Gov. Bill Owens on Tuesday signed bills to crack down on sexually violent predators, identity thieves, methamphetamine makers and mortgage-fraud con artists.
He used the signing ceremony at the state Capitol to boost the Republican candidate for Colorado attorney general, even though the bills were largely bipartisan efforts.
“This is a good day for the good guys and a bad day for the bad guys,” said Attorney General John Suthers, who was given a prime spot in the limelight as the only other speaker beside the governor before Owens signed five bills into law.
Suthers, a former U.S. Attorney who was appointed by Owens to replace Democrat Ken Salazar when he was elected to the U.S. Senate, is running against Fern O’Brien, a Democrat who lives in Gunbarrel.
The bills, which were mostly sponsored by bipartisan pairings of Democrats and Republicans, are designed to crack down on crimes that have been on the rise.
The bills addressed the following issues:
Sexually violent predators: Senate Bill 22 requires those offenders to register with the state so that communities they move into can be notified.
The legislation was an outgrowth of reporting by The Denver Post that showed the Department of Corrections had never evaluated sex offenders to see if they should be labeled as sexually violent predators and that only a handful of sex offenders living in communities were labeled sexually violent predators, out of thousands of convicted sex offenders.
Under the new law, “Any sexually violent predator who fails to register is subject to arrest” said Suthers, who thanked his staff for doing “a great job in ramrodding the work” of a task force that recommended tougher penalties.
Identity theft: House Bill 1347 creates a new board to investigate and prosecute identity theft, while House Bill 1326 defines the crime of identity theft and makes it a felony.
Owens noted that Colorado ranks fifth in the nation for the number of cases of identity theft.
Mortgage fraud: Senate Bill 71 requires that transactions between homeowners and foreclosure consultants or equity purchasers be in writing. It also sets other rules for the deals.
House Bill 1323 provides a financial penalty based on the size of the crime for convictions of mortgage fraud and places such crimes under the jurisdiction of the attorney general.
Owens called such fraud “one of the most cynical crimes” because it “preys on the American dream” of owning a home.
Methamphetamine: Owens announced he would sign House Bill 1145, which expands the definition of child abuse to include parents or guardians who make or use meth in the presence of children, when it arrives on his desk this week.
In separate action, Owens signed six other bills related to human trafficking, training to implement witness-protection programs and calling for a statewide audit on secure and verifiable identity documents.
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-820-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
