The 2007 Legislative Session Comes To An End

The skinny on our legislation is as follows

HB 1313 ( The Identity Bill) will allow people to use their DOC ID in conjunction with a birth certificate or social security card to get their state ID. The laws surrounding the procurement of identification have made it extremely difficult for people to get the ID they need when they are released from prison and has been one of the stumbling blocks for people to get a job. Our thanks goes out to Deb Deboutez from the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless for her tireless work on carrying this bill! HB 1313 is currently on the Governor's desk.

SB 260 (Raising the Threshold) raises the threshold of dollar amounts for crimes that become felonies. The Joint Budget Committee calls it an effort to reduce the amount of petty theft felonies that get people sent to prison.

HB 1107 (The Record Sealing Bill) allows people to petition the court to have their record sealed after they have been out of the system for ten years. Our thanks goes out to Maureen Cain for her exceptional work on getting this bill passed.

SB 83 (Parolee Voting) parolee voting was stripped out of the Election Bill in the final stages although we did make it through the Senate thanks to all the calls and emails and work from such groups as the ACLU, Colorado Progressive Coalition and Common Cause.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the wonderful show of support that we received from members and people statewide who care about these issues!! Congratulations!!