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Bradford looking out of state to find a solution for her sentencing bill
State Rep. Laura Bradford, R-Collbran, has been working feverishly this week, reaching out to prosecutors from states that have implemented mandatory minimum sentences for sex offenders, in an effort to make her House Bill 1144 more palatable to her peers.
Bradford’s proposal hit a speed bump last week when the House Judiciary Committee voted 5-5 on a motion to kill the bill, leaving House Bill 1144 in legislative limbo. It also gave Bradford a second chance to ask the committee reconsider her legislation.
Bradford said in an effort to craft an amendment to her bill, she has contacted prosecutors — “one in Pennsylvania, two different ones in California and one in Florida” — to see how they retain prosecutorial discretion while also having strict minimum sentences for sex offenders that target children.
“The technical verbiage being used to not catch those offenders that we don’t want to incarcerate and that, indeed, should be looked at on a case-by-case basis by the district attorney,” Bradford said, “that’s what I’m looking for.”
House Bill 1144, which has a price tag of nearly $139.5 million over the next five years, heralded strong opposition last week from Colorado’s district attorneys, including Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger.
Bradford said she is hopeful she can have legislative staff schedule her bill for a hearing Thursday, Feb. 19, the deadline for committees of reference to report bills.
*Bradford photo from The Daily Sentinel archives.
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