DENVER – A bipartisan effort to clean up laws related to bias-motivated crimes is one step closer to being signed into law.
House Bill 1188, which would update Colorado law by adding harassment crimes based sexual orientation and physical and mental disability to the list of bias-motivated offenses, was passed unanimously Wednesday by the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
The bill would bring the section of law in line with other areas governing bias-motivated crimes that list committing a crime based sexual orientation and disability alongside race, color, religion, ancestry and national origin as an aggravating factor.
In the case of harassment, a bias-motivated crime elevates the offense to a class 1 misdemeanor rather than a class 3. The increase in severity changes the minimum penalty from a fine of $50-$750 and/or six months in jail to $500- $5,000 fine with the potential for 18 months behind bars.
Sponsors of the bill called it a simple cleanup to bring consistency to Colorado’s laws.
“I think it’s very self explanatory and frankly I’m surprised it’s not already been done,” said Sen. Don Coram, R-Montrose and sponsor of the bill.
Among those who supported the bill during testimony were the District Attorney of Denver, The Arc of Colorado, the Anti Defamation League and the office of the Colorado Attorney General.
Scott Turner, deputy attorney general, said his office was in support of HB 1188 for more than just bringing consistency to state laws.
“There’s another more important reasons to support this bill, and that’s simply a philosophical reason because it is the right thing to do,” Turner said.
While the bill had unanimous support in committee, questions were raised about the scope of bias-motivated crimes.
“By adding everything in there does it mean it actually isn’t a category unto itself, or are we still making a distinction between these crimes and others?” said Sen. Owen Hill, R-Colorado Springs.
The bill heads to the Senate floor for consideration.
lperkins@durangoherald.com
