PUBLIC SAFETY

Every Coloradan deserves to feel safe in their community, but like the rest of the country, crime has been on the rise here in Colorado. We took action this session to address the fentanyl crisis, with legislation to increase access to harm reduction tools & treatment while preventing overdose deaths, and crack down on dealers by increasing criminal penalties on those dealing or importing fentanyl. We also passed bills to cut down on catalytic converter thefts, increase support and resources for law enforcement, and help local governments make improvements to their neighborhoods to help prevent crime and build safer communities. These bipartisan pieces of legislation will provide critical resources to help communities cut down on crime, address law enforcement workforce shortages, and get folks in crisis the help they need to prevent crime from occurring in the first place. 

Safer Communities and Crime Prevention/Intervention

Crime Prevention Through Safer Streets | SB22-001

Buckner & Hinrichsen / Ricks & Tipper

Every Coloradan deserves to feel safe, but right now too many of our neighbors don’t have that luxury, which is why we are taking action to address it. The Safer Streets Act creates a grant program in the Colorado Department of Public Safety (DPS) to help communities make critical improvements to cut down on crime and improve public safety through neighborhood upgrades, such as better lighting to increase visibility and improved design of shared community spaces. The bill appropriates $10 million to the grant program. 

Resources To Increase Community Safety | SB22-145

Buckner & Cooke / Valdez & Will

Research shows that crime prevention strategies that include collaboration between communities and local law enforcement are most effective. The Community Safety Investment Act tasks the Colorado Department of Public Safety (DPS) with implementing three new grant programs to improve community safety and law enforcement: the Multidisciplinary Crime Prevention and Intervention Grant Program ($15 million) gives grants to law enforcement, local government agencies, and community-based organizations to identify and implement prevention and intervention strategies in high-crime areas (e.g. violence interrupter, co-responder); the Law Enforcement Workforce Recruitment, Retention, and Tuition Grant Program ($7.5 million) gives grants to law enforcement agencies for training and staffing purposes; and the State's Mission for Assistance in Recruitment and Training Policing Grant Program ($7.5 million) is intended to increase the number of law enforcement officers that are representative of their communities. The bill also requires DPS to host a statewide crime prevention forum.

Youth Delinquency Prevention And Intervention Grants | HB22-1003

Coleman & Hinrichsen / Daugherty & Gonzales-Gutierrez

Part of preventing crime and creating safer communities involves investing in effective intervention and prevention programs to help stop criminal activity from happening in the first place. This bill creates a 2-year Delinquency Prevention and Young Offender Intervention Pilot Grant Program in the Colorado Department of Public Safety (DPS), which will award grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to fund community-based projects to reduce crime among youth and reduce involvement in the juvenile justice system. 

Preventing Identity-based Violence Grant Program | HB22-1234

Rodriguez / Bacon & Michaelson Jenet

We’ve seen a growing number of threats and violence targeted at specific communities across our state, and it must come to an end. This bill creates the Preventing Identity-Based Violence Grant Program in the Colorado Department of Public Safety (DPS), which will provide grants to local governments, nonprofit organizations, law enforcement, and other entities for programs that focus on preventing acts of violence that target discernible populations in a manner that poses a threat to homeland security.

School Security and School Behavioral Health Services Funding | HB22-1243

Kolker & Hinrichsen / Exum & Van Winkle

We’re working hard to break down barriers that prevent people experiencing a crisis from getting support, and making sure every Colorado kid can get the lifesaving care they need. This bill provides funding to the School Security Disbursement Program for public schools to invest in school security measures including facility or vehicle security improvements, threat assessment training, school resource officers, and staff training. 

Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention | HB22-1326

Pettersen & Cooke / Garnett

We are in the third wave of the opioid epidemic and in the worst overdose crisis in the history of this country. That’s why we passed the Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention Act which increases criminal penalties for individuals distributing, manufacturing, dispensing or selling a substance that contains fentanyl. It also increases criminal penalties for possession of fentanyl, importation of fentanyl, and distribution of fentanyl leading to death. It creates an educational campaign on the dangers of fentanyl, directs funding to an investigative fund for fentanyl-related crimes, and mandates several studies on the impact of the bill. Critically, the bill increases access to treatment by mandating that jails provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for individuals with a substance use disorder (and provides $3 million in funding), and directs $10 million for treatment and withdrawal management programs. Lastly, the bill increases harm reduction efforts by allocating close to $20 million in federal funds for the naloxone bulk purchase fund, $600,000 for fentanyl testing strips, and $6 million in federal funds for the Colorado Department of Health & Environment (CDPHE) harm reduction grant program. 

Alcohol Monitoring For Impaired Driving Offenders | SB22-055

Hansen & Cooke / Roberts & McKean

This bill would allow an individual who gets their license revoked because of a DUI to apply immediately to get their license reinstated with an interlock-restricted license (rather than have to wait at least a month). Additionally, current law allows a court to order continuous alcohol monitoring if a person has been convicted for two or more DUIs. This bill requires 90 days monitoring after the 3rd conviction, but also authorizes the court to waive this requirement altogether if the person cannot reasonably acquire a monitoring device. Lastly, the bill requires the Judicial Department to pay the costs of continuous alcohol monitoring for someone who is unable to pay. 

Law Enforcement Agency Peace Officer Services | SB22-005

Bridges & Cooke / Roberts & Woog

The mental health crisis in Colorado reaches every community in unique ways, and for members of law enforcement, serving on the frontline of traumatic situations can have devastating effects on their mental health. This bill appropriates one-time $5 million from the General Fund to the Peace Officers Behavioral Health Support and Community Partnership Cash Fund for additional grants to be used for counseling services, assistance to develop policies to support officers involved in a shooting, trainings that teaches officers about symptoms of job-related mental trauma, peer support programs, or a remote network of behavioral health counseling.

Supporting Crime Victims and Their Families

Restitution Services For Victims | SB22-043

Cooke & Gonzales / Lynch & Duran

Victims of crime deserve our support as they heal and recover. This bill creates an Office of Restitution Services in the Judicial Department, which will help assist victims who are owed court-ordered restitution and provide training related to the restitution system. It also provides a list of allowable restitution expenses a victim can request (e.g. child care, travel costs to attend court proceedings) if proximately caused by the crime. Lastly, the bill requires the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) to intercept government windfall payments before they’re deposited in an inmate’s account so the funds can be dispersed according to a restitution order. 

Victim Rights Act | SB22-049

Fields & Gardner / Tipper & Carver

It can be incredibly challenging and emotionally draining for victims of crime and their families to navigate the criminal justice system. This bill updates and modernizes the Victim Rights Act, including changes that make it easier for a victim to meaningfully participate in the criminal justice system. The bill allows a victim to appear in court proceedings by phone or virtually (in addition to in person), requires the court to provide translation services to victims for all critical stages of a hearing, and requires the defendant be present at sentencing to hear the Victim Impact Statement. The bill also adds two new crimes to the Act: first degree arson and criminal invasion of privacy.

Violent Crime Victim Brain Injury Screening Program  | SB22-057

Fields & Cooke / Weissman

Folks who have suffered a traumatic brain injury deserve help as they recover. This bill directs the Office for Victims Programs in the Colorado Department of Public Safety (DPS) to establish a task force to develop a plan for the creation and implementation of a pilot program for identification and screening of victims of violent crimes for symptoms of a brain injury by August 1, 2022.

Improving Missing Person Investigations | SB22-095

Fields & Moreno / Gonzales-Gutierrez & Bacon

Every single missing person report filed in Colorado needs to be acted on quickly, and investigated with care. This bill makes improvements to the reporting of missing persons, including by requiring any law enforcement agency to accept a missing person report submitted in-person if the missing person was a Colorado resident or was last seen in Colorado and shortening the deadlines by which law enforcement must enter information into the relevant missing person databases. The bill also requires the Colorado Department of Public Safety (DPS) to annually report to the legislature on data and trends in missing person cases, including cases involving women from minority communities. 

Missing And Murdered Indigenous Relatives | SB22-150

Danielson / Duran & Herod

Indigenous women and children are at particularly high risk for violent crime, and we must stop looking the other way and address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives with a comprehensive and strong response. This bill does that by creating the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives in the Colorado Department of Public Safety (DPS), which serves as a liaison on behalf of the indigenous community on issues related to missing or murdered indigenous relatives and supports the Community Volunteer Advisory Board. The bill requires the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to create a database on missing indigenous persons from Colorado, prepare an annual report, and operate an alert program. It also requires that law enforcement officers receive training related to missing or murdered indigenous relatives.

Intimidating A Witness Changes | SB22-024

Fields & Cooke / Roberts & Soper

This bill makes changes to the crime of intimidating a witness by: (1) expanding the definition of who can be a target of intimidation to include a person who may have information relevant to a criminal investigation, a person who the defendant believes may be able to influence a witness, and a person who has already testified regarding a crime, and (2) expanding the list of actions that constitute intimidation to include attempting to or influencing a person to withhold or provide false information to law enforcement or a defense attorney. 

Safe Reporting Assaults Suffered By Sex Workers |  HB22-1288

Fields & Smallwood / Soper & Titone

This landmark legislation grants immunity for prostitution charges to a person seeking assistance as a victim or witness of a violent crime. This will help ensure sex workers feel safe in reporting crimes they’ve experienced or witnessed, and will help bring offenders to justice. 

Prohibit Sexual Act Without Consent | HB22-1169

Winter / Michaelson Jenet & Soper

Colorado’s definition of sexual assault hasn’t changed since the 1960’s. This bill updates the definition of sexual assault in our criminal code to explicitly include lack of consent. 

Continue Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board | SB22-100

Winter & Gardner / Duran & Esgar

This bill extends the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board and expands its duties to include providing technical assistance and training to local governments, coordinating between local governments and nonprofit organizations, and improving data collection on domestic violence fatalities.

Catalytic Converter Theft

Recertification And Theft Of Catalytic Converters | SB22-009

Ginal & Hisey / Bird & Benavidez

Catalytic converter theft has turned into an epidemic here in Colorado and across the country. This bill makes changes to catalytic converter regulation to give state regulators more oversight of aftermarket sales of catalytic converters, and requires owners of certain businesses (e.g. salvage yards) to keep a record of all transactions involving catalytic converters. 

Deter Tampering Motor Vehicle Emission Control System | SB22-179

Ginal & Liston / Lontine

This bill prohibits an individual from tampering with an emission control system (i.e. a catalytic converter) or selling or operating a car with an emission control system that has been tampered with, and establishes civil penalties for a person who violates these provisions. The bill allows the Attorney General to bring a civil action against individuals for violating these provisions. Civil penalties from these violations will go to the Catalytic Converter Identification and Theft Prevention Grant Program created in HB22-1217.

Catalytic Converter Records And Grant Program | HB22-1217

Ginal / Bockenfeld & Benavidez

This bill requires owners and operators of junk shops and other applicable facilities to keep records of all transactions involving catalytic converters. If facilities don’t comply with these requirements, they will be subject to inspections. The bill also creates the Catalytic Converter Identification and Theft Prevention Grant Program to award grants for public awareness campaigns, catalytic converter theft prevention parts, assistance to victims of catalytic converter theft, and catalytic converter identification and tracking efforts.