The act creates the alternative metrics to measure criminal justice system performance working group (working group). The working group consists of: Representatives from the division of youth services in the department of human services, the department of corrections, the judicial department, and the department of public safety; and 2 members from an institution of higher education with expertise in the criminal legal system and two members from a community-based organization that works for criminal legal reform. The working group shall consult with stakeholders either identified by the working group or who request to participate. The act requires the working group to study metrics and methods, other than measuring recidivism, to: Supplement the current measure of recidivism; Measure risk-reduction outcomes; Comprehensively measure successful outcomes that consider various aspects of life, including employment, housing, education, mental health, personal well-being, social supports, and civic and community engagement; and More effectively measure criminal justice system performance. The working group is required to submit a report to the house of representatives public and behavioral health and human services committee and judiciary committee and the senate health and human services committee and judiciary committee on or before July 1, 2025. The report must include a summary of the working group's work and any recommendations of the working group. APPROVED by Governor March 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE March 6, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act requires the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety to convene a working group to develop a definition of "recidivism" to be used by each state entity that collects data or reports on recidivism, in any report issued by the entity. The working group consists of: Representatives of the judicial department, the department of corrections, the division of youth services in the department of human services, the state board of parole, and the department of public safety; A member from an institution of higher education; and A representative from a community-based organization that works for criminal legal reform and supports consistent data collection. The working group shall develop a definition of "recidivism" no later than January 15, 2025. The definition must include: A clearly defined measurement point to begin tracking recidivism; A clear description of the cohort to be tracked; That the recidivism event is a new deferred agreement or adjudication or conviction for a felony or misdemeanor offense, including "Victim Rights Act" crimes; and A clearly defined time period during which an event is considered a recidivism event, consistent with best practices for measuring recidivism. Each state entity that collects data or reports on recidivism in any report issued by the entity shall begin using the working group's definition on July 1, 2025. Subject to available resources, and before January 15, 2025, the working group may develop definitions of other metrics or data points related to recidivism or the desistance from crime that state entities may use. APPROVED by Governor March 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE March 6, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates the reentry workforce development cash assistance pilot program (pilot program) in the department of corrections (department) to provide cash assistance to persons who enroll and participate in workforce services or training programs after incarceration. The pilot program provides a total payment of up to $3,000 to eligible persons for basic life expenses. The bill requires the department to contract with an organization to administer the pilot program, perform an annual survey of pilot program recipients, and produce an annual report that is submitted to the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Recidivism Interim Study Committee. The bill requires the division of criminal justice (division) in the department of public safety to conduct a study to examine how individuals proceed through the various stages of criminal and juvenile justice proceedings, including sentences and alternative sentencing programs. The division shall solicit proposals for an entity to assist with the study. The bill requires the division to submit a report of its findings to the joint budget committee and the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and the senate by June 30, 2025. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act creates the emergency rental assistance grant program (grant program) in the division of housing (division) within the department of local affairs (department) to provide grants to residential tenants who have an annual household income of 80% or less than the area median income and are at risk of eviction or displacement. The division administers the grant program and contracts with nonprofit organizations to award grants. Grants are paid from money in the housing development grant fund. To receive a grant, a tenant must apply through the division's statewide application portal. Grant money may be expended only by a nonprofit organization that contracts with the division. Permissible uses of grant money include only the following: Paying rent in arrears, rent presently owed, and rent up to 2 months in advance on behalf of a grant recipient; Paying utility bills, late fees, court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and any other costs associated with preventing a tenant's eviction; Paying costs associated with relocation, including deposits and other move-in expenses, on behalf of a grant recipient; Paying for efforts to generate awareness of the grant program among tenants who are at risk of eviction or displacement; Paying for project delivery costs associated with application review as determined by the division; Paying for housing stability services, as defined within the implementation guidelines of the federal department of the treasury; and Paying costs of administering the grant program. Contracted nonprofit organizations must report to the executive director of the department (executive director) regarding amounts and uses of grant money awarded. During the 2024 regular session of the general assembly, the executive director must report to the joint budget committee and the legislative committees with oversight of local government matters concerning the grant program. Within 3 days after November 28, 2023, the state treasurer must transfer $15.1 million from the general fund and $14.9 million from the revenue loss restoration cash fund to the housing development grant fund for the purposes of the grant program. The division must use the money by June 30, 2024. Any unencumbered portion of the money on June 30, 2024, reverts to the general fund or to the revenue loss restoration cash fund, as applicable. The grant program is repealed, effective June 30, 2025. APPROVED by Governor November 28, 2023 EFFECTIVE November 28, 2023(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act preempts any existing local governmental entity housing growth restriction that explicitly limits either the growth of the population in the local governmental entity's jurisdiction or the number of development permits or building permit applications for residential development or the residential component of any mixed use development submitted to, reviewed by, approved by, or issued by a governmental entity for any calendar or fiscal year and forbids the enactment or enforcement of any such future local housing growth restriction unless the governmental entity has experienced a disaster emergency, has developed or amended land use plans or land use laws covering residential development or the residential component of a mixed-use development, or is extending or acquiring public infrastructure, public services, or water resources. A governmental entity that experiences one of these events may implement a growth cap for up to 24 months in a 5-year period. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act clarifies that the department of corrections (DOC) shall provide voice penal communications services, and may supplement these services with other communication services, including video calls or electronic mail or messaging, (penal communication services) to persons in DOC custody in a correctional facility or private prison in the state. In administering the penal communications services, the DOC is prohibited from receiving any revenue, including commissions or fees, and the penal communications services, excluding video calls or electronic mail or messaging, must be free of charge to the person initiating and the person receiving the call. DOC shall provide the free penal communication services according to a staggered implementation timeline, as follows: Beginning September 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, DOC shall cover 25% of the total penal communication services costs; Beginning July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, DOC shall cover 35% of the total penal communication services costs; and Beginning July 1, 2025, and thereafter, DOC shall cover 100% of all penal communication services costs. The department of human services, in its role overseeing juvenile detention facilities, shall provide voice communications services, and may supplement these services with other communication services, including video calls or electronic mail or messaging, in those facilities and is prohibited from receiving any revenue from the communications services, including commissions or fees, and the communications services must be free of charge to the person initiating and the person receiving the call. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $229,783 is appropriated to the department of corrections from the general fund for use by institutions. The department may use this appropriation for inmate telephone calls related to the superintendent's subprogram. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, a person commits an unfair and unconscionable act or practice if the person engages in price gouging with regard to the sale or provision of certain goods or services during, and for a certain period after, a declared emergency disaster (disaster period). The act extends the disaster period from 180 days after the first declaration of the disaster to 180 days after the final declaration concerning the disaster expires. The act also repeals and reenacts the "Colorado Antitrust Act of 1992" as the "Colorado State Antitrust Act of 2023" (antitrust act) and: Establishes that the facilitation or aiding and abetting of another person's violation of the antitrust act is itself a violation of the antitrust act; Authorizes the attorney general (AG) to request discovery from any person that the AG believes may in the future engage in, or has information related to, a violation of the antitrust act; Authorizes the AG to deem investigatory or intelligence records related to the antitrust act available for public inspection and allows the AG to issue public statements or warnings regarding conduct forming the basis of the investigatory or intelligence records; Authorizes a court, upon request of the AG, to compensate a person that has been injured from a violation of the antitrust act as part of a civil action that the AG brings on behalf of the person; Increases the maximum civil penalty that a court may award for a violation of the antitrust act from $250,000 to $1,000,000 per violation; and With regard to the statute of limitations for commencing a civil action under the antitrust act: Clarifies that a cause of action accrues on the date of the last in a series of acts or practices that, in the aggregate, constitute a violation of the antitrust act; and Tolls the statute of limitations for any civil action pertaining to an alleged violation of the antitrust act during the pendency of a federal proceeding regarding the conduct forming the basis of the alleged violation of the antitrust act. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In 2021, Senate Bill 21-271 adjusted misdemeanor penalties for a variety of offenses described in the Colorado Revised Statutes, including the penalty for certain offenses involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle. This penalty was changed from a misdemeanor to a class A traffic infraction. However, despite making this change, Senate Bill 21-271 retained certain language that describes the punishment for the former misdemeanor offense. The act clarifies that the penalty for the described offenses involving a commercial motor vehicle, including operating a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver's license, is $100, to be accompanied by a $15 surcharge. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)