Colorado lawmakers introduce hundreds of bills each year. Bills in brief cuts through the noise by explaining which proposals matter, what’s at stake, and how decisions at the Capitol could affect everyday life across the state.

Colorado lawmakers are advancing a slate of bills dealing with crime and corrections this session that would reshape how the state treats young offenders, jail detainees, and municipal court defendants.

The sponsors said the proposals would expand mental and behavioral health protections, reduce sexual abuse in jails, and strengthen defendants’ rights in local courts.

Juveniles

House Bill 1064 would make several changes to the youthful offender system within the Department of Corrections, including adding requirements for “evidence-informed rehabilitative treatment,” life skills programming, individual therapy, family therapy, and substance abuse treatment. The bill aims to expand certain protections for offenders with mental or behavioral health conditions or intellectual or developmental disabilities.

A bill imposing changes to the state’s juvenile justice system, particularly for individuals with mental or behavioral health conditions, will be heard in committee this week.

The bill is sponsored by Reps. Jamie Jackson, D-Aurora, and Gretchen Rydin, D-Littleton, and Sens. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, and Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City. It will be heard by the House Health and Human Services on Feb. 10.

Sexual abuse in jails

House Bill 1123 would implement a number of provisions that sponsors said are aimed at reducing sexual abuse in jails, including requiring two law enforcement officers to both determine that there is “reasonable belief” to conduct a strip search and prevents the use of body cameras during strip searches.

The bill also requires detention facilities to have a policy on staff protocol for responding to allegations of sexual abuse. It additionally requires jail staff to report any suspected, alleged, or witnessed sexual abuse, and implements whistleblower protection policies.

Also, the bill mandates the removal of the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification of any officer found to have sexually abused a prisoner at a local jail.

HB 1123 — sponsored by Reps. Katie Stewart, D-Durango, and Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, and Sens. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, and Mike Weissman, D-Aurora — has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. No hearing date has been set.

Sentencing

Sponsors of last year’s House Bill 1147, which was vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis, have introduced a narrower version of the bill this year in House Bill 1134.

At its core, House Bill 1147 would have prevented municipalities from imposing harsher sentences than the state for the same crimes. In his veto letter, Polis said he wanted to wait for the state Supreme Court’s ruling on a pair of related cases.

That ruling came in December, when the Colorado Supreme Court determined that municipalities could not impose harsher sentences than the state.

“For the longest time, what I remembered is if you got charged in municipal court, you were glad because that meant it was a lower-level offense with lesser penalties,” said Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr. during oral arguments for one of the cases last spring. “Now, it feels like the other way around, where if you get charged in municipal court, you’re really in trouble.”

This year’s bill includes provisions from HB 1147 not covered in the Supreme Court case, including clarifying that municipal court defendants have the same right to counsel as state-level defendants and requiring that all municipal court proceedings be open to the public.

House Bill 1134 is sponsored by Reps. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs, and Sens. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, and Mike Weissman, D-Aurora. It has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, but no hearing date has been announced yet.