The antiquated law and the problems it causes for prosecutors was highlighted in a 9Wants To Know report last October.
The Reams family from Nebraska was surreptitiously watched while staying at the Towne Place Suites near the Denver Tech Center in 2009.
"Every hotel room I go into, I check. Every time I go somewhere now," Robert Reams said.
Reams said his two young daughters frequently bring up the incident.
A hole the size of a pen tip allowed David Fugate, the man staying next door to the Reamses, to watch them using a camera he installed in the wall.
Because Fugate watched the video feed live on his television and did not make a recording, prosecutors had no option but to pursue an audio eavesdropping charge.
That charge was later dropped; Fugate pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and received probation.
Eavesdropping is a felony charge, whereas a more applicable invasion of privacy is a misdemeanor charge.
"The law is upside down," State Senator Evie Hudak (D-Westminster) said.
Hudak is sponsoring a bill to make invasion of privacy for sexual gratification a felony if the peeper has a prior sex crime conviction or is covertly watching a minor.
The bill also adds "live feed" on par with surreptitious photos and videos taken for sexual gratification.
"The law needed to be updated to include modern technology," Hudak said.
The bill, which will be subject to a statehouse hearing Tuesday, is being supported by the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association, whose members are keenly aware of publicized peeping incidents including the one involving the Reams family.
"When there are a few incidents that hit the news, it immediately becomes fact," Christine O'Donnell, president of the hotel association, said.
"In these economic times, do we really want one more reason for the public not to be traveling? Absolutely, positively not," O'Donnell said.
Hudak says she anticipated an amendment, spurred by a defense lawyers group, to ensure that children involved in peeping incidents with other children aren't saddled with a felony charge.
The bill reduces eavesdropping to a misdemeanor in an attempt to balance the number of people incarcerated as a result. That is a key portion of the measure because, Hudak says, it will allow the bill to be revenue neutral in a time of great fiscal pressure.
A spokeswoman for Senate Republicans was not aware of any planned opposition to the bill.
Reams says, while the bill is not a perfect fix, it's "a great first step."
He says he will continue to speak out for stronger video voyeurism laws on behalf of his family.
"This is our crusade," Reams said. "And it's a good one."
(KUSA-TV © 2010 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)