The Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee heard extensive testimony on SB 26-015, a bill criminalizing buyers of child sex trafficking victims with mandatory minimum sentences, drawing sharp disagreement between law enforcement and survivors on one side and defense attorneys, the ACLU, and some survivors on the other; the bill was ultimately laid over for drafting clarification and could return as soon as Wednesday. The committee also confirmed two appointees and unanimously passed SB 26-074, a narrow contractor claims fix.
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ACLU policy counsel Arianne Frosch argued mandatory minimums 'impermissibly divest key judicial authority' and that 'sentencing is a job for judges, not for legislatures, and not for prosecutors,' while DA Brian Mason and bill sponsors argued that current law's allowance of probation produces unjust outcomes and that the legislature must signal its values by requiring prison for buyers of trafficked children.
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“Right now, a buyer of human trafficking, particularly a buyer of a child who is convicted of human trafficking, is eligible for probation. This legislature sets the values for our state, and our values must start with protecting children. Convicted traffickers of children rightfully receive mandatory prison sentences, but those who buy children do not.”
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Sign in to subscribeGood afternoon. Senate Judiciary Committee will come to order on Monday 9th February. Ms. Jensen, please start us off with a roll call. Senators Carson. President Hendrickson. Here. Snyder. Here. Wallace. Here. Zamora, Wilson. Here. Roberts. Here. Here. All right, everyone is present. Senator Snyder, thank you for subbing in again today for Senator Doherty. All right. To note our agenda at the top, we will begin with a couple of confirmation hearings concerning membership of the State Board of Parole and the Commission on Judicial Discipline. We will then proceed to hearing bills first Sen. Followed by Senate Bill 74 due to the large number of witnesses present to speak to us on Senate Bill 15. When we get to that point, we will alternate witnesses, allowing the sponsors to indicate from whom they'd like the committee to hear first. But then we'll go proponents, opponents, proponents, opponents, and so forth. That's just so one side doesn't have to wait until all the way at the end. But first things first. Confirmations for the State Board of Parole. If you would please join us up front. All right, thanks for being with us. Please proceed. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.…
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