CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM COMMITTEE GETS STARTED

DENVER—Today the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Reform began working to find possible solutions to the tangle of contradictory provisions in Colorado’s State Constitution.

Chaired by Senate President Pro-Tem Abel Tapia (D-Pueblo), the committee also includes Senator Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont), Senator Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield), Representative Andy Kerr (D-Lakewood), Representative Ellen Roberts (R-Durango) and Representative Al White (R-Hayden).

“We have quite a challenge in front of us and limited time to address these issues,” Tapia said. “We are not here to reinvent the wheel or create more reports to file away. I hope we can accomplish something great for the state of Colorado.”

The Committee will meet again at 8 a.m. Thursday in House Committee Room 112. Senate President Peter Groff and House Speaker Andrew Romanoff have asked the committee to present their recommendations by March 7.

On Thursday authors from the 2007 Colorado Constitutional Panel from the University of Denver will be asked to give a presentation to the committee. The committee will review the recent constitutional study and 12 recommendations proposed by the University of Denver’s constitutional panel.

The Select Committee will work with former legislators who have a unique understanding of Colorado’s constitutional quagmire, including former U.S. Senator and CU President Hank Brown, former Senate President Stan Matsunaka, former Senate Majority Leader Norma Anderson, former Senator and JBC member Penfield Tate.

BILL GIVES MINORS SECOND CHANCE

Williams’ bill looks at rehabilitation

for felony minors

DENVER— Today the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Suzanne Williams (D-Aurora) to provide a path of rehabilitation for youthful offenders convicted of murder.

Senate Bill 08-66 reduces the penalty from first degree murder to a class-2 felony for people younger than 18 years old. With this bill, minors who are charged with felonies and did not commit or assist in committing the act who pled down could now qualify for the Youthful Offender System.

“Studies show us that rehabilitating juvenile offenders not only will decrease their likelihood for reoffending, but also help us keep numbers in our prisons down,” Williams said. “The bottom line is an issue of fairness.”

The bill moves to the Appropriations Committee next for consideration.

TUPA CRACKS DOWN ON UNDERAGE SMOKING

Bill to stop underage smoking
passes with strong bipartisan support

DENVER—Today the Senate State Affairs Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 88, sponsored by Sen. Ron Tupa (D-Boulder), to close a loophole in law and make it illegal for minors to possess or use tobacco products.

Currently, Colorado law only prohibits the sale and distribution of tobacco products to people younger than 18 years old. Colorado was one of 15 states to not have that law.

“This bill is a long overdue change that closes Colorado’s ‘teen nicotine’ loophole,” Tupa said. “No longer will anyone younger than age 18 years old be able to legally use and posses tobacco products. This goes a long way toward reducing the incidence of teens picking up this dangerous, if not, deadly habit.”

Ninety percent of tobacco users pick up the habit before age 18. This bill will help keep our children safe and will ultimately save taxpayer dollars in long-term health costs.

About 92,000 youth smokers 17 years old and younger are expected to die prematurely as a result of tobacco use. For every person who dies from tobacco, another 20 suffer with at least one serious tobacco-related illness.

For the first time ever it requires a retailer to ask for an identification card if the purchaser looks younger than 30 years old. According to testimony from Jodi Radke with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 54 percent of teens were not asked for identification before purchasing tobacco products.

The bill moves to the full Senate next for consideration.

PIRACY BILL CREATES STRICTER PENALTIES

Senator Gibbs’ bill ups illegal recordings fine
to a Class 6 for repeat offenders

DENVER— Today the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Senate Bill 08-104 sponsored by Sen. Dan Gibbs (D-Silverthorne) to increase penalties for music piracy.

The bill increases the penalty for selling illegally packaged recordings to a Class 6 felony if the offense involves more than 100 articles or the person has already been convicted of the same crime. This bill allows law enforcement to confiscate the recordings and any equipment used to make them and turn them over to the local district attorney.

The district attorney may request a court order to destroy the recordings and a court order to allow for the equipment to be donated to a charitable or educational organization. Under current law, it is a Class 1 misdemeanor to sell illegally packaged recorded materials.

“The loss to our small businesses is staggering,” Gibbs said. “My hope is to restore the estimated $8.1 tax revenue of lost music sales in Colorado and restore the 518 jobs piracy takes from hardworking people.”

With this law, offenders are liable to felony prosecution thus giving Colorado law enforcement agencies the legal tools needed to create an impact against music piracy.

The bill moves to Finance Committee next for consideration.

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM COMMITTEE CONVENES TUESDAY

DENVER— Early Tuesday the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Reform will convene its first meeting to begin a substantive legislative discussion on untangling contradictory provisions in Colorado’s State Constitution.

Chaired by Senate President Pro-Tem Abel Tapia (D-Pueblo), the committee will also include Senator Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont), Senator Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield), Representative Andy Kerr (D-Lakewood), Representative Ellen Roberts (R-Durango) and Representative Al White (R-Hayden).

The Committee will meet at 8 a.m. in the Senate Committee Room 353 to begin their work.

The Select Committee will work with former legislators who have a unique understanding of Colorado’s constitutional quagmire, including former U.S. Senator and CU President Hank Brown, former Senate President Stan Matsunaka, former Senate Majority Leader Norma Anderson, former Senator and JBC member Penfield Tate.

The Select Committee will also review the recent constitutional study and 12 recommendations proposed by the University of Denver’s constitutional panel.

BIPARTISAN PROGRAM INCREASES JOBS FOR DISABLED

Senator Williams’ SB-05 boosts employment for developmentally disabled

DENVER— Today the Senate unanimously passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Suzanne Williams, (D-Aurora) to help create initiatives for community centered boards and other vendors to provide employment services for developmentally disabled persons.

The purpose of Senate Bill 08-05 is to create a two-year pilot program to improve the efficiency of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and to increase the number of persons with developmental disabilities who are employed. The bill would require the DVR to create a funding system to support employment services for persons with developmental disabilities, chronic mental illness, and traumatic brain injuries.

“Our goal is to make it easier for people who are developmentally disabled to become active members of our community,” Williams said. “It is also important that we back that up with incentives for those changes to take place.”

The bill would be implemented within existing appropriations and would improve Colorado’s fiscal strength by allowing people to work, thus expanding our tax base.

The bill moves to the House next for consideration.