Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON STATE, VETERANS & MILITARY AFFAIRS

Date:03/16/2009
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:35 PM to 04:27 PM
Boyd
X
Cadman
X
Place:SCR 353
Schultheis
X
Bacon
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Williams
X
Senator Williams
This Report was prepared by
Geoff Johnson
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
Report of the Election Reform Commission
HB09-1224
HB09-1200
HB09-1216
-
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:35 PM

Senator Williams, Chair, called the meeting to order.

01:35 PM -- Report of the Election Reform Commission

Bill Hobbs, Deputy Secretary of State, presented the final report of the Election Reform Commission. (The report may be viewed on the website of the Colorado General Assembly.) He commented on the creation of the commission and noted that the commission appointed three subcommittees in the course of its work. He spoke of the testimony that was provided to the commission, and commented on a recommendation to continue the commission's work in the future.

01:40 PM --
Ken Gordon, Chairman, Election Reform Commission, commented on the creation of the commission and decertification of voting equipment by the former Secretary of State. He commented on potential legislation to implement the commission's recommendations. He commented on the testing that resulted in decertification of voting machines in the past. He said that he is not overly concerned with the potential for "hacking" of election equipment.

01:51 PM --
Mr. Hobbs said that a variety of opinions relating to elections systems were heard by the commission. He said that the commission's recommendations reflect the breadth of testimony that was received. He commented on the cost of elections in Colorado. He commented on the management of potentially duplicate voter registrations by the Secretary of State's Office. He noted that some voters may have died, moved out of state, or have ceased voting, and yet remain on the voter rolls.

02:17 PM --
Mr. Gordon said that the commission, as originally structured, worked well and would make a good model for continuation of the work of the commission in the future. He said that the commission was given a great deal of work to do in a short time period. He noted that the members took the work of the commission very seriously and attended the commission's meetings religiously. He commented on the commission's recommendations regarding the use of paper ballots in elections. Senator Cadman commented on the potential continuation of the commission and its work. Senator Williams read the names of the commission members and thanked them for their service.

02:25 PM -- House Bill 09-1224

Senator Carroll, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1224, concerning a prohibition on the consideration of gender in setting rates for individual health insurance policies. She noted that House Bill 09-1224 prohibits gender discrimination in setting rates in the health insurance market. She said that Colorado has a tradition of leading the states in regard to women's issues. She said that, currently, a gender discrimination loophole in insurance markets is allowed in Colorado. She noted that women pay 30 to 40 percent more than men for the same health insurance coverage in Colorado. She listed groups that are supporting House Bill 09-1224.

The following persons testified in regard to House Bill 09-1224:

02:33 PM --
Vanessa Haneman, representing the Colorado Association of Health Care Providers, opposed House Bill 09-1224. She said that House Bill 09-1224 will make it more difficult for the poor to purchase insurance and could cause males to leave the insurance pool altogether. She said that the issue should be studied over the interim. She distributed a copy of a mathematical simulation study to the committee (Attachment A.)

090316AttachA.pdf

02:39 PM --
Bob Semro, representing the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, supported House Bill 09-1224. He noted that women often pay higher premiums than men. He said that some insurers consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition and grounds for denial of coverage. He said that ten other states prohibit gender discrimination in the health insurance markets.

02:44 PM --
Kelli Fritts, representing the American Association of Retired Persons, supported "community rating" that does not discriminate against women and supported House Bill 09-1224.

02:46 PM --
Toni Panetta, representing NARAL Pro-choice Colorado, supported House Bill 09-1224. She commented on the mission of her organization and on federal nondiscrimination laws. She commented further on the coverage of birth control by health insurers and efforts of unemployed women to purchase health insurance.

02:51 PM -- Linda Meric, representing the 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women, said that her organization seeks to end poverty and discrimination. She said that the time has arrived to ban gender discrimination in health insurance markets. She said that House Bill 09-1224 addresses basic civil rights and economic issues. She asked the committee to support House Bill 09-1224.

02:53 PM -- Char Roberts, representing the Women's Lobby of Colorado, supported House Bill 09-1224. She noted that many women work part-time or are married to older males who are receiving Medicare benefits, and that this affects their ability to obtain health coverage. She said that health plans are able to "rate up" for age and health status. She stated her opposition to gender rating in the health insurance market.

02:57 PM --
Cathy Alderman, representing Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said that her organization supports equal access to health care services and supports House Bill 09-1224.

02:59 PM --
Marcy Morrison, Colorado Commissioner of Insurance, supported House Bill 09-1224. She said that the State of California is currently being sued in regard to this issue of gender discrimination. She commented on studies showing that women are more likely than men to incur health care costs. She said that approximately 125,000 women in Colorado have individual health care plans. She said that men "catch up in health care costs" with women over time. She said that women who drop their health care coverage are often pushed into the public health care system.
BILL:HB09-1224
TIME: 03:08:13 PM
MOVED:Boyd
MOTION:Moved a prepared amendment to House Bill 09-1224 (Attachment B), L.004. The motion passed on a 3-2-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Boyd
Yes
Cadman
No
Schultheis
No
Bacon
Yes
Williams
Yes
Not Final YES: 3 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
090316AttachB.pdf

















BILL:HB09-1224
TIME: 03:15:57 PM
MOVED:Boyd
MOTION:Moved that House Bill 09-1224 be referred to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion passed on a 3-2-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Boyd
Yes
Cadman
No
Schultheis
No
Bacon
Yes
Williams
Yes
Final YES: 3 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:19 PM -- House Bill 09-1200

Senator Scheffel, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1200, concerning a requirement that the staff of the legislative council consider certain factors relating to counties in the local government impact section of a fiscal note. He expressed some discomfort with the naming of the organization "Colorado Counties, Inc." in the text of House Bill 09-1200.

The following persons testified in regard to House Bill 09-1200:

03:27 PM --
Jim Bensberg, El Paso County Commissioner, supported House Bill 09-1200. He said that House Bill 09-1200 is a "good government bill." He said that the bill codifies current practice regarding the preparation of fiscal notes, and will provide an avenue for communication between the counties and state government. He said that House Bill 09-1200 will improve the fiscal note process. He noted that legislation does have a fiscal impact on counties and that the county commissions are not always aware of the legislation.

03:37 PM --
Kathy Moan, representing the Joint Initiatives for Youth and Families, supported House Bill 09-1200. She said that the bill will provide important information to counties.

03:39 PM --
Andy Karsian, representing Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI), supported House Bill 09-1200. He reiterated that House Bill 09-1200 will codify existing practice. He said that, in the majority of cases, CCI currently has sufficient time for input into regarding the preparation of fiscal notes. Senator Cadman said that he is not sure that House Bill 09-1200 is necessary. Mr. Karsian commented on the means by which the fiscal impact on counties will be determined under House Bill 09-1200.

03:46 PM --
Janis Baron, representing the Legislative Council Staff, noted the sponsors of proposed legislation are not made known to state agencies when the draft bills are sent out for comment on fiscal impact. She commented on the process by which a local fiscal impact will be obtained under House Bill 09-1200. She said that the Legislative Council Staff currently sends bill drafts for comment to Colorado Counties, Inc., and to the Colorado Municipal League. She said that it would not be problematic to change the effective date of House Bill 09-1200 in order for the legislation to be in place for the 2010 legislative session. She noted that the original version of the bill required that the Legislative Council Staff canvass all 64 Colorado counties for potential fiscal impacts.






04:02 PM

Senator Williams took House Bill 09-1200 off of the table with the intention of placing the bill on the calendar at the committee's next meeting, at which it will be heard for action only. The committee recessed briefly.

04:07 PM -- House Bill 09-1216

Senator Newell, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1216, concerning voting by electors, and, in connection therewith, amending the election code to reflect changes brought about by the implementation of the statewide voter registration system and permanent mail-in voting. She said that House Bill 09-1216 addresses implementation of the statewide voter registration system, as well as mail-in ballots.

The following persons testified in regard to House Bill 09-1216:

04:08 PM --
Richard Coolidge, representing the Secretary of State's Office, said that House Bill 09-1216 is a technical cleanup bill that was originated by the Secretary of State's Office. He walked the committee through the technical changes that House Bill 09-1216 would put in place and said that the bill will provide efficiency measures for county clerks.

04:22 PM --
Peg Ackerman, representing the Colorado County Clerks Association, stated the support of her organization for House Bill 09-1216.
BILL:HB09-1216
TIME: 04:24:19 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Moved a prepared amendment to House Bill 09-1216 (Attachment C), L.008. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Boyd
Cadman
Schultheis
Bacon
Williams
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
090316AttachC.pdf












BILL:HB09-1216
TIME: 04:25:26 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Moved a prepared amendment to House Bill 09-1216 (Attachment D), L.009. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Boyd
Cadman
Schultheis
Bacon
Williams
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
090316AttachD.pdf
BILL:HB09-1216
TIME: 04:26:58 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Moved that House Bill 09-1216 be referred to the Committee of the Whole, as amended, and with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendar. The motion passed on a 5-0-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Boyd
Yes
Cadman
Yes
Schultheis
Yes
Bacon
Yes
Williams
Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:27 PM

The committee meeting recessed.