S_SA_2018A 05/01/2018 01:33:42 PM Committee Summary

Senator Brandon Shaffer, representing the St. Vrain Valley School District, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Hill, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 18-1412.  The bill creates the Retaining Teachers Grant Program in the Colorado Department of Education.

Jason Mayer, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Scott, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 18-275.  This bill requires the Division of Parks and Wildlife to conduct two stakeholder processes and develop a report on allowing seaplanes access to two lakes at state parks.  In addition, the bill allows seaplanes to land in state parks in the event of an emergency.

Chris Piper, representing Denver Water, testified in opposition to the bill.

Doug Vilsack, representing the Department of Natural Resources, testified in support of the bill.

Kelly Sloan, representing the Colorado Seaplane Initiative and the Colorado Agricultural Aviation Association, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Scott, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 18-1420.  The bill authorizes the creation of early childhood development service districts (districts), defined as a special district created to provide early care, educational, health, mental heath, and developmental services to children from birth to age eight.

Lynea Hansen, reading the testimony of Tom Kenning, testified in support of the bill.

Matt Hamilton, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Scott wrapped up this presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.

Senator Kefalas, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 18-1212. This bill requires the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to create a new health facility license for freestanding emergency departments and begin issuing these licenses by December 1, 2020.  To continue operating in the state, freestanding emergency departments must be licensed by the CDPHE by July 1, 2021, except that certain facilities in rural areas that are exempted by the CDPHE may continue to operate under the existing community clinic license type.  Senator Kefalas distributed amendments L.008 and L.010 [Attachments A and B].

Josh Ewing, representing the Colorado Hospital Association, testified in support of the bill with amendments L.008 and L.010.

Diane Robinson, representing the Colorado Senior Lobby, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Kefalas explained the amendments and asked for a favorable recommendation on the bill.

Senator Donovan, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 18-1297.  The bill sets greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, codifies the Colorado Resiliency and Recovery Office (CRRO) in the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), and identifies specific duties for the CRRO.

Anita Seitz, representing Colorado Communities for Climate Action, testified in support of the bill.

Tom Easley, representing the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, testified in support of the bill. He distributed a handout charting extreme heat in Denver over a period of time [Attachment C].

Amelia Myers, representing Conservation Colorado, testified in support of the bill.

Jan Douglas, representing the Colorado Sierra Club, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Donovan wrapped up her presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.

Senators Donovan and Todd, co-prime sponsors, presented House Bill 18-1298. The bill establishes the Colorado Secure Savings Plan Board in the Office of the Governor to study the feasibility of creating a retirement savings plan and other approaches to increase the amount of retirement savings by Colorado's private sector workers.

Rich Jones, representing the Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill.

Demetrius Johnson, representing the NAACP Rocky Mountain Region, testified in support of the bill.

Phil Steckley, representing AARP, testified in support of the bill.

Bre Andrews, representing the Colorado AFL-CIO, testified in support of the bill.

Hunter Railey, representing Small Business Majority, testified in support of the bill.

Blake Manion, representing Good Business Colorado, testified in support of the bill. He distributed a written copy of his testimony [Attachment D].

Rita Fitzpatrick, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Christina Johnson, representing the Colorado Senior Lobby, testified in support of the bill.

Emily Ibach, representing the Colorado Farm Bureau, testified in opposition to the bill.

Carl Larson, representing the Colorado Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, testified in opposition to the bill.

Jenifer Waller, representing the Colorado Bankers Association, testified in opposition to the bill.

Francesca Maes, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Senators Donovan and Todd wrapped up their presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.

Senators Lambert and Todd, co-prime sponsors, presented House Bill 18-1343. The bill continues the Veterans Service-to-Career Grant Program in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment through January 1, 2024.

Monica Cranick, representing Mt. Carmel Veterans Center, testified in support of the bill.

Holden Young, representing Volunteers of America, testified in support of the bill.

Senators Lambert and Todd wrapped up their presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.

Senator Lambert, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 18-274. This bill implements the recommendations of 2013 and 2016 prison utilization studies for the Department of Corrections.  He provided a handout concerning prison population forecasts [Attachment E].

Rick Raemisch, representing the Department of Corrections, testified in support of the bill.

Travis Trani, representing the Department of Corrections, testified in support of the bill.

Christie Donner, representing the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, testified in opposition to the bill.

The committee discussed the bill with the witnesses.

Committee discussion continued.

Senator Lambert wrapped up his presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.

The committee took a brief recess.

The committee returned to order.

Senators Court and Lambert, co-prime sponsors, presented House Bill 18-1128. This bill adds definitions and makes changes related to the handling of personally identifying information and required procedures and notifications if this information is breached.  The sponsors distributed amendments L.016 and L.017 [Attachments F and G].

The committee took a brief recess.

The committee returned to order.

Senator Coram, co-prime sponsor, presented House Bill 18-1064.  This bill allows funds from the Colorado Children's Trust Fund (CCTF) to be used to develop, promote, maintain, and monitor a research-based child sexual abuse prevention training model.  The bill expands current training to include all persons who interact with young children, including parents, childcare providers, teachers, and any other mandatory reporter.  Finally, the bill adds a component to the voluntary child care credentialing system for education and training on the prevention of child sexual abuse.

Mary Martin, representing the Colorado Department of Human Services, testified in support of the bill.

Jade Woodard, representing Illuminate Colorado, testified in support of the bill.

Christina Walker, representing Clayton Early Learning, testified in support of the bill.

Corey Engle, representing the Bridge Project, testified in support of the bill.

Senators Coram and Fields wrapped up their presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.  The committee was provided with a handout [Attachment H].

Senator Fields responded to questions about the fiscal note.

Ms. Woodard returned to the table to respond to questions about the fiscal impact of the bill.

Aaron Carpenter, representing Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to respond to questions about the fiscal note.

Kendra Dunn, representing the Colorado Department of Human Services, came to the table to respond to questions about the fiscal note.  She did not sign up on the witness sheet.

Committee discussion ensued.

Senator Coram made some closing remarks.

Committee discussion continued.

Senators Fenberg and Coram, co-prime sponsors, presented House Bill 18-1177. This bill enacts several youth suicide prevention initiatives within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, increases access to text message based crisis services, and makes changes to the age of consent for a minor to seek psychotherapy services. They distributed amendments L.012, L.014, and L.015 [Attachments I, J, and K]. They explained the effects of the amendments.

Dr. Patricia Ross, representing herself, testified in support of the bill with the adoption of the amendments.

Josh Barron, representing himself, testified in support of the bill with the amendments.

Robin Paterson, representing herself, testified in opposition to the bill.

Carolyn Martin, representing the Christian Home Educators of Colorado, testified in opposition to the bill.

Cora Galpern, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Sasha Miller, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Kelly Erb, representing the Colorado Rural Health Center, testified in support of the bill.

Maggie McManus, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Corey Engle, representing the Bridge Project, testified in support of the bill.

Shannon McNulty, representing Colorado Christian University, testified in support of the bill with the adoption of the amendments.

Karla Gonzalez Garcia, representing the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, testified in support of the bill.

Bev Marquez, representing Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners, testified in support of the bill.

Christi Munoz, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Senators Coram and Fenberg wrapped up their presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation.