House Committee on Judiciary (03/16/2009)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	03/16/2009	ATTENDANCE

Time:	02:02 PM to 05:22 PM	Apuan	X
		Court	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Gardner B.	X
		King	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Miklosi	*
	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:
SB09-035 SB09-097 SB09-069 HB09-1235		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole Postponed Indefinitely

02:03 PM -- Senate Bill 09-035

Representative Sonnenberg, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-035 concerning a penalty for a violation of certain proscribed acts for government officials. Under current law, public officials are prohibited from having a financial interest in contracts made by them in their official capacity. For six months after they leave office, they may not enter into contracts, or be employed by someone with government contracts, that are related to their former official capacity. This bill creates a new class 1 misdemeanor offense for public officials who violate this restriction and allows the court to impose additional fines. Representative Sonnenberg answered questions from the committee regarding the problems addressed by the bill.

02:08 PM -- Ken Buck, Weld County District Attorney, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Buck discussed the details of a case in which a former government official lobbied for local governments to receive grant funding from her former office. He talked about the ethics violations that took place in that case and indicated that his office had no power to prosecute such violations. He responded to questions from the committee about the possible sanctions under the bill. The committee discussed the differences between ethical standards and crimes.


BILL:	SB09-035
TIME:	02:35:52 PM
MOVED:	Waller
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-035 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:	Gardner B.
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	No
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

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

02:36 PM -- Senate Bill 09-097

Representative Pace, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-097 concerning clarifying changes to provisions pertaining to institutional peace officers. This bill makes clarifying changes to statutes related to police officers at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo and institutions of higher education.

02:39 PM --

Joe Roy, Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety, University of Colorado at Boulder, spoke in support of the bill. Chief Roy discussed the Colorado Association of Institutional Law Enforcement Directors (CAILED), which provides public safety services to various Colorado institutions. This bill was proposed by CAILED. He responded to questions about the committee regarding peace officers at the mental health institute.


BILL:	SB09-097
TIME:	02:43:19 PM
MOVED:	Pace
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-097 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0.
SECONDED:	Roberts
		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

02:44 PM -- Senate Bill 09-069

Representative McCann, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 09-069 concerning court-appointed parenting coordinators. This bill provides limited immunity from liability to a parenting coordinator who is acting in the scope of his or her duties, as long as the act or omission that caused the injury was not willful and wanton. The bill also clarifies when a parenting coordinator may be required to testify or produce records in a trial. Finally, in the event that a claim is filed against a parenting coordinator, the bill requires the court to award attorney fees and expenses to the parenting coordinator if a finding is made that the coordinator is immune from civil liability or that the coordinator is not competent to testify. Representative McCann distributed information about parenting coordination (Attachment A) and prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment B). She responded to questions from the committee about parenting coordination.

02:51 PM -- Amy Craig, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Craig discussed her experience with a parenting coordinator in Colorado courts. She distributed a written statement (Attachment C) and read from her prepared remarks.

03:02 PM -- Janice Whitaker, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Whitaker discussed her experience with a parenting coordinator in Colorado courts. She distributed a packet of information that included a timeline of the events in her case (Attachment D). Ms. Whitaker read a written statement that indicated that she was wrongly accused in her case and this bill would give parenting coordinators immunity from liability. She expressed frustration at the current system and standards for parenting coordination.

03:10 PM -- Judy Schure, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Schure distributed research indicating that the majority of cases that go to court as "high conflict" contested custody cases have a history of domestic violence (Attachment E). She discussed her experience with parenting coordinators in Colorado courts. She talked about stated experts in the field of parental coordination and expressed her opinion that these experts are unqualified and insensitive with regard to domestic matters. She discussed training required for parental coordinators.

03:17 PM -- Annette Story, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Story discussed her experience with a parenting coordinator in Colorado courts. She distributed a packet of e-mail messages relevant to her case (Attachment F). She expressed her opinion that many parenting coordinators are simply in the business for the money. She responded to questions from the committee about the details of her case.

03:20 PM -- Frances Fontana, representing herself, spoke in opposition to the bill. Ms. Fontana is a family law attorney. She talked about the necessity of immunity for individuals who perform judicial and quasi-judicial functions. She expressed her opinion that parenting coordinators do not perform quasi-judicial functions, but rather they act in a counseling-type role to divorced parents and their children. A parenting coordinator does not require any specific training or qualifications and judicial officers do not have the time to vet suggested parenting coordinators. She feels there is no oversight or accountability for the profession. While guidelines exist, there is currently no recourse for families who have problems with parenting coordinators. Ms. Fontana responded to questions from the committee about domestic cases in which parenting coordinators are used.

03:40 PM -- Adoree Blair, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Blair is a mediator and parenting coordinator. She discussed her experience in these roles and provided information about her rates. Parties do not use parenting coordinators if there is no need. She responded to questions from the committee about the value of a parenting coordinator in high conflict situations.

03:53 PM -- Betsy Duvall, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Duvall is a parenting coordinator and court-appointed arbitrator and decision-maker. She discussed her experience in the field. She expressed her opinion that parenting coordination is not a counseling role. It is more of an alternate dispute resolution role. Ms. Duvall spoke about training she conducts with a Colorado attorney on the subject of parenting coordinators. She distinguished between parenting coordinators and child and family investigators. She responded to questions from the committee about the practical role of parenting coordinators.

04:10 PM -- Theresa Spahn, Office of the Child's Representative, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Spahn discussed her qualifications in the field of parenting coordinators. She spoke about the legislative history of the parenting coordinator statute. She stressed that this is a very limited role with no power. Parenting coordinators address simple decisions that help the family dynamic function in the case of a high conflict situation. Ms. Spahn addressed committee questions about immunity for individuals in this kind of role and accountability of parenting coordinators.

04:25 PM -- Alicia Davis, Colorado Judicial Department, appeared to respond to committee questions. Ms. Davis discussed published guidelines for parenting coordinators and a survey she sent to state judges about parenting coordinators. She explained the difference between Supreme Court guidelines and directives issued by the Chief Justice. Ms. Davis responded to questions about the minimum qualifications for individuals wishing to become parental coordinators.

04:37 PM -- Craig Eades, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Eades discussed his experience in the role of a parenting coordinator. He believes in the need for better coordination and accountability for parenting coordination services. He expressed his opinion that providing some protection for individuals who want to work with children will encourage more talented people to provide these services.


BILL:	SB09-069
TIME:	04:51:03 PM
MOVED:	McCann
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.005 (Attachment B). The amendment changes the bill to provide immunity for acts that a reasonable parental coordinators would consider to be under the scope of his or her duties. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		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

04:52 PM

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


BILL:	SB09-069
TIME:	05:04:09 PM
MOVED:	McCann
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 09-069, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 7-4.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	Yes
	Miklosi	No
	Pace	No
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	No
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	No

Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:05 PM -- House Bill 09-1235

Representative Acree returned to discuss House Bill 09-1235 concerning measures to address unsafe working conditions arising as a result of the abandonment of real property. Testimony about the bill was heard on February 19, 2009. The bill was referred by the House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee on February 17, 2009. Representative Acree explained that prepared amendment L.013 (Attachment G) extends the protection of the bill to home rule counties.


BILL:	HB09-1235
TIME:	05:09:32 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.013 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	King
		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:	HB09-1235
TIME:	05:10:20 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.014 (Attachment H). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	King
		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:	HB09-1235
TIME:	05:16:39 PM
MOVED:	Gardner B.
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.015 (Attachment I). The motion failed on a vote of 2-9.
SECONDED:	Roberts
		VOTE
	Apuan	No
	Court	No
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	No
	Miklosi	No
	Pace	No
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	No
	Waller	No
	McCann	No
	Levy	No

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


BILL:	HB09-1235
TIME:	05:20:31 PM
MOVED:	Roberts
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1235, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion failed on a vote of 2-9.
SECONDED:	Gardner B.
		VOTE
	Apuan	No
	Court	No
	Gardner B.	Yes
	King	No
	Miklosi	No
	Pace	No
	Roberts	Yes
	Ryden	No
	Waller	No
	McCann	No
	Levy	No

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


BILL:	HB09-1235
TIME:	05:21:24 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Postpone House Bill 09-1235 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 7-4.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Apuan	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	No
	King	No
	Miklosi	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Roberts	No
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	No
	McCann	Yes
	Levy	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

05:22 PM

Representative Levy adjourned the committee.