SB 26-36

Senate Bill 26-36, also known as Prison Population Management Measures, updates how Colorado manages its prison population. It raises the threshold for when certain measures must be implemented from a 3% vacancy rate in prison beds to a 4%, giving more flexibility before actions are required. These measures include transitioning inmates to nonresidential status, providing additional earned time for those nearing release, and expediting parole reviews. The bill also mandates that specific individuals and entities acknowledge receipt of notifications about the bed shortage and comply with these management measures. Since it has been signed into law, these changes will now be enforced by the Department of Corrections.

Official Summary

The bill requires the executive director of the department of corrections (department) to report, no later than the fifth day of each month, the department's previous month's compliance with the prison population management mandates, including, if certain measures must be in effect, actions taken by the department and the documented impact of implementing the required measures.     When the prison bed vacancy rate in correctional facilities and state-funded private contract prisons falls below 3% for 30 consecutive days, current law requires the department to notify certain individuals and entities (notification) and implement prison population management measures. The bill increases the prison bed vacancy rate to 4% before requiring the prison population management measures to go into effect. The bill includes additional individuals and entities that are required to receive the notification and requires the notification to occur within 48 hours of the vacancy rate falling below 3% 4% for 30 consecutive days. The bill requires the individuals and entities that receive the notification to acknowledge receipt of the notification and confirm compliance with the prison population management measures. The bill includes additional prison population management measures. including measures to: Transition certain inmates from a community corrections program to nonresidential status require the division of adult parole to notify community parole officers of the prison bed shortage and consider alternate sanctions for technical violations; and identify potential alternative placements for transition inmates at risk of being regressed back to prison from a community corrections program; Grant certain inmates who are within 120 days of their mandatory release date or statutory discharge date with an additional 60 days of earned time; Finalize an inmate's release within 7 days of the department finding the inmate was granted conditional release by the parole board and satisfied the specific conditions prior to the release; and Identify eligible inmates who are past their parole eligibility date and review each application for parole on an expedited basis.      If the prison population management measures are in effect, the bill encourages certain individuals and entities that received the notification to consider an alternative to a prison sentence, if lawfully available, for cases pending sentencing or resentencing.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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