✅ SB26-115: Post-Conviction Relief for Certain Offenders
Sponsors: Senators Gonzales and Weissmann
🔗Link to bill on the Colorado Legislature website
STATUS: Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, February 25th
What the bill does: HB26-1064 would allow people who committed an offense before age 21, or who are now 60 or older, to petition for resentencing after serving at least 20 years. To succeed, they must prove they no longer pose a danger and that there is good cause to modify the sentence. The bill does not guarantee release; it creates a structured, court-supervised process for determining whether a second look is warranted.
For more information, contact the Spero Justice Center.
✅ HB26-1064: Youthful Offender System Updates
Sponsors: Representatives Jackson and Rydin, Senators Amabile and Michaelson-Jenet
🔗Link to bill on the Colorado Legislature website
STATUS: 🎉Passed the House | Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee, February 23
Background: Colorado’s Youthful Offender System (YOS) is a sentencing option for certain youth and young adults that allows them to serve their sentences in a separate, highly structured program within the Department of Corrections (DOC) rather than in a standard adult prison.
What the bill does: HB26-1064 would require YOS to provide trauma-informed, evidence-based treatment; individualized evaluations and case plans; and appropriate mental health, substance use, education, and life-skills supports for the youth in its care. It also expands protections for youth with mental health conditions or intellectual and developmental disabilities, improves staff training and safety, and increases reporting requirements so lawmakers and the public can better track outcomes and completion rates, all with the goal of improving rehabilitation, successful reentry, and public safety. 📄Read the Fact Sheet
For more information, contact Dana Walters Flores JD, Senior Program Manager, Youth Justice Colorado for the National Center for Youth Law at dwalter...@youthlaw.org
✅ HB26-1134: Fairness & Transparency in Municipal Court
Sponsor: Representatives Mabrey and Velasco, Senators Amabile and Weissman
🔗Link to bill on the Colorado Legislature website
STATUS: Hearing, House Judiciary Committee, February 25th
Background: Some municipal courts operate in conflict with Colorado values of transparency, accountability, and fairness — denying indigent defense counsel to people facing jail, even when in custody, closing courtrooms to public observation, and failing to keep records of proceedings, even when imposing jail time.
What the bill does: HB26-1134 would bring municipal courts into closer alignment with the basic legal standards in state court by (1) aligning access to indigent defense counsel (automatic appointment, reasonable compensation, and attorney access to client information); (2) requiring public access to court hearings (including live streaming court hearings when defendants are in custody); and (3) prohibiting courts that fail to maintain records of proceedings from sentencing Coloradans to jail. 📄Read the Fact Sheet
