Colorado is planning to invest up to $12 million to fund additional commitment beds for individuals declared incompetent to proceed to trial, Gov. Jared Polis has announced.

In a recent news conference on the state budget, Polis announced plans to request $8 million to $12 million in general fund dollars for additional civil commitment beds in mental health facilities statewide to accommodate individuals who are declared incompetent to stand trial by a judge.

The funding request will be outlined in legislation sponsored by Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, possibly alongside House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, Rep. Jarvis Caldwell, R-Colorado Springs, and Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa.

In recent months, the state policy dealing with people declared incompetent to proceed to trial has been under scrutiny following incidents, in which individuals accused of committing violent crimes have been released onto the streets after being found incompetent.

Earlier this month, a man who was accused of robbing an Aurora store on six separate occasions had his charges dismissed after he was found incompetent.

Under a 2024 law, courts are required to dismiss all charges against individuals deemed incompetent to proceed and unlikely to be restored to competence.

Amabile, who sponsored that law, said the intent is for those released after being found incompetent to be transferred to a facility better suited to their needs, but that hasn’t happened due to a lack of such facilities.

“We have people that need placements, and we don’t have placement plans, and that’s been happening for a long time,” she said. “All of the recent attention around it has shone a light on something that we’ve been doing, which is letting people out of jail without adequate placements or stepdown, and that’s unacceptable for the person, and it’s also unacceptable for the community.”

Amabile told Colorado Politics the money will also be used to hire and train employees to support individuals who have been declared incompetent to stand trial due to an intellectual or developmental disorder and have a history of being violent. She maintained that many individuals found incompetent to proceed are charged with low-level crimes, such as loitering and shoplifting.

The unintended consequence of the 2024 law first gained media attention in October, when a suspect accused of attempted murder was found incompetent to stand trial and released against the wishes of Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams.

Reams blamed the legislature and the governor’s office, saying the law they adopted ““The state legislature and the Governor have continued to weaken the criminal justice system by handcuffing law enforcement, prosecutors and judges for the sake of criminals,” Reams said at the time. “Colorado HB24-1034 has “created a crisis where very dangerous individuals are being released to the street to reoffend over and over, this is the latest example.”

The man in this case had been arrested again after he was released from jail following the dismissal of the attempted murder charge. He was apprehended after allegedly bringing a gun to the University of Northern Colorado campus in Greeley. He was not a student, and according to campus police, he was banned from the campus.

Republican legislators also criticized the law and called on the governor to call a special session to address it.

While a special session is unlikely, Amabile said the requested funds expected in a 2026 bill could also potentially be used to offer incentives to privately-run nursing homes to accept individuals with neurocognitive disorders, such as dementia, and with traumatic brain injuries who have been found incompetent to stand trial.

“It might be that there are some places that would take them, and some places that wouldn’t, so we have to figure that out,” she said.

While Amabile sees the funding as a step in the right direction, she said she worries about the likelihood of future funding for even more beds, as the state struggles with a tight budget.

Many people who are transferred from the criminal justice system to the civil system will require care for the rest of their lives, Amabile said.

“We can go out and fund 20 beds, and that might be enough for now, but many of those same 20 people will be there the next year,” she noted. “I feel like the real fix for us is to have a way more robust civil system that has space to take people who are sick but haven’t committed a crime yet — the way they get in front of it is by making it easier for somebody to access help when they need it.”

The 2026 legislative session begins Jan. 14.