Bills of Interest 1/30/12 to 2/3/12

GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOTES AND BILLS OF INTEREST, JAN 30 – FEB 3 

      Monday, January 30

1:30 P.M. SCR 356 Senate Judiciary Committee

SB12-028 by Senator Grantham--Aggravated Juvenile Offenders

Establishes a 20-year mandatory period of parole for juvenile offenders who are adjudicated a delinquent and sentenced for murder in the first degree. Requires a psychological evaluation, when determining whether to transfer custody of a juvenile to the Department of Corrections, that takes into consideration (a) the psychological evaluation; (b) the nature of the crimes committed; (c) the prior criminal history of the juvenile; (d) the impact of the crimes on the victims; (e) the likelihood of rehabilitation; and (f)  the interest of the community in assuring that the punishment fits the crime.

SB12-066 by Senator Nicholson; also Rep.Gardner B.--Guardianship Program Eligibility

Allows persons with a family-like relationship to a child to receive guardianship assistance if they (a) are committed to the child's permanency; (b) have assumed guardianship of the child; and (c)  were foster parents of the child when they assumed guardianship.

SB12-056 by Senator Carroll; also Rep. Holbert

Court Appointments in Domestic Relations Cases

Requires court appointees in domestic relations cases involving children to certify that he or she does not have any relationship, financial or otherwise, with the child, either party, the attorneys, or the court; or if the appointee does have such a relationship, he or she must disclose the nature of the relationship.

1:30 p.m. Room 0107 House Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources

HB12-1037 Becker

Classifying Certain Agricultural  Products as Wholesale Sales

Reclassifies the following as wholesale commodities, in order to avoid subjecting them to sales tax: (1)  agricultural compounds to be consumed by,administered to, or otherwise used in caring for livestock; (2) semen for agricultural or ranching purposes; and (3) pesticides that are registered by the commissionerof agriculture for use in the production of agricultural and livestock products.

HB12-1105 Becker - Wind Energy Property Rights

Establishes a nonseverable wind energy right in real property

HB12-1087 Labuda

On-line Animal Abusers Registry

Creates within the department of public safety (department) the on-line animal abusers registry (registry), which shall make available to the general public on an internet web site the identities of persons who have been convicted of cruelty to animals, cruelty to a service animal, aggravated cruelty to animals, or animal fighting (an animal abuse crime).

1:30 p.m. Room 0111 House Local Government

HB12-1017 Swerdfeger and Pace

Extend Local Access Health Care Pilot

Extends the authority of the Board of County Commissioners of Pueblo County to

create and contract with a provider to operate a pilot health care program within the county for 5 more years.

      Tuesday, January 31

9:00 A.M. Senate Chamber – Bills on Second Reading

SB12-015 by Senators Giron and Johnston; also Representative Duran

Optional category of tuition at state institutions of higher education (“ASSET” bill).

(Education recommends the bill be approved)

Allows a high school graduate who has lived in Colorado for 3 years or more to pay a special tuition at state colleges and universities that is lower than out-of-state tuition, regardless of their documentation status.

1:30 p.m. Room 0107 House Judiciary

HB12-1053 Gardner--Victims' Rights Changes

Makes numerous changes to state law concerning victims' rights, including specification of new rights; and alsochanges the standard for when a victim is not allowed to be present at the trial of the defendant.

HB12-1100 Summers--Pregnancy and Evidence of Substance Use

Makes evidence related to substance use inadmissable in a criminal proceeding if the information was obtained as part of a screening or test to determine pregnancy or to provide prenatal care for a pregnant woman

      Wednesday, February 1

7:30 A.M. HCR 0112  Senate and House Education Committee Joint Meeting

Updates on: the implementation of the state accountability system and the use of unified improvement plans, CAP4K implementation, and teacher effectiveness, (continued) - Colorado Department of Education

9:00 A.M. Senate Chamber – Bills on Second Reading

SB12-015 by Senators Giron and Johnston; also Representative Duran

Optional category of tuition at state institutions of higher education (“ASSET” bill).

(Education recommends the bill be approved)

Allows a high school graduate who has lived in Colorado for 3 years or more to pay a special tuition at state colleges and universities that is lower than out-of-state tuition, regardless of their documentation status.

Upon adjournment SCR 356 Senate Health and Human Services

SB12-037 by Senator King S.; also Representative Young

Electronic Prescription of Controlled Substances

Conforms Colorado statutes to the federal DEA regulations by allowing a pharmacy to dispense a prescribed Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substance from an electronically transmitted prescription. It also allows a practitioner to dispense these controlled substances directly to the ultimate user without a written prescription.

SB12-032 by Senator Brophy -- Seeking Federal Waiver for Medicaid Reform

Requires the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (DHCPF) to seek a federal waiver for the Medicaid and Children's Health Plan Plus (CHP+) programs that, among other things, would request federal permission for the state to determine program eligibility criteria, including eligibility categories and income levels, and establish an asset test for eligibility.

1:30 PM SCR 356  Senate Judiciary

SB12-010 Sen. Aguilar, Rep. Summers

Immunity for Reporters of Overdoses

Provides limited immunity from prosecution for illegal possession and use of drugs for anyone who makes a 911 emergency call to prevent the death of a person from an overdose of controlled substances

Upon adjournment of Joint House and Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs

Room 0112 House State, Veterans & Military Affairs

HB12-1003 Fischer—Authorization for Use of Graywater

Defines “graywater” and clarifies conditions under which its reuse can be authorized, as a means of water conservation.

      Thursday, February 2

Upon adjournment SCR 354 Senate Finance

SB12-063 by Senator Brophy

Severance Tax Revenues for Rural Institutions of Higher Education

Establishes that any revenue received above a $100 million cap is first made available to any political subdivisions impacted by mining or energy extraction, but only for a serious need for which a grant application is submitted. Whatever moneys remain after the joint committee awards grants is appropriated to rural institutions of higher education on a proportionate basis. The bill requires that at least 50% of each annual appropriation be placed in a separate trust account in order to build an endowment fund to be used by the rural institution of higher education.

Upon adjournment SCR 353 Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy

SB12-097 by Senator Hodge--Streamline Change of Surface Water Diversion Point

Under current law, all changes of water rights, including changes

in the point of diversion, must be adjudicated. The bill creates a

simplified procedure for the adjudication of a simple change in a surface

point of diversion.

SB12-068 by Senator Guzman; also Representative Massey

No Trans Fats in Public School Foods

Prohibits a public school or institute charter school from making available to a student a food item that contains any amount of industrially produced trans fat.

1:30 P.M. SCR 354  Senate Education Committee

SB12-057 by Senator Williams S.; also Representative Brown

Indigenous Language Instruction

Creates a teacher authorization for indigenous language instruction for a federally recognized tribe, without requiring the teacher to have completed a teacher preparation program or have a baccalaureate degree.

SB12-051 by Senator Bacon; also Representative Massey

Contract Requirements for School Districts

Requires local school district boards of education to consider adopting a policy for entering into contracts for services, including educational services

1:30 p.m. Room 0112 House Economic and Business Development

HB12-1127 Liston--Unemployment Insurance Rate Reduction for New Employers

The current unemployment insurance premium rate for new employers is 0.0170. In legislation enacted in 2011 (House Bill 11-1088), once solvency in the unemployment insurance fund is achieved, the rate for new employers would increase. This bill eliminates this rate increase and keeps the rate at 0.0170 after solvency in the unemployment insurance fund is reached.

1:30 p.m. Room LSB-A House Health & Environment

HB12-1047 Kefalas--Non-safety Licensing Standards for Kinship Foster Care

Allows county directors of social services to waive certain non-safety licensing standards for kinship foster care, which is foster care provided by family members or other close relations of children who are removed from their homes.

1:30 p.m. Room 0107 House Judiciary

HB12-1088 Holbert and Becker

Deadly Force Against Intruder at a Place of Business

Adds a place of business to the locations that may be defended with deadly physical force and adds an owner, manager, or employee of a business to the individuals who may defend a place using deadly physical force.

HB12-1026 Coram--Municipal Prosecuting Attorney Peace Officers

Confers peace officer status for certain municipal attorneys and allows them to enforce laws and become certified by the peace officers standards training (P.O.S.T.) board.

      Friday, February 3

1:00 p.m. Room 0112

Legislative Oversight Committee for the Continuing Examination of the Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness Who are Involved in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems 

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