HB 24-1101

HB 24-1101, titled "Empower Victims through Access Restorative Justice," aims to give victims and survivors more control over the justice process in Colorado. The bill ensures that they are informed about their right to participate in restorative justice practices, which can be an alternative or addition to traditional prosecution. It also mandates specialized training for facilitators dealing with cases of domestic violence and sexual offenses, while keeping all restorative justice processes confidential. Signed into law, this means victims now have clearer rights and access to these supportive measures within the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

Official Summary

The bill makes changes to increase access to restorative justice practices (restorative justice) in Colorado, specifically by: Creating a victim-survivor right to participate in restorative justice in the criminal and juvenile justice systems; Requiring that victim-survivors be informed of their statutory right to restorative justice and how to exercise it; Creating a victim-survivor right to request restorative justice as an alternative to, or in addition to, prosecution; Establishing the victim-survivor's right to accept or decline participation in restorative justice, and the right to change that decision, at any stage in the proceedings; Creating a victim-survivor right to restorative justice with trained facilitators who adhere to the Colorado restorative justice coordinating council's code of conduct and standards of training and practice, as amended; Requiring that, in cases of domestic violence or unlawful sexual behavior, when a victim-survivor requests restorative justice, the victim-survivor has a right to restorative justice with a facilitator who has specialized training and experience to address the issues specific to those cases; Requiring that participation in restorative justice by a responsible party is voluntary; Mandating that restorative justice is confidential and information obtained through a restorative justice practice must not be disclosed by any party to the practice without the agreement of all parties involved; Requiring the state restorative justice coordinating council to develop, on or before August 30, 2024, 2 standardized forms to advise victim-survivors of their right to restorative justice in criminal and juvenile cases and a confidentiality agreement to use in restorative justice; Clarifying that the legal authority of a prosecutor to make decisions about prosecution is preserved; Creating a funding source for restorative justice through the offender services fund; Eliminating language in statute that prohibits the use of restorative justice in cases involving domestic partner violence, protective orders, stalking, and unlawful sexual behavior; Requiring the department of corrections to accommodate victim-survivor requests for victim-offender dialogues; maintain an accountability letter bank for inmates to send letters of accountability, apology, or remorse to victim-survivors; inform victim-survivors of the availability of such letters; and adopt policies requiring adherence to the principles of victim empowerment; and Eliminating outdated language related to fees for restorative justice in multiple statutes.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

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