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Conference committee adopts report to increase penalties and revert offense classification
Summary
A legislative conference committee adopted conference committee report 002, endorsing a change that proponents said moves the offense from 'F6' back to 'F5' and adds roughly 10 months in Department of Corrections time; supporters said licensure reforms due Jan. 1, 2027 should reduce future prosecutions.
A legislative conference committee adopted conference committee report 002 after hearing from representatives who said the House version would increase penalties and revert the offense classification from “F6” to “F5.” Rep. Silver said the change would add about 10 months in Department of Corrections time compared with the Senate version.
Rep. Silver, who the Clerk asked to explain the differences between the two versions, said, “Recognize that only 1 person per year has been convicted.” She added that fiscal analysts expect that number to fall and that “now that we're moving to full licensure as of 01/01/2027 we should have fewer cases than 1 per year; this should dramatically drop.”
The representative framed the change as a response to victim advocates. “This is something that the victims have been asking for, for a long time,” Rep. Silver said, citing constituents from Penrose and Sunset Mesa.
With no further discussion, the committee took a motion to adopt the conference committee report. Rep. Silver moved to adopt conference committee report 002; Rep. Martinez seconded the motion. The Clerk called the roll. Senator Mason, Rep. Martinez, Helton R., Silber and the chair were recorded voting yes; Roberts was recorded as excused. The Clerk announced the motion passed and the committee adjourned.
The meeting record as provided to the committee refers to the Senate change as “F6” and the House approach as “F5.” The transcript contains garbled phrasing in places (the bill identifier is read aloud in the record as "the first conference committee for '12 fifth house bill 12 day"), and the committee identified the action in the official record as conference committee report 002. The committee did not specify a date for enactment; proponents cited an administrative licensure date of Jan. 1, 2027 as the point when fewer cases are expected.
The committee adjourned after adopting the report and members discussed obtaining the formal report for the record.
