Public Policy Notes

Below are votes and hearings on bills of interest during the coming week in the General Assembly:

GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOTES AND BILLS OF INTEREST Week of February 13-17:

Monday, Feb 13
 
1:30 P.M. SCR 356-Senate Judiciary Committee
 
SB12-105 by Senator Steadman; also Representative Levy
Collateral Consequences of Conviction
Requires the court, at a defendant's first appearance and at sentencing, shall inform the defendant in writing about the potential collateral consequences of a conviction. At sentencing, the court may issue an order of collateral relief that relieves specific collateral consequences if the defendant is sentenced to probation or a community corrections program. A court may issue a certificate of rehabilitation to a person with a criminal record that relieves collateral consequences associated with the person's offense. The court may also issue a certificate of fitness if the person applies for the judgment after he or she has completed a specific period of time after completion of his or her criminal sentence.  Finally, the bill allows a person convicted of a petty offense or a municipal offense to petition the court for sealing the record of the conviction 3 years after the conviction occurred.
 
1:30 p.m. Room 0107 – House Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources
 
HB 1160 Baumgardner -- Captured Methane from Coal Mines
Adds methane gas captured from active and inactive coal mines to the definition of "biomass" for purposes of the renewable energy standard
 
1:30 p.m. Room 0112 - House Education Committee
 
HB 1146 Nikkel--Funding for Dropout Recovery Programs
Authorizes a community college to agree with a local education provider to create a dropout recovery program through which a student who has dropped out of high school or who is at risk of dropping out of high school can concurrently enroll in the community college and the local education provider to complete his or her high school graduation requirements
 
HB 1135 Murray--Teacher Involvement  in Teacher Preparation Programs
Instructs the state board of education to promulgate rules concerning a method to include in educator evaluations the work of teachers who serve as cooperating teachers in field work or student teaching for teacher candidates (cooperating teachers).
 
HB 1214 Becker--Community College Two-year Degree Programs
Allows a Colorado community college to offer a two-year degree program with academic designation in nursing or dental hygiene without a valid student transfer agreement
 
HB 1124 Massey--Colorado Digital Learning StudyDirects the department of education to commission a grant-funded study by a Colorado-based entity of the issues surrounding integration of digital learning into the statewide system of public education in Colorado 
 
 

1:30 p.m. Room 0111- House Local Government
 
HB 1099 McKinley -- Hemp Phytoremediation Pilot Program
A committee appointed by the House and Senate agriculture committees, consisting of members with various scientific backgrounds and with knowledge about the growth of industrial hemp, will establish an industrial hemp remediation pilot program to study how soils and water may be made more pristine and healthy by phytoremediation, removal of contaminants, and rejuvenation through the growth of industrial hemp. The growth of industrial hemp is prohibited until the commissioner of agriculture approves the site chosen by the committee, the security measures that have been put in place by the committee at the pilot program location, and the cleanup plan for the site at the conclusion of the pilot program.

Tuesday, February 14
 
9:00 AM, Senate Floor
 
SB12-045 by Senators Hudak and King K.; also Representative Massey and Fields
Higher Ed Associate Degree Transfer Students
Requires a 4-year state institution of higher education to notify a 2-year institution when a student who transferred from the 2-year institution accumulates 60 credits. The 2-year institution shall conduct a degree audit to determine whether the student meets the requirements for an associate degree and shall award the degree to the student unless the student declines the award
 
SB12-067 by Senator Hudak; also Representative Holbert
For-profit and Nonprofit Charter Schools
Requires that all charter schools be organized as a nonprofit corporation and prohibits a local board of education or the state Charter School Institute from authorizing a charter with a for-profit entity, or entering into a charter contract directly with a for-profit entity.
 
Upon adjournment SCR - 356 Senate Judiciary Committee
 
SB12-102 by Senator Brophy--Repeal Crime of Criminal Libel
Repeals the crime of criminal libel
1:30 P.M. SCR 356 - Senate Finance Committee
 
SB12-075 by Senator Steadman; also Representative Massey
Medical Marijuana Financial Cooperative
1:30 p.m. Room 0107 -  House Judiciary
HB 1139 Levy--Pretrial Detention of Children Tried as Adults
HB 1233 Labuda--Legal Separation Court Appearance Procedure
HB 1151 McCann--Human Trafficking and Prostitution

Wednesday, February 15
 
Upon adjournment SCR 353 Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources & Energy Committee
 
SB12-133 by Senator Schwartz -- Recycle Electronic Devices to Divert from Landfills

Prohibits the disposal of certain consumer electronic devices in landfills. Communities that are not well-served by electronic device recycling facilities may be exempted from the ban. Beginning July 1, 2013, state agencies must arrange for the recycling of such devices with a certified recycler. The bill also requires implementation of a public education program regarding electronic device recycling.
 
Upon adjournment SCR 354 Senate Education Committee
 
SB12-047 by Senators King K. and Bacon; also Representative Massey and Holbert
Basic Skills Testing in High School
Requires each public school, including each charter school, that includes grades 9 through 12 will administer to students in those grades the basic skills placement or assessments tests (basic skills tests) that are used by the community colleges for first-time freshman students
 
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.
 
1:30 P.M. SCR 354 - Senate Business, Labor & Technology Committee
 
SB12-100 by Senator Neville; also Rep. Joshi
Prohibit Discrimination against Labor Union Participation Prohibits an employer from requiring any person, as a condition of employment, to become or remain a member of a labor organization or to pay dues, fees, or other assessments to a labor organization or to a charity organization or other third party in lieu of the labor organization. The bill states that all-union agreements are unfair labor practices.
1:30 p.m. Room LSB-A -- House Finance
HB 1075 Beezley and DelGrosso--Six Percent General Fund Appropriations Limit

Thursday, February 16
 
Upon adjournment, SCR 353 - Senate Local Government Committee
SB12-088 by Senator Harvey--Preempt Local Regulation Of Oil & Gas Operations Specifies that the regulation of oil and gas operations is a matter of statewide concern, the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas operations, and local regulation of oil and gas operations is preempted by state law
 
1:30 P.M. SCR 354 - Senate Education Committee
SB12-046 by Senators Newell and Hudak; also Representative Nikkel and Levy
Discipline in Public SchoolsAmends the statutory grounds for suspension or expulsion of a student to increase the discretion of school administrators and school district boards of education. The only circumstances under which expulsion remains mandatory are those that involve a student who is determined to have brought a firearm to school or possessed a firearm at
school. Also requires each code to include criteria distinguishing minor code violations from behavior that will result in the referral of an offending student to a law enforcement agency, and mandates that each code include a specific policy concerning the prevention of sexual assault and domestic violence
 
SB12-098 by Senator Williams S.; also Representative Massey
CPR Training for High School Students
Requires schools to offer to each student training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator (CPR/AED training). Each public school that offers instruction to students in grade 12 shall require each student to successfully complete CPR/AED training during his or her 12th-grade year or any of the preceding 5 years as a condition of his or her graduation from the 12th grade.

1:30 P.M. SCR 356 - Senate Health And Human Services Committee
 
SB12-093 by Sen. Carroll; also Rep. Duran
Notice of Hospital Services not Provided on Religious Grounds
Requires hospitals licensed in Colorado to provide notice in a manner specified by the department of public health and environment of all services that the hospital refuses to provide because of religious beliefs or moral convictions. The bill requires the notice to inform patients of their right to obtain any service not provided by the hospital because of religious beliefs or moral convictions from another hospital that does provide the service. Requires the notice to be made available prior to or at admission of the patient or as soon after admission as practicable.
SB12-134 by Senator Aguilar - Hospital Payment Assistance Program
Creates a mandate for hospitals to (1) provide a discount to patients who qualify by reason of low income, (2) publicize their discount programs in plain language, (3) limit their charges to the actual cost of services for patients who qualify for the discount, (4) screen their patients to identify those who might qualify, and (5) offer an extended payment plan with caps on the amount of interest that can be charged on the outstanding balance
SB12-108 by Senator Nicholson--Medicaid Dental Services for Pregnant Women
Includes dental services as a benefit for pregnant women under Colorado's Medicaid program
1:30 p.m. Room 0107 House Judiciary
HB 1114 Hamner--Stalking Mandatory Arrest Protection Order
HB 1084 Fields and Conti--Penalty for Leaving the Scene of aTraffic Accident
HB 1085 Fields--Hearsay Exception for Developmentally Disabled
HB 1168 Young--Ignition Interlock Device Recodification
HB 1226 Barker--Surcharge on Crimes against at-risk Persons
 
Friday, February 17
 
1:00 p.m. Room 0107 House Judiciary
HB 1232 Gardner B.—Health Care Costs for Persons in Custody
Current law provides that a person in a county jail is primarily responsible for payment for medical care related to a self-inflicted injury or for a preexisting medical condition. The bill expands this provision to include a person in a municipal jail or in the custody of a county or municipal law enforcement agency.

Bills of Interest January 30-February 3, 2012