COVA Public Policy Information and Updates
COVA's public policy program works to ensure that crime victims' rights are emphasized within Colorado's public policy. COVA provides support for people working with crime victims, and educates the general public with regard to victim issues. One significant goal is to raise awareness of victim issues within the public consciousness to a level where all crime victims are viewed and treated with honor and respect, have access to the help they need and have their rights recognized as an essential element of the criminal justice process.
This page contains legislative updates, information regarding ongoing projects, and links to additional resources. For additional information, to become involved in any of these efforts, or for any questions, please email .
2010 Legislative Session
Click here for a brief re-cap of the 2010 Legislative Session.
Following are the Victim Services Bills COVA Monitored during the 2010 Legislative Session:
HB10-1010 Expand Public-private Initiatives, FERRANDINO / MORSE
— Long-term Fiscal Stability Commission. Using the existing public-private initiative program for the department of transportation as a model, section 1 of the bill:
* Authorizes state agencies to enter into public-private initiative agreements with nonprofit entities; and
* Specifies evaluative criteria to be used by and procedures to be followed by the agencies in considering, evaluating, and accepting or rejecting unsolicited proposals for public-private initiatives.
Status: 04/15/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1057 County Sheriff Service Of Process, RYDEN / SPENCE
— Current law dictates the fee a county sheriff may charge for the service of process in noncriminal actions. The sheriff must refund a portion of this fee if the sheriff is unable to serve the process. The bill eliminates the refund and allows the sheriff to charge the same fee for service of process whether actually served or not. The bill also allows county sheriffs to implement a zone- or zip code-based mileage structure, which would allow sheriffs to charge a flat rate for any service of process within a specified zone or zip code.
Status: 04/15/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1065 No Counting Juvenile Escape Toward Completion, MCCANN / TOCHTROP
— The bill prohibits counting any time that a juvenile may spend on escape status toward completion of the juvenile's commitment.
Status: 03/18/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1082 Bar Felons From School Employment, MCNULTY / PENRY
— The bill enacts the "Felon-free Schools Act of 2010" (the act), which prohibits a school district or public school from employing as a nonlicensed employee a person who has a conviction for certain enumerated criminal offenses. The act also amends existing mandatory disqualifications for licensed educators to include any conviction for a felony drug offense.
Status: 02/22/2010 House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely
HB10-1089 No SVP In Return-to-custody Facilities, WALLER / NEWELL
— The bill requires that a parolee who has been designated a sexually violent predator be placed in a department of corrections facility after having his or her parole revoked.
Status: 03/31/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1090 Jail Sentence Driving Under Restraint, WALLER / MORSE
— The bill eliminates the mandatory 5-day jail sentence for a person who is convicted of driving a motor vehicle or off-highway vehicle upon any highway of the state with knowledge that his or her license or privilege to drive, either as a resident or a nonresident, is under restraint for any reason other than conviction of driving under the influence (DUI), DUI per se, driving while ability impaired, habitual user, or underage drinking and driving.
Status: 03/29/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1094 Deadly Force Intruder Businesses, GARDNER C. / HARVEY
— The bill extends the right to use deadly force against an intruder under certain conditions to include owners, managers, and employees of places of business.
Status: 03/15/2010 House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely
HB10-1097 Temp Inj Child Custody Cases, BENEFIELD / MORSE
— Currently, in a divorce or legal separation action, a temporary injunction is in effect against both parties upon personal service on the respondent. The bill creates a temporary injunction, upon personal service on the respondent, in paternity proceedings and in proceedings involving the allocation of parental responsibilities that are not brought as part of a divorce or legal separation action.
Status: 03/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1104 Veterans Treatment Court, LOOPER / WILLIAMS
— The bill authorizes each judicial district to establish a program for the treatment of certain defendants who are veterans or members of the military (veterans court). The bill describes the general components required for each veterans court. A court may place a veteran or member of the military in a supervision program, without entering a judgment of conviction, with terms and conditions that include successful completion of the veterans court. A court may not assign a defendant to a veterans court if the defendant committed an offense for which the suspension of sentence or the granting of probation is prohibited by existing law. A court may seal documents relating to a case involving a defendant who was assigned to the veterans court after the defendant is successfully discharged from the supervision program unless the district attorney objects. A county or municipal court may transfer original jurisdiction of certain cases involving misdemeanors to the district court for the purpose of assigning defendants to the veterans court.
Status: 04/16/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1112 Corr Educ Vocational Prog Standards, MIKLOSI
— The bill adds vocational programs to the educational programs that are offered by the department of corrections (department) pursuant to the "Correctional Education Program Act of 1990" (Act). The bill amends an objective of the Act to ensure that every person in a correctional facility who has an expectation of release from custody within five years receives adult basic education instruction if he or she lacks basic and functional literacy skills and has the opportunity to achieve functional literacy, be released possessing at least entry-level marketable vocational skills, and obtain the equivalent of a high school education.
Status: 03/31/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1135 Define Domestic Violence Child Custody, RYDEN / HUDAK & ...
— In the statutory section concerning the best interests of the child under the "Uniform Dissolution of Marriage Act", the bill replaces the term "spouse abuse" in each occurrence with the broader term "domestic violence". The bill defines the term "domestic violence" to align the definition closely to the broader definition of "domestic violence" in the criminal statutes, and also defines the term "intimate relationship". The bill replaces the term "spouse abuse" with the broader term "domestic violence" where the term occurs in the statutory sections relating to modification of parenting time. The new definition of "domestic violence" will apply to determinations of the best interests of a child occurring on or after July 1, 2010.
Status: 04/14/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1184 Felony For Multiple DUI Offenders, GARDNER C. / LUNDBERG
— The bill creates a class 6 felony for a person who is convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) or DUI per se at any time after the date of 2 or more previous violations for which the person has been convicted of DUI or DUI per se.
Status: 02/08/2010 House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely
HB10-1201 Consent To Search Advisement, MIDDLETON / STEADMAN
— Before conducting a consensual search of a car, a person in the car, a home, or a pedestrian, the bill requires a peace officer to read a statement related to consent to the search and obtain the person's written consent to the search. The consent applies only to searches for which there is otherwise no legal basis.
Status: 04/29/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1215 Use of Chas Bonds to Satisfy Court Debts, WALLER / SCHEFFEL
— The bill requires the court to apply the bond deposit to satisfy any outstanding court costs, fees, fines, restitution, or surcharges the defendant may owe if the defendant is the depositor. In cases in which the defendant is not the depositor and the depositor consents in writing, the court may apply the bond deposit toward court costs, fees, fines, restitution, or surcharges owed by the defendant.
Status: 04/15/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1218 Protection Order Registry Information, WALLER / NEWELL
— The bill clarifies that the central registry of protection orders shall contain information on the amount of bail and conditions of bond in any case in which the court has entered a protection order and the highest classified crime charged in the case, if any.
Status: 04/19/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1219 Authorization to Sell DOC Facilities, VAAD / PENRY
The bill authorizes the executive director of the department of corrections to sell by competitive bid the correctional facilities owned by the department of corrections. Under current law, private prisons may only house medium security or lower security inmates. The bill removes that limitation.
Status: 02/22/2010 House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely
HB10-1226 Differential Response To Child Abuse , KEFALAS / SPENCE
The bill creates the differential response pilot program (pilot program) for certain county departments of social services (participating county departments) to use in addressing intra familial abuse or neglect cases that are deemed to be of low or moderate risk according to an assessment performed by each participating county department.
Status: 04/15/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1233 Relocation of Stalking Statute, RYDEN / NEWELL
The bill relocates the crime of stalking in the statutes.
Status: 04/14/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1237 Crime Information Enforcement Databases, MCNULTY / CARROLL M.
Sections 1 to 3 of the bill require every district attorney to transmit certain criminal information over an electronic network interface to the Colorado integrated criminal justice information system.
Status: 04/05/2010 House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely
HB10-1239 Defendant to Provide Notice of Defenses, WALLER
The bill requires a defendant who intends to offer evidence of a mental condition that prevented or impaired the formation of the required mental state for the crime to provide notice of that intent to the court and the prosecution. The court may order an evaluation of the defendant after receiving the notice. By putting the mental condition at issue, the defendant waives confidentiality and privilege related to his or her treatment for the mental condition. If a defendant intends to use the defense of intoxication, the bill requires that he or she provide notice to the court and the prosecution of that intent. The notice must include all substances taken and whether the intoxication was voluntary. By raising the defense of intoxication, the defendant waives confidentiality and privilege related to the substances.
Status: 02/25/2010 House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely
HB10-1251 Criminal Atty File Retention Periods, COURT / STEADMAN
The bill requires an attorney who is an attorney of record in a criminal case that results in a conviction for a felony to retain his or her case file for a specified period.
Status: 04/08/2010 House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely
HB10-1255 Sunset CO Commn Deaf and Hard of Hearing, KEFALAS & ... / STEADMAN
Sunset Process - House Health and Human Services Committee. The bill continues the Colorado commission for the deaf and hard of hearing until 2015.
Status: 04/15/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1261 Unborn Victims Of Violence Act, BRANDFORD & ...
The bill creates a new statutory part that addresses violent acts against an unborn child and includes the following crimes:
* Murder of an unborn child; and
* Voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child. An unborn child is defined as 16 weeks or older.
Status: 02/22/2010 House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely
HB10-1265 Waive Surcharges Indigent Defendants, VIGIL
The bill clarifies that a court may suspend or waive surcharges and costs for victims and witness services that are levied against a defendant upon conviction of certain criminal actions and traffic offenses or infractions, if the court determines that the defendant is indigent.
Status: 04/29/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1274 Out-of-home Juvenile Transition Pub Sch, SCHAFER S. / JOHNSTON
The bill requires the department of human services (department) to provide written notification to a school district, charter school, or institute charter school (school) 10 days prior to enrollment of a student who has been placed in out-of-home placement and is identified as potentially presenting a risk to himself or herself or the community (student). In a case where the student requires an emergency placement, the bill requires the department to provide written notification to the school 5 days prior to the student's enrollment.
Status: 05/05/2010 Senate Committee on Education Refer Amended to Senate Committee of the Whole
HB10-1277 Sexual Conduct In Correctional Facility, DELGROSSO / STEADMAN
Current law prohibits a correctional employee or volunteer from engaging in sexual activity with an inmate. The bill extends that prohibition to engaging in sexual activity with a person or with a juvenile in a detention or commitment facility. The bill makes a 5-year appropriation.
Status: 05/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1327 Cash Fund Transfers Augment General Fund, POMMER / WHITE
For the purpose of augmenting the amount of revenues in the state general fund for the 2009-10 state fiscal year, the state treasurer is required to transfer specified amounts of moneys to the general fund from the following funds:
* The law enforcement assistance fund for the prevention of drunken driving and the enforcement of laws pertaining to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (referred to as the LEAF fund).
Status: 04/15/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1334 Public Indecency and Indecent Exposure, KING S. / STEADMAN
Under current law, a public act of masturbation is a crime under the public indecency statute and is a class 1 petty offense. The bill moves the offense to the crime of indecent exposure, a class 1 misdemeanor. The bill expands the definition of the crime of public indecency, which is a class 1 petty offense, to include knowingly exposing one's genitals in a way that is likely to cause affront or alarm to another person. If a person has been previously convicted of that same act of public indecency, the bill raises the penalty from a class 1 petty offense to a class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also expands the definition of the crime of indecent exposure to include exposing one's genitals in public with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desire of any person. The bill adds a subsequent conviction of one provision of the crime of public indecency to the definition of "unlawful sexual behavior" for purposes of the sex offender registration statutes.
Status: 06/07/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1336 CDPS Expenditures School Safety, SCHAFER S. / NEWELL
The bill authorizes the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety (department) to expend any state, federal, or other moneys made available under any law or program designed to improve the administration of criminal justice, court systems, law enforcement, prosecution, corrections, probation and parole, juvenile delinquency programs, and related fields.
Status: 06/05/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1338 Probation Eligible Two Prior Felony, MCCANN
The bill allows a person who has 2 or more prior felony convictions to be eligible for probation unless he or she has at least one prior conviction of a crime of violence, manslaughter, 2nd degree burglary, robbery, theft, or a felony offense committed against a child.
Status: 05/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1347 DUI Penalties, LEVY / MORSE
The bill adjusts the penalties for second offenses of driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while ability impaired (DWAI) and creates new penalties for third and subsequent offenses of DUI and DWAI. In sentencing persons for DUI, DWAI, DUI per se, and habitual user, courts are encouraged to require the use of approved ignition interlock devices by persons as a condition of bond, probation, and participation in work, educational, and medical release programs.
Status: 05/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1352 Controlled Substance Crime Changes, WALLER / STEADMAN & ...
The bill changes the classification, scope, definitions, and other specific provisions of certain drug-related crimes and the crime of fraud and deceit.
Status: 05/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1359 Change of Venue Dependency and Neglect, MCCANN / STEADMAN
The bill clarifies the process for transferring jurisdiction over dependency and neglect cases to a different court. In a case where the proceedings were commenced in a county other than the county in which the child resides, the court may transfer the case to the county in which the child resides if the transfer would not be detrimental to the best interests of the child and the child has been adjudicated dependent and neglected or the case has been continued according to certain provisions in law.
Status: 05/14/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1360 Parole Placement for Technical Violation, PACE / STEADMAN
Section 1. The bill clarifies that parole officers' duties include helping offenders reintegrate into society. Section 2. The bill creates a recidivism reduction grant program administered by the division of adult parole in the department of corrections (DOC). The program will provide grants to branch parole offices that partner with a local treatment provider or other service provider to implement evidence-based practices designed to reduce recidivism among parolees by 20% over the 2-year period of the grant. The bill lowers the maximum amount of time that the state board of parole (parole board) may revoke parole for a parolee who has committed a technical parole violation. The bill creates a new option for the parole board at a revocation hearing for a parolee who commits a parole violation based on a substance abuse problem, mental illness, or both. If the parole board finds the parolee would be amenable to treatment, the parole board can continue the parole revocation hearing and modify the parolee's parole conditions to allow the parolee to be placed in a treatment program that suits the parolee's needs.
Status: 05/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1364 Sunset Sex Offender Management Board, RYDEN / HUDAK
The bill extends the repeal date for the sex offender management board (board) by 5 years to July 1, 2015, and revises the board's duties. Section 4: The bill repeals and reenacts, with amendments, the section in the article relating to the board's creation and duties.
* Removes the "no known cure" language from the requirement that the board prescribe a standardized procedure for the evaluation and identification of adult sex offenders;
* Clarifies that the board's existing duty to research and analyze the effectiveness of evaluation, identification, and treatment procedures includes a review of the no-cure policy and the containment model for sex offender treatment and management, and requires the board to prepare and present a report to the judiciary committees of the general assembly, on or before December 1, 2011, concerning the board's research and analysis
Status: 05/21/2010 Governor Action - VETOED
HB10-1366 Prohibitions On Circulating Petitions, APUAN
The bill makes it unlawful for any person who is on parole or probation for offenses involving unlawful sexual behavior or felony fraud Scanlan, Todd to act as a petition circulator.
Status: 05/05/2010 Senate Committee on Finance Postpone Indefinitely
HB10-1373 Sentencing Changes For Escape Crimes, CARROLL T. / HUDAK
Under current law, a person who commits an escape crime is subject to a mandatory consecutive prison sentence. The bill limits that requirement to those persons who commit an escape crime while on inmate status.
Status: 05/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1374 Parole Changes Evidence-based Practices, FERRANDINO / PENRY
Section 1. The bill directs the sex offender management board to develop a specific sex offender release guideline instrument for the state board of parole (parole board) to use in determining when to release a sex offender on parole. Section 2. The bill directs the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety to develop, in consultation with the parole board, an administrative release guideline instrument for the parole board to use in determining when to release an offender on parole.
Status: 05/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1391 Sunset Instacheck Firearm Transfer, RICE / BOYD
The bill eliminates the July 1, 2010, repeal of certain provisions requiring that the Colorado bureau of investigation deny the transfer of a firearm to a person if the bureau receives certain information about the person's criminal history in response to a request transmitted to the national instant criminal background check system or a search of another database.
Status:06/07/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1395 Interlocutory Appeals In Civil Cases, GARDNER B. / STEADMAN
The bill provides that the Colorado court of appeals shall have initial jurisdiction over interlocutory appeals from certified questions of law in civil cases.
Status:06/07/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1411 Natl Instant Crim Background Check Sys, WALLER
The bill eliminates statutory language requiring the Colorado bureau of investigation (CBI) to deny a transfer of a firearm if information from the national instant criminal background check system (NICS) indicates that (1) the prospective transferee has been arrested for or charged with a crime for which the prospective transferee, if convicted, Capital letters indicate new material to be added to existing statute. Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute. would be prohibited under state or federal law from purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm; and (2) either there has been no final disposition of the case or the final disposition is not noted in the other databases. This language is replaced by new language that requires the CBI to deny a transfer of a firearm if information from the NICS indicates that (1) the prospective transferee has been arrested for or charged with a crime for which the prospective transferee, if convicted, would be prohibited under state or federal law from purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm; and (2) the prospective transferee either is released on bond or has been issued a summons to appear in court for resolution of the arrest or charge.
Status:06/07/2010 Governor Action - Signed
HB10-1413 Limitation On Juvenile Direct File, LEVY / NEWELL / ...
For purposes of authorizing a district attorney to directly file charges in district court against a juvenile (direct file), the bill changes the minimum age of the defendant from 14 to 16 years, except in the case of first degree murder, second degree murder, or a sex offense. At least 14 days prior to filing the charges in district court, the district attorney must file the charges in juvenile court with a notice of decision on direct file. The bill lists the criteria that the district attorney must consider in Capital letters indicate new material to be added to existing statute. Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute. determining whether to direct file charges against a juvenile. The district attorney must submit a written statement listing the criteria the district attorney relied upon in deciding to direct file. The bill permits a juvenile convicted in district court of a class 2 felony nonsex offense to be sentenced to the youthful offender system.
Status:05/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
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SB10-042 Fin Exploitation Consent Release Records, SCHWARTZ / FRANGAS & ...
— Under the "Protection Against Financial Exploitation of At-risk Adults Act" in the "Colorado Human Services Code", current law requires banks, industrial banks, federal savings banks, savings and loan associations, building and loan associations, trust companies, and credit unions (financial institutions), only upon request of a consumer, to offer the requesting consumer, who is either over 60 years of age or is an at-risk adult, the option to sign an informed consent form for placement in the consumer's file or records, thereby allowing the financial institution to disclose the consumer's financial information or records in connection with an investigation of known or suspected financial exploitation of the consumer. The bill relocates this provision to the "Colorado Banking Code" and requires financial institutions to inform all account holders who are at-risk adults of their right to voluntarily sign and have placed in their bank records a consent form "At-risk adult" is defined, consistent with the "Colorado Criminal Code", as a person who is:
* 60 years of age or older; or
* 18 years of age or older and is a person with a disability. Financial institutions and their employees and agents are granted civil and criminal immunity when they either disclose or fail to disclose an account holder's financial information pursuant to a signed prior consent form or report or fail to report financial exploitation of an eligible account holder.
Status: 06/08/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-043 Extend Repeal Office Child Rep, WHITE / POMMER
— The bill extends for 10 years the repeal of the "Office of the Child's Representative Act", which is currently scheduled to repeal on July 1, 2010.
Status: 04/24/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-054 Educ Services For Juv Charged As Adult, HUDAK / LEVY
— The bill requires a school district to provide educational services during the school year to a juvenile who is held, pending trial as an adult, in a jail located within the school district. The school district is also required to comply with the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" if the juvenile has a disability.
Status:05/25/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-066 Reporting Of Child Abuse Or Neglect, HUDAK / LEVY
— The bill clarifies that the requirement that certain persons report child abuse or neglect does not apply if a person does not have reasonable cause to know of or suspect the abuse or neglect until the child is 18 years of age or older.
Status: 06/10/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-070 Ballot Question Re Dist Atty Term Limits, KESTER
— The bill provides an explicit statutory mechanism for the referral of ballot questions that seek to modify the limitations on terms of office for district attorneys to the eligible electors of single-county or multiple-county judicial districts pursuant to the state constitution* The clerk and recorder of any county referring such a question is to be the designated election official and must certify the results of the question to the secretary of state.
* The general assembly may, acting by bill, refer a measure to the voters of a judicial district that seeks to modify the limitations on terms of office for a district attorney.
Status: 05/20/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-080 Protection Orders Pets Animals, NEWELL / FRANGAS
— The bill allows a court-entered civil protection order to restrain a party from threatening, molesting, injuring, killing, taking, transferring, encumbering, concealing, or disposing of any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by any other party. A court-entered civil protection order may also specify arrangements for possession and care of any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by any other party. The bill amends the definitions of "abuse of the elderly or of an at-risk adult", "domestic abuse", and "protection order" as necessary to include threats or actions against animals.
Status: 04/12/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-113 First Degree Murder Of A Fetus, SCHULTHEIS / NIKKEL
— Makes killing a fetus in certain circumstances a class 1 felony. Makes the following exceptions to a charge involving the killing of a fetus:
* That the defendant was providing medical treatment to which the mother of the fetus consented; or
* That the act was committed by a physician in a case where, to a medical certainty, the result of childbirth would be death of the mother of the fetus or where her death from childbirth, although not medically certain, would be substantially certain or more likely than not. Makes a 5-year appropriation.
Status: 03/03/2010 Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Postpone Indefinitely
SB10-125 CBI Surcharge Background Checks, TAPIA
The bill authorizes the Colorado bureau of investigation to collect an additional surcharge on each fee that it collects for the performance of a criminal history record check that it performs pursuant to statute. The bill includes a conforming amendment.
Status: 04/04/2010 Senate Committee on Finance Postpone Indefinitely
SB10-128 Invasion of Privacy, HUDAK / RICE
The bill moves the crime of invasion of privacy for sexual gratification from the unlawful sexual contact statute into its own statute. The bill increases the penalty for the crime of invasion of privacy for sexual gratification to a class 6 felony when either:
* The defendant has been previously convicted of an unlawful sexual behavior offense; or
* The defendant observed a person under the age of 18 years during the commission of the crime.
Status: 06/10/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-130 Alignment of Powers Dept of Corrections, KESTER / MCCANN
The bill clarifies that the executive director of the department of corrections (DOC), and not the director of the division of adult parole within the DOC, shall supervise and control the state's correctional facilities and that the DOC, and not the division of adult parole within the DOC, shall exercise the powers, duties, and functions of the former department of institutions with respect to honor camps, work release programs, and other adult correctional programs.
Status: 04/15/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-140 Human Trafficking, MITCHELL
The bill repeals and relocates, with amendments, provisions relating to trafficking in adults, trafficking in children, and coercion of involuntary servitude. The bill adds trafficking in adults, trafficking in children, and coercion of involuntary servitude to the list of offenses against the person that qualify as a racketeering activity for the purposes of the "Colorado Organized Crime Control Act". The bill includes conforming amendments.
Status: 04/21/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-152 Info To Mandatory Reporter Child Abuse, NEWELL / GAGLIARDI
The bill requires a county department of social services (county department) to provide information to a mandatory reporter concerning the mandatory reporter's report to the county department of suspected child abuse or neglect. Within 30 calendar days after receipt of a report, the bill requires the county department to provide certain information to the mandatory reporter, including but not limited to the name of persons who may pose a safety risk to the victim, whether the victim has been returned to his or her home, whether the case has been closed, and contact information for the caseworker investigating the report.
Status: 05/14/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-153 Behavioral Health Screening & Efficiency, BOYD
The bill sets forth a legislative declaration concerning the importance of creating a comprehensive approach to behavioral health issues, including mental health and substance use disorders, and establishes the behavioral health transformation council to develop strategies for implementing a systemic transformation of the behavioral health care system.
Status: 05/26/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-159 Defendant Statement Community Correction, FOSTER / MIKLOSI
Under current law, a victim may submit a written victim impact statement to a community corrections board (board) that is considering an offender's transitional referral to community corrections, and a victim may also make a separate oral statement at the hearing. The bill reaffirms a victim's right to make an oral statement and permits a board, in its discretion and within the parameters set by the board, to allow an offender to submit a written statement to the board and to have a person give an oral statement on the offender's behalf to the board concerning the transitional referral to community corrections.
Status: 05/27/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-171 Create Child Protection Ombudsman Prog, NEWELL / GAGLIARDI
The bill repeals and relocates, with amendments, provisions relating to trafficking in adults, trafficking in children, and coercion of involuntary servitude. The bill requires proof of the use of force, fraud, or coercion to prove the crime of trafficking in adults or trafficking in children and proof of the use of force or fraud to prove the crime of coercion of involuntary servitude. The bill adds trafficking in adults, trafficking in children, and coercion of involuntary servitude to the list of offenses against the person that qualify as a racketeering activity for the purposes of the "Colorado Organized Crime Control Act". The bill includes conforming amendments.
Status: 05/14/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-193 Restraints Used on Pregnant Inmates, HUDAK / LEVY
The bill addresses the use of restraints on pregnant women in custody or confined in prisons, city and county jails, juvenile detention facilities, or department of human services facilities. The bill requires that the least restrictive restraint necessary to ensure safety be used on a woman in her second or third trimester of Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute. pregnancy. Staff shall not use restraints of any kind on a pregnant woman during labor and delivery of the child, postpartum recovery, or transport to or from a medical facility for childbirth unless medical staff determines that restraints are necessary for safe childbirth, the woman poses an immediate and serious risk of harm to herself or medical staff, or the woman poses a substantial risk of escape that cannot be reasonably reduced by another method. In any event, however, the staff will not use leg shackles or waist restraints. Staff shall make a record of any restraint used on a woman during labor or delivery, postpartum recovery, or transport to or from a medical facility for childbirth. Staff shall maintain the record for a minimum of 5 years and make it available to the public with personally identifying information removed. The bill entitles a woman to have a member of the medical staff present at any strip search conducted upon the woman's return to confinement after childbirth. Staff shall inform a pregnant woman of the provisions of the statute relating to the use of restraints and any post-childbirth strip search at the time of the initial intake or determination of the pregnancy, at the onset of labor, and upon return to confinement after childbirth. The bill requires that staff receive adequate training concerning the provisions of the bill.
Status: 05/27/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-199 Probate Code Revisions, CARROLL M. / COURT
The bill requires the revisor of statutes to include in the publication of the "Colorado Probate Code" as nonstatutory matter, following each amended or added section, the full text of the official comments to that section contained in the 2008 official text of "Amendments to Uniform Probate Code" issued by the national conference of commissioners on Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute. uniform state laws, with any changes in the official comments or Colorado comments to correspond to Colorado changes in the uniform probate code. The bill requires cost-of-living adjustments of certain dollar amounts to be rounded to one-thousand-dollar increments, rather than one-hundred-dollar increments, for purposes of the Colorado probate code. The bill provides that a "will" does not include a designated beneficiary agreement for purposes of the Colorado probate code. The bill removes statutory language awarding a part or all of an intestate estate to a designated beneficiary who was designated by the decedent to be his or her designated beneficiary for purposes of intestate succession. The bill adds new statutory language concerning the rights of a designated beneficiary to receive all or part of an intestate estate. The bill removes statutory language awarding a share of an intestate estate for a decedent's stepchildren when there are no blood relatives of the decedent available to receive an intestate share. A child who is in the process of being adopted by a second adult in a second-parent adoption when the second adult dies is treated as adopted by the second adult if the child's parent survives the second adult by 120 hours. The bill reduces the degree of evidence required to overcome a presumption that a deceased spouse has a parent-child relationship with a child born using assisted reproduction technologies. The bill revises the scope of the rules of construction applicable to wills and other governing instruments to specify that new class gift rules apply only to documents executed or re-published on or after the effective date of the applicable statute. Terms of relationship in a governing instrument that do not differentiate relationships by blood from those by marriage, such as uncles, aunts, nieces, or nephews, are construed to exclude relatives by marriage. A personal representative is protected from potential surcharges and liability as a result of the personal representative making distributions of assets without knowledge that an individual intends or may intend to use a decedent's genetic material to create a child and that the birth of such a child would affect the asset distribution formula. The bill amends the effective date-applicability clause of House Bill 09-1287, enacted in 2009.
Status: 06/07/2010 Governor Action - Signed
SB10-204 Penalty Careless Driving Causing Death, SHAFFER B.
The bill increases the number of points from 4 to 12 that accumulate on a person's driver's license as a result of a conviction for careless driving resulting in death. Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute.
Status: 05/21/2010 Governor Action - Signed
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Resources & Links
Colorado Legislative Home Page - Listen to the legislature as they debate the issues, read the bills online, track the daily calendar, look up state statutes and find a great deal more information regarding the legislature.
http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/stateleg.html
State Bill Colorado - Cover Colorado's General Assembly with 15 reporters involved in every committee and floor hearing. http://www.statebillinfo.com
Project Vote Smart - Find out who represents you and more regarding elected officials http://www.vote-smart.org/
Colorado Judicial Branch - Find information on court cases, court decisions, contact information, and much more regarding Colorado’s court system.
http://www.courts.state.co.us/
Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute - Part of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy and an excellent source for information regarding TABOR and Colorado’s budget
http://www.cclponline.org/
National Crime Victim Law Institute - A legal institute housed at the Lewis and Clark Law School that promotes fairness in the criminal justice system through victim centered legal advocacy, education and resource sharing.
http://www.lclark.edu/org/ncvli/
The Bell Policy Center - A nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank committed to developing and promoting ideas that can improve Colorado’s quality of life.
http://www.bighorncenter.org/
The United States House of Representatives - http://www.house.gov
The United States Senate - http://www.senate.gov
Click to View the Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24, Article 4.1 (Crime Victim Compensation and Victim and Witness Rights Statute) NOTE: The Division of Criminal Justice website will open in a new window.
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