Senate Committee on Judiciary (01/14/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	01/14/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	02:38 PM to 05:26 PM	Hudak	X
		King K.	X
Place:	SCR 356	Newell	X
		Renfroe	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Carroll M.	X
	Senator Morse	Morse	X

This Report was prepared by
	Sara McPhee
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Fire Service Sunset Civil Rights Commission and Division Sunset Review		- -

02:39 PM -- Fire Service Sunset

02:39 PM -- Brian Tobias, representing the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), provided the committee with an overview of the sunset review process. He indicated that there are two sunset statutes; one for full reviews of programs and the second is for the review of advisory committees. The sunset review process requires the General Assembly to take affirmative action in continuing a program. He described the criteria that DORA uses when recommending the continuation of a program or advisory committee, and the process for conducting a sunset review. Mr. Tobias noted that the sunset review for advisory committees is a streamlined sunset review process. He also provided the committee with an overview of the sunset review for the fire service training and certification advisory board (Attachment A). He indicated that the advisory board's primary purpose is to provide advice to the director of the division of fire safety in the department of public safety. He discussed the composition and duties of the advisory board and provided the committee with a copy of the draft bill to continue the advisory board (Attachment B).

02:43 PM -- Kevin Klein, representing the Division of Fire Safety, spoke in support of the draft bill. Mr. Klein indicated that the sunset review is for the advisory board only; however, according to the statute, the entire program is set to repeal, but was not considered as a part of the sunset review. He provided the committee with a proposed amendment that would fix this issue (Attachment C).

02:45 PM

Mr. Tobias came to the table to discuss the amendment. He stated that the sunset provision for the advisory board restricted DORA to looking at the advisory board only and not the entire program. He stated that he had no opposition to the amendment. Senator Renfroe asked why the program is set to repeal and why didn't DORA review the entire program. Mr. Tobias discussed the sunset review process and the time frame for reviews. Mr. Klein discussed other programs that have been in similar situations.

02:52 PM -- Paul Cooke, representing the Colorado State Fire Chiefs Association, spoke in support of the bill and the amendment. Senator Renfroe asked Mr. Cooke about other training programs that firefighters may use.


BILL:	Sunset Review of the Fire Service Training and Certification Advisory Board
TIME:	02:55:31 PM
MOVED:	Morse
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.001 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak
	King K.
	Newell
	Renfroe
	Carroll M.
	Morse

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


BILL:	Sunset Review of the Fire Service Training and Certification Advisory Board
TIME:	02:56:21 PM
MOVED:	Morse
MOTION:	Introduce the draft bill, as amended (Attachment B). The motion passed on a 6-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak	Yes
	King K.	Yes
	Newell	Yes
	Renfroe	Yes
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Morse	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:58 PM -- Civil Rights Commission and Division Sunset Review

02:58 PM -- Bruce Harrelson, DORA, provided an overview of the Civil Rights Commission and Division. He began with a discussion of the draft bill (Attachment D) and DORA's recommendations in the sunset review (Attachment E). He also asked that Steven Chavez, Director of the Division of Civil Rights, come to the table to address any questions. Mr. Harrelson began by discussing the bill and the first recommendation from the sunset review which is that the commission and the division should be continued. He discussed the duties and performance of the division. He provided examples of ways in which the division has saved the state money over the years. He also related that the stakeholders were almost unanimous in their recommendation to continue the division and the commission until 2018.

03:07 PM

Mr. Harrelson continued the overview of the bill by discussing recommendation two of the sunset review which recommends that the director continue to have subpoena powers. He discussed the importance of subpoena powers. Senator King asked about the subpoena power and whether it had been expanded in this bill. Christy Chase, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to discuss the drafting of the bill. She explained that it does expand the subpoena power to all discrimination cases whereas now the subpoena power is only for employment and housing cases. Mr. Harrelson explained that it makes sense for the division to have the enforcement powers for all discrimination cases. Mr. Chavez echoed Mr. Harrelson's findings concerning the importance of subpoena power.

03:18 PM

Mr. Harrelson stated that recommendations six and seven of the sunset review clarify the roles of the commission and of the division. According to Mr. Harrelson, recommendation four of the review asks for the commission to have authorization to investigate complaints on its own motion. He noted that the Colorado Supreme Court has limited the commission to investigating cases where the victims have brought forward a case. This recommendation asks for a commissioner, the commission, or the Attorney General to be able to bring forward a complaint. The complaints initiated by the commission would be limited to complaints that impose a significant societal or community impact. Senator King asked about cases where this power would be applied to determine if it is a necessary power for the commission. Senator Carroll discussed possible situations where this power may be applied. Senator Renfroe discussed his reservations with this expansion of power. He asked about how the appeals process would be conducted in these situations. Senator King expressed his reservations concerning this recommendation.

03:33 PM

Mr. Harrelson discussed recommendation five from the sunset review which authorizes the director to delegate signature authority to senior staff for notifying respondents concerning cases. Senator Renfroe asked about this recommendation and whether this would increase the number of appeals. Mr. Harrelson discussed recommendation eight which addresses the difference between federal and Colorado law in proving employment discrimination cases. This recommendation would align Colorado law with federal law on this issue. Mr. Harrelson described recommendation nine of the sunset review. He noted that this recommendation will modify legislation from the 2008 session, specifically SB 08-122. This bill made it a discriminatory employment practice to take action against an employee for inquiring about employee wages. He stated that these practices are not related to an employee's status as a protected class and therefore not applicable to the work of the commission. He stated that this recommendation would take these duties out of the purview of the commission and instead individuals would need to seek remedies in court. Senator Carroll addressed the issue of SB 08-122 and the impetus for the bill. She noted that changing this provision would be a large change and is contrary to the intent of the bill that was passed in the 2008 session.

03:48 PM

Mr. Harrelson continued by discussing recommendation ten which looks to harmonize conflicting definitions of discrimination with regards to public accommodation. Mr. Harrelson concluded his discussion of the sunset review and the draft bill.

03:50 PM -- Joyce Rubin, representing the Anti-Defamation League, spoke about the role of her organization. She discussed the importance of the commission and division in handling complaints, particularly those that are not covered under federal law. She stressed the importance for Colorado to continue the Civil Rights Commission and Division.

03:55 PM -- Sandra Daff, representing the Pueblo Human Relations Commission, spoke in support of the commission and division. She provided the committee with an overview of her organization and the ways in which they work with the commission.

03:59 PM -- Alice Ramsey, representing the Colorado League of Women Voters, spoke in support of the commission and division. She discussed the importance of the commission because discrimination is still prevalent in today's society. She supports many of the proposed changes and recommendations from the sunset review.

04:02 PM -- Linda Meric, representing 9 to 5 Working Women, spoke in support of the commission and division. She noted that they support most of the findings in the report; however, she asks that the committee reject recommendation nine.

04:08 PM -- Chris K., representing herself, spoke in support of the commission and division. She related her personal circumstances concerning sexual harassment in the workplace. Senator Carroll asked about her experiences in seeking legal representation. Senator Newell asked about the issue of small employers not being aware of the law. Mr. Chavez indicated that he is working on additional education and outreach.

04:20 PM -- David Powell, representing employers, spoke in support of the commission and division. He discussed the process of dealing with the commission and the high quality of their analysis.

04:23 PM -- Paula Greisen, representing the Plaintiff's Employment Law Association, spoke in support of the commission and division. She indicated that they support all of the recommendations except for recommendation number nine. She discussed the issue of the commission being able to investigate on its own initiative and the importance of that recommendation because many times individuals are afraid to come forward. She noted that the federal agency has this power. Ms. Greisen discussed the importance of having real consequences for the civil rights laws in this state. She indicated that lawyers will not take cases concerning small employers because there are no remedies for them. Senator Renfroe asked about the number of complaints that concern small businesses.

04:38 PM -- Anthony Aragon, representing the Civil Rights Commission, spoke on behalf of the commission. He discussed the importance of continuing the commission.

04:41 PM -- Mindy Barton, representing the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, spoke in support of the commission and division. She indicated that she agrees with all of the recommendations in the sunset review with the exception of recommendation nine. She also discussed the need for additional remedies under the anti-discrimination laws.

04:44 PM -- Cathryn Hazouri, representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, spoke in support of the commission and division. She indicated that she supports all of the recommendations except for recommendation nine. She expressed support for the continuation of the subpoena power for the director.

04:49 PM -- Lester Washington, representing the Not In Our Town Alliance, spoke in support of the commission and division. He related his personal experiences with issues concerning civil rights and the commission.


BILL:	Sunset Review of the Civil Rights Commission and Division
TIME:	05:06:18 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Amend the draft bill to remove section nine of the bill. The motion passed on a 4-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak	Yes
	King K.	No
	Newell	Yes
	Renfroe	No
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Morse	Yes

Not Final YES: 4 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

Senator King asked about the specifics of the amendment. Ms. Chase addressed the substance of the amendment.


BILL:	Sunset Review of the Civil Rights Commission and Division
TIME:	05:09:35 PM
MOVED:	Carroll M.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.001 (Attachment F). The motion passed on a 4-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak	Yes
	King K.	No
	Newell	Yes
	Renfroe	No
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Morse	Yes

Not Final YES: 4 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

Senator Carroll indicated that this amendment harmonizes state laws by instituting remedies from U.S. code title 7 into state law. Senator King asked about the necessity for instituting the remedies. Senator Carroll explained that federal law only handles cases dealing with employers of 15 or larger so in some cases Colorado law is the only possible jurisdiction for pursuing a civil rights case. Senator Renfroe asked if this fits under the title of the bill.


BILL:	Sunset Review of the Civil Rights Commission and Division
TIME:	05:14:56 PM
MOVED:	Renfroe
MOTION:	Amend the draft bill to remove lines 14 through 26 on page 5 of the draft bill. The motion failed on a 2-4 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak	No
	King K.	Yes
	Newell	No
	Renfroe	Yes
	Carroll M.	No
	Morse	No

Not Final YES: 2 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

Senator Carroll urged the committee to keep this recommendation. Senator Newell echoed the sentiments of Senator Carroll. Senator Renfroe reiterated his concerns with this provision.


BILL:	Sunset Review of the Civil Rights Division and Commission
TIME:	05:20:43 PM
MOVED:	Morse
MOTION:	Introduce the draft bill, as amended. The motion passed on a 4-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Hudak	Yes
	King K.	No
	Newell	Yes
	Renfroe	No
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Morse	Yes

Final YES: 4 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:23 PM

Christy Chase, Office of Legislative Legal Services, addressed the idea of a new date so that future sunset reviews do not require a safety clause.

05:25 PM

The committee adjourned.