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DENVER, CO – The bipartisan Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Colorado Jail Standards today advanced three bills including legislation to expand grant opportunities to county jails, create guidelines for jails preparing to consolidate, and improve and modernize communications between those incarcerated and their attorney.
“This summer, the committee met with important voices in the judicial space, including spokespeople for county sheriffs, the Attorney General’s office, and criminal justice advocates, and we are ready to move forward with data-driven legislation that will improve the operational efficiency of our county jails,” said Senator-Elect and Chair Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, sponsor of Bills 1, 2 and 3. “I’m sponsoring legislation that will bring more money into our county jails, save rural counties money and boost staffing by allowing them to consolidate their jails, and increase access to communication between incarcerated people and their attorneys. These changes will have a significant impact on both county jails and incarcerated Coloradans that will streamline operations, help address the workforce shortages in rural counties, and ensure Coloradans can access legal representation while incarcerated.”
“Throughout the interim, we’ve worked alongside many advocates, attorneys and state agencies in the criminal justice arena to develop new, impactful policy to improve our state’s correctional facilities for everyone involved,” said Rep. Lorena Garcia, D-Unincorporated Adams County, sponsor of Bills 2 and 3. “Of the bills we passed today, we are working to cut red tape so our county jails can make necessary safety improvements and have clear guidelines for consolidation. We’re also clarifying and modernizing laws surrounding incarcerated people’s right to no-cost, private phone calls and video communications with their attorney. These bills combined would improve our criminal justice system in Colorado.”
Bill 1, sponsored by Representative Ryan Armagost, R-Berthoud, Senator Julie Gonzales, D-Denver and Senator-Elect Amabile, would support grants to maintain, repair, renovate and improve Colorado’s county jails. The bill expands the responsibilities of the commission to include jails in addition to court facilities. The goal of Bill 1 is to ensure Colorado’s county jails have a pathway to receiving grant funding they need to make necessary improvements to their facilities.
Bill 2, sponsored by Representative Garcia and Senator-Elect Amabile, would allow two or more counties to enter intergovernmental agreements to allow them to consolidate jail functions with the purpose of reducing high costs associated with staffing, liability, and operations. It would also make these counties with a population of less than 40,000 eligible for liability coverage under Colorado’s Risk Management Fund.
Bill 3, sponsored by Representative Garcia, Senator-Elect Amabile and Senator Gonzales, would improve communication between a person who is in custody and their attorney. This bill specifically allows those in custody to receive a reasonable number of telephone calls or interactive audiovisual conferencing from their attorney at no cost. The goal of Bill 3 is to improve and modernize communication pathways between those in custody and their attorney by clarifying the right in stature to have no cost, private and unrecorded phone calls or video calls.
The bills will now go to the Legislative Council for approval before being introduced next session. Once introduced in the 2025 session, interim bills will follow the standard legislative process.