Two initiatives on November’s ballot promise to bring greater public safety, but if passed they’ll have the opposite effect. Both measures would divert resources away from programs that deliver far superior public safety results for our communities over the long term.

These measures are misguided. Proposition 128 pushes for longer prison time. Proposition 130 diverts general fund dollars to police only, effectively decreasing funding to programs that work to reduce crime and recidivism.

Proposition 128

Proposition 128 would make people ineligible for parole until they have served at least 85% of their sentence (up from the current 75%), overriding the judgment of parole officials who deem an individual ready for safe release under continued supervision. The measure would punish people who have worked to turn their lives around and who have proven they are ready to return home.

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Prop 128 would strain the state budget and taxpayer dollars. A 2020 fiscal analysis of a similar proposal found it would increase prison operating costs by $178 million dollars in the first five years and require $457 million in new prison bed construction and private prison contracts. Taxpayers are not getting a good return on their investment when it comes to incarceration in Colorado.

More prison time for people who have proven ready for release is not the answer. In the General Assembly, we have passed bipartisan legislation to safely reduce the prison population and decrease recidivism, while focusing on rehabilitation and re-entry. These programs are beginning to work. Proposition 128 would undermine that progress and set us back.

Proposition 130

Proposition 130 directs the legislature to divert $350 million from the state general fund toward traditional law enforcement officers only. It would divert this funding at the expense of other essential services that support public safety, such as education, mental health services and community development. Funds under the measure may not be distributed to critical first responders like firefighters, paramedics, EMTs or community-based partners (like social workers and behavioral health co-responders), who are essential to public safety and emergency response.

In the legislature, we have a robust budgeting process in place to allocate limited resources across our state. We debate programs on their merit and apportion funds to balance needs. Proposition 130 bypasses this process and undermines our system of representative government. It is a bad policy with a bad fiscal scheme. It’s bad all around.

Let’s focus on the things we know increase public safety and reject the budgetary robbery of special interests who are pushing these backward approaches.

Vote NO on Propositions 128 and 130.

Judy Amabile has served as state representative for House District 49 in the Colorado General Assembly since 2020. She has sponsored a strong slate of progressive and pragmatic bills, including measures to increase mental health resources and improve the criminal justice system.