Roy's General Assembly Report - Feb 12, 2007
GA120207.odt – General Assembly 12 FEB 07
There was a very brief meeting of the House
Courts of Justice Committee immediately after the
House adjourned this afternoon, simply to parcel
out the new bills between the subcommittees.
The Criminal Law Subcommittee of House Courts of
Justice Committee met this afternoon, about
1:30pm. They can kill bills on their own
initiative, subject to override by the full
Committee. They can make recommendations to the
full Committee for amendments or passage.
Other committees met this morning, and are also
meeting now, with bills of interest, but I'm
still under the weather, so this is the only one I'm attending.
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SB876 (McDougle) adds first-offense drug
distribution to the list of crimes that are used
to define a group as a "criminal gang"; current
law includes only repeated offenses.
I spoke against the change, but the majority of
the subcommittee agreed with the
patron. Recommendation is to report the bill and
re-refer it to Appropriations. Cost is estimated
at over a quarter-million dollars over the next few years.
SB880 (Deeds) deals with expungement of criminal
records after writ of actual innocence. (See
SB1223, HB2959). Held over until Wednesday's meeting.
SB1071 (McDougle) adds requirements and penalties
for registered sex offenders and child
pornographers; will be conformed to the similar
HB2749; recommended for reporting.
SB1168 (Stolle) removes present cap on
compensation of court-appointed attorneys. Will be held until Wednesday.
SB1223 (McDougle) Expungement of criminal records
after a pardon or writ of actual innocence. (See
SB880, HB2959). Carried over to Wednesday's meeting.
SB1237 (Obenshain) increases penalties for
violation of protective orders, with mandatory
minimum sentences for repeated offenses. Will be held until Wednesday.
SB1234 (Obenshain) provides increased penalties,
with mandatory minimums, for
distribution/manufacture of an ounce, or eight
ounces, of methamphetamine. Will be held until Wednesday.
The Subcommittee rose about 4:30pm.
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Tomorrow's significant committee meetings include:
8:30 am, House Health, Welfare and Institutions, House Room "D"
2:00 pm, Senate Local Government; Senate Room B
4:00 pm, Senate Privileges and Elections; Senate Room "A"
Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are in the
General Assembly Building, SE corner of 9th and
Broad, and are open to the public.
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DETAILS:
To see the summary, full text, status, estimated
cost, votes, or other details on any bill, go to:
“Bills & Resolutions – status of individual bills and related information”.
At the text-entry block, enter the bill and type
just as I have it listed above. (Use “SB921”, not “S.B. 921”, for example.)
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REMINDER:
These are the two websites where you can access
nearly anything you want to know about
practically anything related to the General Assembly. Use them!
end
- - Roy B. Scherer