistance Coordinating Committee and the Victims Assistance and Law Enforcement (VALE) Advisory Board. This bill creates the Crime Victim Services Advisory Board in the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), Department of Pubic Safety. The bill specifies criteria for each of 17 members of the board, as well as their terms of service. The board's powers and duties include, but are not limited to:

the development and revision of standards for the administration of the Crime Victim Compensation Fund and the Victims and Witnesses Assistance and Law Enforcement Funds in each judicial district, along with sanctions for violating the standards;
reviewing reports of noncompliance with the Colorado Crime Victim Compensation Act;
distributing profits from crime according to statute;
advising and making recommendations to the DCJ concerning the award of grants from the state VALE Fund; and
the creation of subcommittees to accomplish the duties of the board.

All records submitted to or generated by the board are confidential and any victim-identifying information must be redacted from documents released to the public (i.e., noncompliance reports).

The bill repeals certain crime-victim-related boards and committees, and it removes specifications in existing law regarding which entities may apply for grants to provide services to crime victims. The bill becomes effective July 1, 2009.

This bill combines several existing crime-victim-related boards into a single advisory board. The consolidation will streamline the process of applying for funding for crime victims by reducing the number of entities to which applicants must submit documentation. The DCJ currently provides staff support to various boards and committees and providing the same support to a single board will not substantially change the level of resources utilized by the department. This bill is assessed as having no fiscal impact.

05:35 PM -- Nancy Feldman, DCJ, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Feldman provided a short overview of crime victims assistance in Colorado, including various boards, funds, and federal grants. She stated that three different boards disperse victims funds and there is a lot of duplication among the various funds. The DCJ looked around the country to find best practices and determined that consolidation would be beneficial to Colorado. The new board will be made up of currently-serving members of the three other boards, so experience and continuity will not be an issue.

05:38 PM -- Steve Siegel, Colorado Organization for Victims Assistance, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Siegel indicated that agencies around the state support the idea of forming a clear and concise method for applying state and federal dollars to agencies who provide victims assistance services and supports.

05:39 PM -- Dan Brennan, Wheatridge Police Department, spoke in support of the bill. Chief Brennan is the vice chair of the state VALE advisory board and believes the bill will increase efficiency and effectiveness.

05:42 PM

Representative Roberts wrapped up her presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.


BILL:	SB09-047
TIME:	05:42:20 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-047 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Waller
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:43 PM -- Senate Bill 09-060

Representative Soper, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-060 concerning clarifications to the law regarding testing illegal drug laboratories for methamphetamine. The bill defines the term illegal drug laboratory to be areas where controlled substances are manufactured, processed, cooked, disposed of, used or stored. It also includes nearby areas. In addition, the State Board of Health is required to establish procedures for the testing and evaluation of contamination caused by an illegal drug laboratory. Any contract to sell contaminated property cannot limit the right of the buyer to test the property or to cancel the contract based upon the results of the tests.

05:45 PM -- Tim Gablehouse, Colorado Emergency Planning Commission, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Gablehouse discussed state methamphetamine cleanup efforts. He stated that the bill fixes certain glitches in existing statutes with regard to real estate transactions and methamphetamine contamination. He indicated his hope that the State Board of Health will be able to develop a test similar to that for radon that will alert a buyer to the presence of residue from methamphetamine. Mr. Gablehouse responded to questions from the committee about the difficulty of cleaning up a house that has been contaminated with methamphetamine.


BILL:	SB09-060
TIME:	05:51:15 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-060 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:52 PM -- Senate Bill 09-109

Representative Shafer, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-109 concerning continuation of provisions related to the Fire Service Training and Certification Advisory Board. The bill continues indefinitely the fire service training and certification advisory board in the Division of Fire Safety within the Department of Public Safety.

05:53 PM -- Paul Cooke, Colorado State Fire Chiefs Association, spoke in support of the bill.

05:55 PM -- Ann Terry, Department of Public Safety, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Terry provided information about board and indicated that it provides a valuable service to the community.


BILL:	SB09-109
TIME:	05:57:19 PM
MOVED:	Waller
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-109 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Pace
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:58 PM

Representative Levy adjourned the committee.