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A bill that would have made it a crime to sell pornography to minors in the state died in the Senate Appropriations Committee Friday.
SB 125 was a broad effort to shield minors from exposure to nudity or displays of sexual activity. The bill provided that violation of the ban would be a misdemeanor.
The bill's specific criteria for determining whether sex-related material violated the ban is one source of the controversy surrounding the proposal. The language employed by bill sponsor Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, was as follows:
"A material or performance is deemed harmful to minors if the material or performance depicts nudity or sexual activity and if the material or performance, when taken as a whole, meets the following criteria:
(a) a reasonable adult person would find that the material or performance has a predominant tendency to appeal to the prurient interest of minors; and
(b) a reasonable adult person would find that the depiction of nudity or sexual activity in the material or performance is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community concerning what is suitable for minors; and
(c) a reasonable adult person would find that the material or performance lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors."
This language was drawn from a federal statute called the Child Online Protection Act, which was enacted into law by Congress in 1998. That law and a predecessor called the Communications Decency Act were ruled unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment in two cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Court has held that the First Amendment does allow legislatures greater latitude to restrict the access of minors to pornographic material to minors than would be allowed for adults, but there is uncertainty about whether this "community standard" criteria is constitutional. The Court did not have a majority of its members agreeing that the First Amendment allows pornographic material to be banned with such language in either of the cases ruling on the constitutionality of COPA or CDA.
In addition, opponents of the bill have raised concerns that, whether or not it is consistent with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, it has a higher likelihood of being in conflict with the state constitution's speech clause.
In any event, the decision by the Appropriations Committee turned on money, not the freedom of speech.
Republican Sen. Steve Johnson of Fort Collins was apparently perplexed by the majority's conclusion that there's not enough to pay for the bill's mandate.
"There is an appropriate, unexpended, unaccounted for funding source," Johnson said.
SB 125 had previously been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee when Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, joined with three Republicans on that committee to support the measure.
Friday, March 28, 2008
CAP4K Clears First Hurdle
Gov. Bill Ritter's far-reaching proposal to re-structure the state's public education system won approval from a Senate committee Thursday, clearing its first hurdle on the way to the lawbooks.
SB 212, which incorporates the governor's "Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K)", was approved by the Senate Education Committee on a unanimous, bipartisan vote.
CAP4K, which Ritter introduced at a press conference last month,has four principal elements:
1. The state Board of Education and Colorado Commission on Higher Education would be required to establish definitions of school readiness and college and workforce readiness.
2. The state's Model Content Standards that guide the high school curriculum would be expanded and improved. They would apply to all grades from pre-school to the first year of college (standards currently only exist for grades 3 through 10) and align those standards with the content and skills needed for success after high school.
3. The school readiness assessment program would be based on a goal of assuring that all students who graduate from high school are ready for college and/or the workforce.
4. Post-secondary institution admission policies would be modified to allow students to earn credit by proving their proficiency in a particular subject as opposed to limiting the circumstances under which knowledge can be assumed to a student's completion of a course.
Among the means used to assess student proficiency would be a series of subject-based examinations that would replace the CSAP tests.
SB 212 now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The bill's bipartisan prime sponsors include Reps. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon, and Rob Witwer, R-Genesee, and Sens. Chris Romer, D-Denver, and Josh Penry, R-Fruita.
SB 212, which incorporates the governor's "Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K)", was approved by the Senate Education Committee on a unanimous, bipartisan vote.
CAP4K, which Ritter introduced at a press conference last month,has four principal elements:
1. The state Board of Education and Colorado Commission on Higher Education would be required to establish definitions of school readiness and college and workforce readiness.
2. The state's Model Content Standards that guide the high school curriculum would be expanded and improved. They would apply to all grades from pre-school to the first year of college (standards currently only exist for grades 3 through 10) and align those standards with the content and skills needed for success after high school.
3. The school readiness assessment program would be based on a goal of assuring that all students who graduate from high school are ready for college and/or the workforce.
4. Post-secondary institution admission policies would be modified to allow students to earn credit by proving their proficiency in a particular subject as opposed to limiting the circumstances under which knowledge can be assumed to a student's completion of a course.
Among the means used to assess student proficiency would be a series of subject-based examinations that would replace the CSAP tests.
SB 212 now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The bill's bipartisan prime sponsors include Reps. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon, and Rob Witwer, R-Genesee, and Sens. Chris Romer, D-Denver, and Josh Penry, R-Fruita.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Senate Committee OK's Constitutional Lock on Transportation Spending
A Senate committee approved Thursday a resolution that would ask the state's voters to amend Colorado's constitution to assure that revenues from all sales and use taxes related to automobiles could be used only for transportation projects.
SCR 2 proposes a constitutional amendment requiring the tax revenues from auto-related sources to be routed into the state highway fund and available only to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
If approved by the electorate, the constitutional amendment would allow the General Assembly to divert revenues derived from auto-related sales to other purposes only if two-thirds of the members in each chamber voted to do so.
The measure would assure that about $300 million per year would be available for highway projects, according to sponsor Sen. Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs.
The proposed constitutional amendment, if approved by both chambers of the General Assembly and the voters, would be the second instance of using the state constitution to constrain the legislature's discretion to reduce spending on particular areas of the state budget.
Amendment 23, approved in 2000, requires the General Assembly to increase funding for K-12 education by the rate of inflation plus one percent per year through 2011 and then by the rate of inflation each year after that.
SCR 2 is sponsored in the House by minority leader Mike May, R-Parker.
Gov. Bill Ritter appointed a commission to study transportation issues in Colorado in April 2007. But the governor has not suggested any specific legislation based on the recommendations of the Transportation Finance and Implementation Panel, which were issued in January 2008.
SCR 2 proposes a constitutional amendment requiring the tax revenues from auto-related sources to be routed into the state highway fund and available only to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
If approved by the electorate, the constitutional amendment would allow the General Assembly to divert revenues derived from auto-related sales to other purposes only if two-thirds of the members in each chamber voted to do so.
The measure would assure that about $300 million per year would be available for highway projects, according to sponsor Sen. Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs.
The proposed constitutional amendment, if approved by both chambers of the General Assembly and the voters, would be the second instance of using the state constitution to constrain the legislature's discretion to reduce spending on particular areas of the state budget.
Amendment 23, approved in 2000, requires the General Assembly to increase funding for K-12 education by the rate of inflation plus one percent per year through 2011 and then by the rate of inflation each year after that.
SCR 2 is sponsored in the House by minority leader Mike May, R-Parker.
Gov. Bill Ritter appointed a commission to study transportation issues in Colorado in April 2007. But the governor has not suggested any specific legislation based on the recommendations of the Transportation Finance and Implementation Panel, which were issued in January 2008.
McElhany's I-70 Toll Bill Passes Senate Committee
A bill that would require all motorists on I-70 to pay a toll at the Eisenhower tunnel cleared a Senate committee today.
SB 213, sponsored by Sen. Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, was approved on a 5-2 vote. Among the senators voting "yes" were five co-sponsors of the measure.
The decision by the Senate Transportation Committee came after about two hours of testimony. Most of the witnesses testifying before the committee spoke against the bill. In fact, other than McElhany, the only person speaking in favor of the bill was Denver Chamber of Commerce president Joe Blake.
McElhany's bill would authorize the state to collect a toll of up to $5 on all cars and trucks moving in both directions on I-70.
McElhany, who is the Senate minority leader, said his bill aims only to secure a mechanism for funding whatever recommendations come out of the state department of transportation I-70 study process now underway.
The committee killed a competing proposal by Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver. SB 209 would have charged tolls on vehicles with less than three occupants only at peak travel times.
SB 213, sponsored by Sen. Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, was approved on a 5-2 vote. Among the senators voting "yes" were five co-sponsors of the measure.
The decision by the Senate Transportation Committee came after about two hours of testimony. Most of the witnesses testifying before the committee spoke against the bill. In fact, other than McElhany, the only person speaking in favor of the bill was Denver Chamber of Commerce president Joe Blake.
McElhany's bill would authorize the state to collect a toll of up to $5 on all cars and trucks moving in both directions on I-70.
McElhany, who is the Senate minority leader, said his bill aims only to secure a mechanism for funding whatever recommendations come out of the state department of transportation I-70 study process now underway.
The committee killed a competing proposal by Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver. SB 209 would have charged tolls on vehicles with less than three occupants only at peak travel times.
Proposal to Change Initiative Process Introduced in Senate
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a resolution that would ask the state's voters to toughen the requirements for amending the state's constitution.
SCR 003 adopts the recommendations of the General Assembly's Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Reform. It asks the voters to approve a constitutional amendment that would require petitions for a new statute to secure signatures from four percent of the voters who cast a ballot for governor in the last election in order to get the proposal on the ballot.
For initiatives that propose a constitutional amendment, the proposal would require proponents to obtain the signatures of six percent of the voters who cast a ballot for governor in the last election.
The voters would also be asked to require constitutional amendment petitions to garner signatures from each of Colorado's Congressional districts.
The resolution goes first to the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee. If approved there, it moves on to the Senate.
The primary sponsors of SCR 003 are Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, and Rep. Al White, R-Hayden.
SCR 003 adopts the recommendations of the General Assembly's Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Reform. It asks the voters to approve a constitutional amendment that would require petitions for a new statute to secure signatures from four percent of the voters who cast a ballot for governor in the last election in order to get the proposal on the ballot.
For initiatives that propose a constitutional amendment, the proposal would require proponents to obtain the signatures of six percent of the voters who cast a ballot for governor in the last election.
The voters would also be asked to require constitutional amendment petitions to garner signatures from each of Colorado's Congressional districts.
The resolution goes first to the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee. If approved there, it moves on to the Senate.
The primary sponsors of SCR 003 are Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, and Rep. Al White, R-Hayden.
DNA Bill Clears Senate
The Senate has given final clearance to a bill that guarantees prison inmates a new trial if law enforcement authorities fail to preserve DNA evidence.
SB 205, which was motivated by the case of a Denver resident convicted of rape on the basis of the victim's testimony that she saw him in a dream, passed third reading Wednesday on a 23-9 vote.
Sponsoring Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, introduced the measure as a response to the loss by Denver police of DNA evidence in the case of Clarence Moses-El. Denver police threw away the DNA evidence despite a 1995 court order requiring the agency to keep it.
The "no" votes were all cast by Republicans, including by bill co-sponsors Scott Renfroe, R-Eaton, David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, Steve Ward, R-Littleton, and Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock.
The bill requires a court to grant an convicted felon a new trial "in a case in which material evidence containing DNA or some other kind of evidence that is subject to a preservation order or an order for release and testing is destroyed, lost, or otherwise disposed of before the evidence may be used for the purpose for which it is being preserved."
Current Colorado law does not require that evidence in a criminal case be preserved for any specific period of time. Another bill under consideration at the General Assembly would require law enforcement authorities to keep DNA evidence for various periods of time, depending on the nature of the crime and the specific DNA evidence at issue.
Timothy Masters, a Fort Collins man convicted in 1998 of a 1987 murder, was recently released from prison, and his conviction was reversed, after DNA evidence preserved in his case proved that he could not have committed the murder.
SB 205 now heads to the House.
SB 205, which was motivated by the case of a Denver resident convicted of rape on the basis of the victim's testimony that she saw him in a dream, passed third reading Wednesday on a 23-9 vote.
Sponsoring Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, introduced the measure as a response to the loss by Denver police of DNA evidence in the case of Clarence Moses-El. Denver police threw away the DNA evidence despite a 1995 court order requiring the agency to keep it.
The "no" votes were all cast by Republicans, including by bill co-sponsors Scott Renfroe, R-Eaton, David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, Steve Ward, R-Littleton, and Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock.
The bill requires a court to grant an convicted felon a new trial "in a case in which material evidence containing DNA or some other kind of evidence that is subject to a preservation order or an order for release and testing is destroyed, lost, or otherwise disposed of before the evidence may be used for the purpose for which it is being preserved."
Current Colorado law does not require that evidence in a criminal case be preserved for any specific period of time. Another bill under consideration at the General Assembly would require law enforcement authorities to keep DNA evidence for various periods of time, depending on the nature of the crime and the specific DNA evidence at issue.
Timothy Masters, a Fort Collins man convicted in 1998 of a 1987 murder, was recently released from prison, and his conviction was reversed, after DNA evidence preserved in his case proved that he could not have committed the murder.
SB 205 now heads to the House.
Energy Efficiency Bill Hits Senate Roadblock
A bill that would require most of the state's municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives to set aside some of their revenues to fund energy conservation efforts was derailed, at least temporarily, in a Senate committee Wednesday.
HB 1107 applies to municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives that have at least 5,000 customers. The bill specifies that those entities would have to dedicate one percent of their revenues in 2009 and two percent of revenues in succeeding years to programs aimed at encouraging their customers to use less electricity.
A similar requirement affecting Colorado's investor-owned utilities, such as Excel, is already in effect. The General Assembly mandated such programs for the IOUs in 2007.
During Wednesday's hearing before the State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee, Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, succeeded in amending the bill to limit its applicability to rural electric cooperatives with more than 85,000 members. Romer's amendment entirely removed the municipal utilities from the mandate in the bill.
However, the committee then voted 2-2 on the bill. Without a majority of the five-member committee voting to send it to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the bill is in limbo.
According to a report by John Ingold in the Denver Post's Colorado Capitol Insider blog, committee chair Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, said he worries about the impact of the bill on utility rates for lower-income families but that he would keep an open mind about moving the measure out of committee.
According to the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, the bill would inject about $32 million per year into energy conservation programs around the state, resulting in a reduction of electricity use by 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours (KwH) by 2020, an amount equivalent to the annual use of electricity by 170,000 average Colorado households. Colorado residential and business utility consumers would save $600 million in electricity rates between 2008 and 2020.
The bill was approved by the House, 33-32, on Feb. 27. It was sponsored in the House by Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder. The Senate sponsor is Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver.
HB 1107 applies to municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives that have at least 5,000 customers. The bill specifies that those entities would have to dedicate one percent of their revenues in 2009 and two percent of revenues in succeeding years to programs aimed at encouraging their customers to use less electricity.
A similar requirement affecting Colorado's investor-owned utilities, such as Excel, is already in effect. The General Assembly mandated such programs for the IOUs in 2007.
During Wednesday's hearing before the State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee, Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, succeeded in amending the bill to limit its applicability to rural electric cooperatives with more than 85,000 members. Romer's amendment entirely removed the municipal utilities from the mandate in the bill.
However, the committee then voted 2-2 on the bill. Without a majority of the five-member committee voting to send it to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the bill is in limbo.
According to a report by John Ingold in the Denver Post's Colorado Capitol Insider blog, committee chair Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, said he worries about the impact of the bill on utility rates for lower-income families but that he would keep an open mind about moving the measure out of committee.
According to the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, the bill would inject about $32 million per year into energy conservation programs around the state, resulting in a reduction of electricity use by 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours (KwH) by 2020, an amount equivalent to the annual use of electricity by 170,000 average Colorado households. Colorado residential and business utility consumers would save $600 million in electricity rates between 2008 and 2020.
The bill was approved by the House, 33-32, on Feb. 27. It was sponsored in the House by Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder. The Senate sponsor is Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver.
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