S_BLT_2017A 03/20/2017 Committee Summary

02:03 PM -- HB 17-1179



Senator Marble and Senator Court introduced House Bill 17-1179 concerning immunity for a person who renders emergency assistance to a locked vehicle. The bill provides immunity from civil and criminal liability for a person who renders emergency assistance to an at-risk person or dog or cat in a locked vehicle under certain circumstances.



02:06 PM -- Chris Howes, EMS Association of Colorado, spoke in favor of the bill.



02:07 PM -- Reverend Roland Halpern, representing himself, spoke in favor of the bill.



02:09 PM -- Scott Horak, representing himself, spoke in favor of the bill. He responded to questions from the committee.



02:15 PM -- Lori Greenstone, Colorado Voters for Animals, spoke in favor of the bill.



02:16 PM -- Dr. Cheryl Saipe, representing herself, spoke in favor of the bill.



02:18 PM -- Aubyn Royall, Humane Society of the United States, spoke in favor of the bill.



02:19 PM -- Lisa Pedersen, Colorado Federation of Animal Welfare Agencies, spoke in favor of the bill.



02:21 PM -- Leo Boyle, Colorado Veterinary Medicine Association, spoke in favor of the bill.











02:22 PM



Senator Marble made closing comments on the merits of the bill.



02:24 PM



Senator Tate explained amendment L.003 (Attachment A). Senators Marble and Court asked that the bill be laid over for consideration of the amendment. The committee discussed the amendment.



170320 AttachA.pdf



02:35 PM



The chair laid the bill over for action at a later date.





02:36 PM -- HB 17-1145



Senator Gardner introduced House Bill 17-1145, concerning authorization for amateur winemakers to enter wines in organized events. Under current law, amateur brewers and winemakers are exempt from liquor licensing requirements. Amateur brewers may participate in organized events, such as contests, tasting, or judgings, held at licensed premises, as long as portions do not exceed six ounces and are not sold, offered for sale, or made available for consumption by the general public. The bill allows amateur winemakers to also participate in organized events, provided the same portion and sale requirements are met. Senator Gardner provided a handout to the committee (Attachment B).



170320 AttachB.pdf



02:40 PM -- Doug Kingman, Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology, spoke in support of the bill.







02:41 PM



Senator Gardner made closing comments on the merits of the bill.

02:45 PM -- HB 17-1021



Senator Cooke introduced House Bill 17-1021, concerning the release of information by the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics in the Department of Labor and Employment concerning an employer's violation of wage laws. The reengrossed bill requires the Division of Labor to treat certain information pertaining to a wage law violation as public record available on request pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act. If the division makes a determination that an employer has violated a wage law, and the employer has exhausted all administrative appeals, the division must release information about that violation to the public upon request, unless the information relates to a trade secret. Before releasing any information, the division's director must notify the employer of the potential release. The employer then has 20 days to provide documentation showing that the information to be released represents a trade secret. Based on this documentation, the director must determine whether to keep the information confidential.



02:47 PM -- Patrick Teegarden, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, spoke about the bill. He responded to questions from the committee.



02:51 PM -- Larry Hudson, Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry and Colorado Competitive Council, spoke about the bill. He responded to questions from the committee.





03:07 PM



Senator Cooke made closing comments on the merits of the bill.

03:09 PM -- HB 17-1173



Senator Neville introduced House Bill, 17-1173, concerning required provisions in a contract between a health insurance carrier and a health care provider concerning medical communications regarding disagreements in health care decisions. The bill expands the required protections for health care providers in contracts with health insurance carriers by prohibiting a carrier from taking any adverse action against a provider for expressing his or her disagreement with a carrier's decision. The bill defines adverse action to include limiting, restricting, denying, terminating or otherwise conditioning a provider's participation in one or more provider networks, including participation in a narrow network or location within a tiered network.



03:12 PM -- Benjamin Kuppersmit, Colorado Medical Society, spoke in favor of the bill.



03:17 PM -- Amy Cardone, Colorado Medical Society, spoke in favor of the bill. She read a prepared statement from a colleague.



03:24 PM -- Sarah Orrange, Colorado Association of Health Plans, made comments on the preceding testimony and spoke neutrally about the bill.





03:27 PM



Senator Neville responded to questions from the committee and made closing comments on the merits of the bill.

03:31 PM



The committee adjourned.