Action Alert-HB 1114 Racial Profiling Data Collection Bill

[<cdonner2@juno.com>]

Greetings from Colorado Progressive Coalition!

STOP RACIAL PROFILING CAMPAIGN ALERT:  February 4, 2001

Colorado House Bill 1114--requiring data collection on all traffic stops in

Colorado--will be voted on by its first committee (House Civil Justice and 
Judiciary) this Tuesday, February 6, 2001 between 10:00 A.M. and 12:00 Noon,

State Capitol House Committee room 0112 (in the basement).  Our sponsor, 
Representative Peter Groff (D-Denver) has encouraged as many supporters as 
possible to attend to make a strong statement in support of the bill.

POWERFUL TESTIMONY LAST WEEK--VOTE THIS TUESDAY
In a powerful and emotional committee hearing last Tuesday, Civil Justice 
Committee members heard compelling testimony about the existence of racial 
profiling and discriminatory policing.  Despite opposition from the state 
chiefs of police and the county sheriffs, the Colorado State Patrol and 
Denver Police Departments were officially "neutral" but offered support to
HB 
1114 and traffic stop data collection.

Following thorough questioning by committee members, it appeared that a 
majority of committee members were leaning toward supporting the bill.  The

vote was put off, however, because committee members suggested to Rep. Groff

that he try to eliminate the costs of the bill so that it wouldn't be killed

in the Appropriations Committee.

Supporting testimony was strong and informative and came from
representatives 
of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, CPC, 9to5, ACLU, 
Anti-Defamation League, and others.  Special mention should go to Rev. 
Terrance Carroll, who spoke compellingly of his knowledge of racial
profiling 
from many angles, including as a civil rights activist and former police 
officer.

Rep. Groff has come back with several amendments that will keep the bill 
strong but will cut costs and, hopefully, get the bill passed directly to
the 
House floor.  With these amendments, HB 1114 now includes:

* Requiring data collection on all traffic stops by the Colorado State
Patrol 
and all local and county law enforcement agencies serving 75,000 people or 
more.  Data collection would be voluntary for agencies serving smaller 
communities;

* Data will include the race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the person 
stopped and the enforcement action taken, if any, as well as other important

information;

* Data would be reported yearly to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and

would be analyzed at the completion of three years.  Analysis would be 
conducted by an independent agency with Division of Criminal Justice 
oversight.  All data will be public information that can be accessed during

the three year period; and

* The toll-free racial profiling hot-line will not be included in the final

bill (it was in the initial version) but, thanks to a grant from the Chinook

Fund, CPC will be starting a similar hot-line in the next few months.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO WIN?
To get HB 1114 out of the House Civil Justice Committee, we'll need five+ 
votes out of nine.  We currently have support from all four Democrats and 
have some Republicans who appear to be sympathetic to our position but 
haven't committed yet.  If HB 1114 passes on Tuesday, we'll send you an 
immediate alert discussing next steps and what you can do to help.

WHO'S ON THE COMMITTEE?
Democrats on the committee include (call them to say 'thanks'!):
    Rep. Bob Bacon, Fort Collins                303.866.2917
    Rep. Betty Boyd, Lakewood                   303.866.2923
    Rep. Cheri Jahn, Wheat Ridge                303.866.5522
    Rep. Alice Madden, Boulder                  303.866.2915

Republicans on the committee include (call key targets "***" to ask them to

vote 'yes' on HB 1114):
    *** Rep. Steve Johnson, Fort Collins            303.866.2907
    *** Rep. Shawn Mitchell, Broomfield         303.866.4667
    *** Rep. Jim Snook, Alamosa             303.866.2963
    Rep. Don Lee, Littleton/Jefferson County        303.866.2939
    Rep. Joe Stengel, Littleton/Jeffco, Arapahoe    303.866.2953

BE THERE ON TUESDAY!
Please join us at the Capitol on Tuesday morning.  We need you to help us 
show legislators that racial profiling in Colorado must stop and that we
must 
collect data to learn the extent of the problem in the state.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for your commitment to civil rights, racial justice, and an end to

racial profiling.  Call the Colorado Progressive Coalition at 303.866.0908
or 
respond to this email with any questions or comments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colorado Progressive Coalition
phone:  303.866.0908
fax:        303.832.6416
email:  coprogressive@aol.com
web:    www.freespeech.org/cpc
media:  720.291.5621


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