HB 23-1299

HB 23-1299, known as the Justice Reinvestment Crime Prevention Initiative, is a Colorado bill that aims to reduce crime and promote community development by providing grants to small businesses and training programs for people involved in the justice system. The initiative allocates $3 million for the fiscal year 2023-24 to fund these efforts, focusing on specific communities like Grand Junction and Trinidad. This program will continue until September 1, 2027, after which it will be reviewed by the state before any decisions are made about its future. The bill has been signed into law and is now effective as of June 1, 2023, meaning that the allocated funds can start being used to support these crime prevention initiatives.

Official Summary

The justice reinvestment crime prevention initiative (initiative) is administered by the division of local government (division) in the department of local affairs (department) to expand small business lending and provide grants aimed at reducing crime and promoting community development. The initiative consists of the targeted crime reduction grant program, which provides funding to eligible entities for programs, projects, or direct services aimed at reducing crime and promoting community development in certain target communities, and a statewide business and entrepreneurship training and grant program for justice-system-involved persons. The targeted crime reduction grant program cash fund (fund) was continuously appropriated to the department for the purposes of these 2 grant programs. The act specifies that for state fiscal year 2023-24 and subsequent fiscal years, the department may expend money from the fund subject to annual appropriation and that the department may use any remaining appropriated money during the year following the year for which the general assembly appropriated the money. The act specifies that the statewide business and entrepreneurship training and grant program for justice-system-involved persons will be repealed on September 1, 2024. The department may expend money from the justice reinvestment initiative expansion account (account) in the fund for the purposes of expanding the targeted crime reduction grant program to Grand Junction and Trinidad and to implement the grant program for justice-system-involved persons. The law required the state treasurer to transfer any money remaining in the account to the general fund on July 1, 2023 and specified that the account will repeal on September 1, 2023. The act changes the repeal date of the account to September 1, 2024, and requires the state treasurer to transfer any money remaining in the account to the fund on July 1, 2024. The act specifies that the department may expend the transferred money for the targeted crime reduction grant program and the grant program for justice-system-involved persons. The act clarifies that the initiative is repealed, effective September 1, 2027, and that the department of regulatory agencies will review the initiative for repeal, continuation, or reestablishment before the initiative is repealed. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $3,000,000 is appropriated from reappropriated funds in the fund to the department of local affairs to fund crime prevention initiative grants. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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