A new sentencing that ensures the most habitual drunk drivers in Colorado get jail time and treatment might be good for public safety, but at least one Colorado sheriff said it’s an unfair financial burden dumped on him by the state.

A fourth drunk-driving charge now ensures spends at least 90 days to 180 in jail or at least 120 of work release, with no eligibility for time off, according to the law that took effect Aug. 9.

Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor “has a genuine beef with the state,” the Pueblo Chieftain’s editorial page reported last week.

He’s tough on crime but thinks the legislature pulled a fast one by sentencing serial offenders to county jail instead of the state Department of Corrections, where lawmakers are in charge of paying the extra room and board at the hard-time Hilton.

“The problem with the bill, in my opinion, is the fact that they’re not sentenced to DOC, they’re sentenced to county jails,” Taylor said. “Even though the numbers are not going to be substantial, we’re going to see jails have an uptick in sentenced inmates.

“We believe in the fact that if you get four DUIs, you ought to do some time. We think it should be in the prisons. It’s another way the state is circumventing their responsibility and putting it on locals.”

He said his jail is already overcrowded.

But Taylor didn’t get support from his fellow sheriffs and didn’t cast a vote to oppose it when the bill was before the legislature last spring.

“It was a struggle for the sheriffs,” said Peg Ackerman, the lobbyist for the County Sheriffs of Colorado. “But their concern about the public safety that these repeat DUI offenders raise caused them to vote unanimously to support this bill.”

Colorado first passed its felony driving under the influence law in 2015 to beef up sentencing. But an odd loophole resulted. In Colorado a second DUI offense requires 10 days in jail or alternative sentence, a third requires 60 days, but a fourth or subsequent offense could qualify for probation.

Since the law took effect two years ago, the state has had 734 felony DUIs of four or more offenses. Of those, 56 got probation, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette, told the House Judiciary Committee in April.

The bill closed what he called a “fourth DUI discount.”

“That’s not rational sentencing,” said Foote, a deputy Boulder County district attorney who is a legislative advocate for appropriate sentencing.

The bipartisan House Bill 1288 passed the state House 65-0 and the Senate 34-0.

The state, by the by, could be putting itself into position for a windfall.

By passing the law, Colorado could become eligible for $12 million a year in federal transportation dollars aimed at highway safety, legislative analysts noted. The money would go to the Colorado Department of Transportation for “safety projects” in communities most prone for DUI arrests.

The legislature does extensive research on bills, usually, but House Bill 1288’s “fiscal note” has figuratively a question mark on how much local governments might have to pay for the state to get tougher on those driving under the influence.

“This bill increases costs for county jails,” the analysis states. “The cost to house an offender in a county jail varies from about $53 to $114 per day. It is assumed that the impact of this bill will vary by jurisdiction where convictions occur and the length of the jail term imposed. The precise impact to any individual jurisdiction has not been estimated.”

The Colorado chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, however, said county jails are better options to help break the drunk-driving cycle. The new law also requires a tougher level II alcohol and drug driving program or other treatment, at the defendant’s expense.

“Having all our felony DUI offenders starting out in county jail is going to help them get better treatment,” said Franz Lanzer, MADD’s state director. “… With jail there are going to be treatment options that wouldn’t be available in DOC, so this kind of mandatory minimum is different than something we’d be talking about with DOC.”

A new sentencing law that ensures the most habitual drunk drivers in Colorado get jail time and treatment might be good for public safety, but at least one Colorado sheriff said it’s an unfair financial burden dumped on him by the state.A fourth drunk-driving charge now lands an offender in jail for at least 90 to 180 days, or a minimum of 120 days of work release with no eligibility for time off, according to the law that took effect Aug. 9.Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor “has a genuine beef with the state,” the Pueblo Chieftain’s editorial page reported last week.He’s tough on crime but thinks the legislature pulled at least a small fast one by sentencing serial offenders to county jail instead of the state Department of Corrections, where lawmakers are in charge of paying the extra room and board at the hard-time Hilton.”The problem with the bill, in my opinion, is the fact that they’re not sentenced to DOC, they’re sentenced to county jails,” Taylor said. “Even though the numbers are not going to be substantial, we’re going to see jails have an uptick in sentenced inmates.”We believe in the fact that if you get four DUIs, you ought to do some time. We think it should be in the prisons. It’s another way the state is circumventing their responsibility and putting it on locals.”He said his jail is already overcrowded.But Taylor didn’t get any support from his fellow sheriffs and didn’t cast a vote in opposition with his association when the bill was before the legislature last spring.”It was a struggle for the sheriffs,” said Peg Ackerman, the lobbyist for the County Sheriffs of Colorado. “But their concern about the public safety that these repeat DUI offenders raise caused them to vote unanimously to support this bill.”Colorado first passed its felony driving under the influence law in 2015 to beef up sentencing. But an odd loophole resulted. In Colorado a second DUI offense requires 10 days in jail or alternative sentence, a third requires 60 days, but a fourth