S_JUD_2022A 03/31/2022 01:34:47 PM Committee Summary

Senator Rankin, co-prime sponsor, presented House Bill 22-1237, concerning county court judges in western Colorado.  He discussed residency requirements and the judicial candidate pool.  Senator Donovan, co-prime sponsor, joined Senator Rankin at the table. 

Committee members asked questions about judicial candidate pools.

Terry Scanlon, representing the Judicial Department, testified in support of the bill.   He discussed expanding the judicial candidate pool. 

Committee members asked questions about various judicial positions and titles. 

Dianna Orf, representing Associated Governments of NW Colorado, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Gardner, on behalf of the bill sponsor Senator Priola, explained House Bill 22-1270, concerning measures related to changing "name-based criminal history record check" to "name-based judicial record check" in the Colorado Revised Statutes. 

Senator Gonzales, bill sponsor, explained House Bill 22-1224, concerning theft of public benefits. 

Committee members asked questions about what constitutes public benefits theft. 

Rochelle Larson, representing Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, testified to amend the bill. She discussed public benefits forms.  

Ellen Giarratana, representing Colorado Center on Law and Policy, testified in support of the bill. She discussed public benefit forms, inaccurate information, and prosecutions. 

Committee members asked questions about the intent of the bill.

Senator Gonzales made closing remarks.

Senators Coleman and Hinrichsen explained House Bill 22-1003, concerning creating a grant program to fund projects that reduce crime among youth, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.  They discussed youth recidivism, violence, and incarceration. 

Committee members asked questions about programs eligible for grant funding and related measurements of success. 

Joe Thome, representing Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, testified in support of the bill. He discussed cost-savings, education, employment, mentoring, and other other early interventions. 

The witness answered questions from the committee about restorative justice, grant requirements, definitions of success, and longitudinal tracking. 

Mrs. Dana Duran, representing Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Colorado, testified in support of the bill. She discussed connecting youth to agencies for services. 

She answered questions about Boys & Girls Clubs. 

Paula Mattas, representing Mesa County Partners, testified in support of the bill.  She discussed costs savings and interventions. 

Committee members asked questions about measurements of success. 

Committee members commented on the merits of the bill.

Senator Gonzales explained House Bill 22-1082, concerning the enforcement of state housing laws by the Department of Law, and, in connection therewith, establishing a fair housing unit within the Department of Law.  She discussed housing and enforcement issues across the state. 

Mr. Peter Muccio, representing Colorado Landlord Legistlation Coalition, testified to amend the bill. He discussed systemic behavior and substantiated complaints. 

Andrew Mowery, representing self, testified to amend the bill.  He discussed civil rights violations and fair housing rights.

Committee members asked questions about homeowners' associations.

Matt Baca, representing the Department of Law, testified in support of the bill. He discussed fraudulent and unfair housing practices, protections for tenants, and enforcement authorities.

Adam Rice, representing Colorado Poverty Law Project, testified in support of the bill. He discussed legal protections and enforcement. 

Mrs. Whitney Leeds, representing Growing Home, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Gonzales distributed and explained Amendment L. 007 (Attachment A). 

Committee members asked questions about the venue provisions, as outlined in the amendment.  Jeff Riester, representing Department of Law, made himself available to answer committee questions.  He referenced the Consumer Protection Act.

Senator Gonzales distributed and presented Amendment L.009 to make technical changes (Amendment B). 

Committee members commented on executive departments taking on additional responsibilities.

The bill sponsor made closing remarks.

Senators Bridges and Cooke, co-prime sponsors, returned to the committee for Senate Bill 22-005, concerning the increase of available funds for law enforcement agency peace officer services.  This bill is a "for action only" agenda item that was first heard in Senate Judiciary on March 24, 2022. 

Senator Bridges distributed and presented Amendment L. 004 about funding distribution (Attachment C). 

Bruce Eisenhauer, representing the Department of Local Affairs, answered questions about the amendment and distribution of unspent funds, if applicable. 

The Chair allowed for a conceptual amendment to make a technical change to Amendment L. 004 (Attachment C).  The conceptual amendment strikes (h) on line 29 and changes it to (g).

Senator Bridges presented and distributed Amendment L. 003 concerning the inclusion of cultural competency (Attachment D).

Senator Bridges made a commitment on the record that the cops to counselors program language, as outlined in Amendment L. 002 (Attachment E), will be added to Senate Bill 22-181 when it is heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. 

Senators Lundeen and Lee, co-prime sponsors, returned to the committee to discuss Senate Bill 22-067, concerning the creation of a grant program to provide grants to local law enforcement agencies to provide critical incident training to the agencies' peace officers.  This bill is a for action only agenda item that was first heard in committee on March 3, 2022. 

Senator Lundeen distributed and presented Amendment L. 010 (Attachment F).  The amendment creates a grant program for crisis intervention training.

Senator Lee noted that he has been added as a prime sponsor on the bill.

Jake Baus, Office of Legislative Legal Services, clarified provisions in the amendment regarding record-keeping, diversion, and cultural competency. 

The Chair allowed a conceptual amendment that strikes critical incident in the bill title and replaces it with crisis intervention team (Page 1, line 103). 

Senator Lundeen distributed and presented Amendment L.011 regarding increased funds for law enforcement overtime pay (Attachment G).  

Committee members asked questions about the need for the increased funds. 

Jeff Reister, representing the Department of Law, further explained the amendment. 

The commitee members discussed the fiscal note and possible forthcoming amendments.

Committee members made closing comments. 

The bill sponsors made closing remarks. 

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