Sen. Pete Lee

Committee on Legal Services. This bill enacts the softbound volumes of Colorado Revised Statutes 2017, including the corrected replacement volume consisting of titles 42 and 43, as the positive and statutory law of the state of Colorado and establishes the effective date of said publication.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Committee on Legal Services. Current law directs the office of legislative legal services to study the organizational recodification of title 12 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, which relates to professions and occupations. One recommendation of the study is to relocate laws located in title 12 that are administered by the department of revenue to a new title 44, which will consist solely of laws administered by the department of revenue that regulate a variety of activities. To implement this recommendation, section 1 of the bill creates title 44 and section 2 relocates laws related to the regulation of limited gaming from title 12 to the new title. Section 3 relocates laws related to the tribal-state gaming compact from title 12 to the new title. Section 4 repeals the relocated laws from their current location. Sections 5 through 45 make conforming amendments necessitated by the relocation of the laws.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

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The bill creates the criminal offense of posting a private image by a juvenile. The offense can be committed in 2 ways. The first way is if a juvenile, through digital or electronic means, knowingly distributes, displays, or publishes to the view of another person a sexually explicit image of a person other than himself or herself who is at least 14 years of age or is less than 4 years younger than the juvenile: Without the depicted person's permission; or When the recipient did not solicit or request to be supplied with the image and suffered emotional distress; or When the juvenile knew or should have known that the depicted person had a reasonable expectation that the image would remain private. The second way is if the juvenile knowingly distributes, displays, or publishes, to the view of another person who is at least 14 years of age or is less than 4 years younger than the juvenile, a sexually explicit image of himself or herself when the recipient did not solicit or request to be supplied with the image and suffered emotional distress. The offense is a class 2 misdemeanor; except that it is a class 1 misdemeanor if: The juvenile committed the offense with the intent to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or otherwise cause emotional distress to the depicted person; or The juvenile had previously posted a private image and completed a diversion program or education program for the act pursuant to the provisions of the bill or had a prior adjudication for posting a private image by a juvenile; or The juvenile distributed, displayed, or published 3 or more images that depicted 3 or more separate and distinct persons. The bill creates the criminal offense of possessing a private image by a juvenile that prohibits a juvenile, through digital or electronic means, from knowingly possessing a sexually explicit image of another person who is at least 14 years of age or is less than 4 years younger than the juvenile without the depicted person's permission. It is not an offense if the juvenile: Took reasonable steps to either destroy or delete the image within 72 hours after initially viewing the image; or Reported the initial viewing of such image to law enforcement or a school resource officer within 72 hours after initially viewing the image. The offense is a petty offense; except that it is a class 2 misdemeanor if the unsolicited possessor of the image possessed 10 or more separate images that depicted 3 or more separate and distinct persons. The bill creates a civil infraction of exchange of a private image by a juvenile if a juvenile, through digital or electronic means: Knowingly sends a sexually explicit image or images of himself or herself to another person who is at least 14 years of age or is less than 4 years younger than the juvenile, and the image or images depict only the sender and no other person and the sender reasonably believed that the recipient had solicited or otherwise agreed to the transmittal of the image or images; or Knowingly possesses a sexually explicit image or images of another person who is at least 14 years of age or is less than 4 years younger than the juvenile, and the image or images depict only the sender and no other person and the juvenile reasonably believed that the depicted person had transmitted the image or images or otherwise agreed to the transmittal of the image or images. The civil infraction can be punished by participation in a program designed by the school safety resource center or other appropriate program addressing the risks and consequences of exchanging a sexually explicit image of a juvenile or a fine of up to $50, which may be waived by the court upon a showing of indigency. If a juvenile's conduct is limited to the elements of the petty offense of possession of a private image by a juvenile or limited to the elements of the civil infraction of exchange of a private image by a juvenile, then the juvenile cannot be charged with sexual exploitation of a child. If a juvenile is charged with posting a private image by a juvenile, he or she cannot be charged with sexual exploitation of a child. The bill allows a juvenile to petition the court to not impose sex offender registration if he or she is charged with sexual exploitation of a child and the juvenile's conduct satisfies posting a private image by a juvenile or possession of a private image by a juvenile. It is an affirmative defense to the two criminal offenses and the civil infraction if a juvenile is coerced, threatened, or intimated into distributing, displaying, publishing, possessing, or exchanging a sexually explicit image of a person under 18 years of age. The court must order the records of any of the 2 criminal offenses or civil infraction expunged within 42 days of completion of the sentence or program. The bill requires the school safety resource center to make available a sexting curriculum for school districts to use. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill renames the division of youth corrections the 'division of youth services' (division) and makes conforming amendments. The bill sets forth the purposes of the renamed division. The bill creates and requires the division to implement a pilot program to initiate a cultural change within the division. The bill creates a cash fund and authorizes the division to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations for the pilot program. The bill requires the department to contract with an independent third party to facilitate, supervise, coach, and train staff and leadership of the division throughout the pilot program. The bill requires the division to contract with a second independent third party to evaluate the effectiveness and outcome of the pilot program. The bill creates community boards in each region of the division, requires a management-level employee from each division facility to attend community board meetings, and requires a representative of the division to report to each community board quarterly. Current law requires the state department of human services (department) to report annually to the general assembly data concerning recidivism rates of youths committed to the custody of the department. The bill requires the department to report data concerning educational outcomes as well as recidivism rates, and the bill requires the state auditor to audit these reports for accuracy and quality. The bill renames the 'youth seclusion working group' the 'youth restraint and seclusion working group', adds a member to the working group, expands the role of the working group to include advising on the use of restraints, requires the division to report to the working group concerning its use of restraints and seclusion, and requires the division to include in its reports an incident report or behavior management plan for any youth whom the division isolates from his or her peers for more than 8 hours in 2 consecutive calendar days. The bill requires the division to document and report certain items relating to the use of restraint as well as the use of seclusion. The bill requires the division to contract with a third independent third party to conduct a performance assessment of the division's de-escalation, physical management, and safety policies and practices, as well as its provision of trauma-responsive care. The bill makes an appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. The bill addresses various issues relating to the restoration of competency for juveniles and adults in the juvenile and criminal justice systems, including: Requiring the court to consider whether restoration to competency services should occur on an outpatient basis if the defendant is on bond or summons; Requiring that, in addition to providing competency restoration services in the least restrictive environment, the provision of such services and a juvenile's participation in those services occur and are reviewed by the court in a timely manner; Establishing the office of behavioral health (office), as the entity responsible for the oversight of restoration education and the coordination services necessary to competency restoration; and Setting forth the duties of the office related to competency restoration services and education, including the development of a standardized juvenile and adult curricula for the educational component of competency restoration services. The curricula, to be developed on or before December 1, 2017, must have a content and delivery mechanism that allows it to be tailored to meet individual needs, including those of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill changes the length of time that a parolee may serve for a technical parole violation. If the parolee is on parole for a class 2 felony; level 1 drug felony; a crime of violence, stalking, menacing, or unlawful sexual behavior; or a crime against an at-risk adult or is a sexually violent predator, the length of revocation is up to the remainder of the parolee's parole period. If the parolee is on parole for a level 2 drug felony or a class 3 nonviolent felony, the length of revocation is up to 90 days. If the parolee is on parole for a level 3 or level 4 drug felony or a class 4, class 5, or class 6 nonviolent felony, the length of revocation is up to 30 days. The bill requires the division of adult parole to conduct a parole plan investigation prior to the parole release hearing and to inform the parole board (board) of the results of the investigation. If the board finds an inmate's parole plan inadequate, the board can table the release decision and order the department to submit a revised parole plan developed in conjunction with the inmate within 30 days of the board's order. The bill allows the board to conduct a parole release review instead of a hearing without the presence of the inmate if the inmate is assessed 'low' or 'very low' on the risk assessment instrument and victim notification is not required. The bill creates the justice reinvestment crime prevention initiative in the division of local government in the department of local affairs (division). The division shall develop the initiative to expand small business lending in the target communities of Aurora and Colorado Springs. The division will issue a request for participation from one or more nondepository community development financial institution loan funds to participate in the small business lending program. The division shall enter into a contract with the selected funds to define the operating terms of the loan program. The loans are limited to 5 years and $50,000. The division shall also develop the initiative to implement a grant program for programs, projects, or direct services aimed at reducing crime in the target communities. The division shall issue a request for participation to select a community foundation or foundations to manage the grant program. The division shall sign an agreement with the selected foundation or foundations that defines the role and responsibility of the foundation in managing the grant program. The grant program may fund: Academic improvement programs; Community-based services; Community engagement programs; Increasing safety and usability of common outdoor-spaces programs; Technical assistance related to data collection, data analysis, and evaluation; and Administrative costs of the foundation. Only a nonprofit organization in good standing and registered with the internal revenue service and the Colorado secretary of state, a school, a unit of local government, or a private contractor hired to provide technical assistance are eligible to receive grants. The bill requires the division to present a status report to the joint judiciary committee regarding the initiative. The bill reduces the appropriation to the department of corrections by $6,628,401 as a result of the changes to the parole statutes. The bill appropriates that $6,628,401to the department of local affairs to fund the lending program and the grant program. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Current law states that a conviction for escape or for attempt to escape may not be used for the purpose of adjudicating a person an habitual criminal unless the conviction is based on the offender's escape or attempt to escape from a correctional facility. The bill clarifies that this prohibition applies to both current and prior convictions for escape and attempt to escape. The bill also states that for the purposes of this prohibition, 'correctional facility' does not include a community corrections facility or a halfway house. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill addresses issues related to the state commission on judicial performance and the various district commissions on judicial performance (state commission, district commissions, or collectively all commissions), including: Procedures and duties common to all commissions are combined in a more user-friendly fashion. The current membership of all commissions is left in place as-is until January 31, 2019, at which time the governor's attorney appointment to a district commission and the chief justice's two nonattorney appointments to a district commission expire. The terms of all other existing commissioners continue until such time as the commissioner's term was originally set to expire. Beginning February 1, 2019, the membership of the commissions is structured as follows, with new appointing authorities making appointments on or before March 1, 2019: The state commission consists of 11 members, one attorney and one nonattorney each by the president of senate and speaker of the house of representatives; one nonattorney each by the minority leader of each house; two attorneys appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court; and two nonattorneys and one attorney appointed by the governor. Each district commission consists of 10 members. The make-up of each district commission is the same as that of the state commission except that the governor only appoints two nonattorneys to each district commission and makes no attorney appointment. In the case of a vacancy, the original appointing authority shall make an appointment within 45 days after the date of the vacancy. If the original appointing authority fails to fill the vacancy within 45 days, the governor shall make the appointment. Other conditions related to the membership of state and district commissioners remain as they exist in current law. Duties of all commissions are outlined. The state commission is tasked with developing uniform rules, guidelines, and procedures,, including those related to the development and distribution of surveys for persons affected by justices and judges; promulgation of rules concerning the evaluation of justices and judges, the creation of a standards matrix related to statutory performance criteria and a description of the thresholds for the recommendations of 'meets performance standard' or 'does not meet performance standard', and the continuous collection of data for use in evaluations; and the development of a systemwide judicial training program and a systemwide volunteer courtroom observer program. The state commission is tasked with developing surveys to provide to persons who are affected by justices and judges and to develop guidelines and procedures to make such surveys readily available to those persons. The state commission shall develop rules, guidelines, and procedures to provide attorneys, pro se litigants, and clients with accessible and timely opportunities to review the surveys. Current law requires the state supreme court to approve rules promulgated by the state commission. That requirement is removed. The state commission may, however, at its discretion and within existing appropriations and resources, retain independent legal counsel to review any rules, guidelines, or procedures adopted. The state commission shall post a notice of any proposed rule, guideline, or procedure, allow for a period for public comment, and give the public the opportunity to address the state commission at a public hearing on the proposed rule, guideline, or procedure. The bill adds retired judges who have returned to temporary judicial duties per contract with the judicial department, as allowed by statute, also referred to as senior judges, to the list of judges that commissions are to evaluate. Every third year following the initial appointment of a senior judge to the bench through a contract, the state commission shall conduct a performance evaluation of such judge. The performance evaluation shall be completed and communicate the related narrative to the chief justice no later than 45 days prior to the expiration of the senior judge's contract for that year. Judicial performance evaluation criteria is retained, as is the requirement for all commissions to perform election-retention-year evaluations as well as initial and interim evaluations. Narratives and recommendations stemming from such evaluations are still required. The option to develop an individual improvement plan (improvement plan) for a justice or judge is authorized. If the state or a district commission recommends that a justice or judge receive an improvement plan, the commission shall communicate that recommendation to the chief justice or appropriate chief judge. The chief justice or chief judge shall then develop an improvement plan for the justice or judge in question and forward such improvement plan to the state commission for review. After the state commission reviews and approves an improvement plan, the chief justice or chief judge has the responsibility for implementing the improvement plan. A copy of the improvement plan and a statement of the results of such plan will be maintained in the appropriate commission's files. If a justice or judge is required to complete an improvement plan and he or she fails to satisfactorily do so, the appropriate commission shall automatically issue a 'does not meet performance standard' designation on his or her performance evaluation summary. The state commission is required to gather and maintain statewide data and post a report of the data on its website at least 30 days prior to each retention election; and Beginning in January 2019, and every 2 years thereafter, the judicial department shall include a summary of the commissions' activities in the department's 'State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act' presentation to the joint judicial committee. A private right of action is established in which final actions of the state commission are subject to judicial review if a person is adversely affected or aggrieved by such final action. A 'final action' for purposes of the private right of action is defined as a rule, guideline, or procedure adopted by the state commission. A 'final action' does not include a final recommendation regarding a justice or a judge, an improvement plan, surveys developed by the state commission, or any aspect of an individual justice's or judge's judicial performance evaluation.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill requires the department of military and veterans affairs to make grants to support the USS Colorado, a soon-to-be commissioned nuclear attack submarine, in order to: Pay for expenses related to the commissioning of the USS Colorado; Promote awareness of the USS Colorado within the state; and Support the crew. For the 2017-18 fiscal year, $100,000 is appropriated to the department of military and veterans affairs to make these grants. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)