First Regular Session | 74th General Assembly
Colorado General AssemblyIn response to the high rate of opioid-related addiction and deaths in Colorado, the Colorado General Assembly created the Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Study...
During the 2019 session, the Colorado General Assembly considered several pieces of legislation related to state health programs, behavioral and mental health, reducing health care costs, hospital transparency, and advance directives.
During the 2019 legislative session, the General Assembly enacted several bills focused on making health insurance more affordable and increasing coverage protections for consumers.
During the 2019 legislative session, the General Assembly passed legislation focused on enhancing the state's adoption, foster care, and child welfare programs; expanding a Division of Youth Services (DYS) pilot program designed to change the internal culture of DYS; and enhancing services...
This memorandum is an assessment of the fiscal impact of the attached proposed Amendment L.045 to Senate Bill 19-188. This fiscal assessment is for the impact of the bill with inclusion of this amendment only. Any other added amendment could influence the fiscal impact.
This issue brief provides an overview of extreme risk protection orders, including what they are, how they are used, and how Colorado's proposed law compares to other states. It also addresses other types of protection orders authorized in Colorado law.
This memorandum provides a brief overview of the timeline of events related to the recommended closure of the Grand Junction Regional Center (GJRC) campus.
Report No. 2019-TE1
Community corrections programs serve as an alternative to prison or as a transition for individuals in prison to reenter society. This issue brief provides a general overview of community corrections.
Final Report to the Colorado General Assembly by the Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems.
According to the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC), between 2012 to 2017, the number of inmates who had moderate to severe mental health needs increased by 7 percent. Additionally, a steep increase in court-ordered competency evaluations and restorative treatments has caused a shortage...
The Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Study Committee was created pursuant to Article 22.3 of Title 10, Colorado Revised Statutes. The purpose of this committee is to study issues relating to opioid and substance use disorders in Colorado and examine potential solutions concerning...
The Colorado Health Insurance Exchange Oversight Committee was created pursuant to Article 22 of Title 10, Colorado Revised Statutes. The purpose of this committee is to guide Colorado's health insurance exchange, including reviewing the financial and operational plans of the exchange and...
This memorandum provides an overview of jury duty for criminal trials in Colorado, including how jurors are summoned, excused, selected, paid, and impaneled. Jury deliberations, instructions, and verdicts are also covered.
Gravity and switchblade knives, which were originally popularized by classic movies such as West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause, are considered illegal weapons in Colorado. Possessing such a weapon could result in a fine or jail time, or both. This issue brief...
This issue brief addresses Colorado’s emergency mental health hold procedure, which allows for an individual to be involuntarily held for a 72‑hour period of treatment and evaluation if he or she appears to have a mental illness and, due to the mental illness, appears to be an imminent...
A statute of limitations is a law that specifies the maximum length of time allowed for a victim or prosecutor to initiate legal proceedings. Such a statute may apply in either criminal or civil cases. This issue brief provides an overview of criminal statutes of limitations, including...
This memorandum provides an overview of how post-conviction sex offender polygraph testing (PCSOT) is used for adult sex offenders in Colorado, as well as in other states. It also includes a summary of current research on its effectiveness.
Colorado’s child welfare system provides a range of services to protect children from abuse and neglect and to assist families in caring for their children. This issue brief provides an overview of the child welfare system in Colorado, including administration and funding, reporting...
Report No. 2018-TE4
During the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly introduced numerous bills concerning crimes,criminal penalties, and law enforcement.
During the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly introduced numerous bills concerning the state’s correctional system and associated issues.
During the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to child welfare and foster care, youth mental health and suicide prevention, child abuse prevention, the juvenile justice system, and other aspects of family law. The bills described in this document passed...
During the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly considered a number of measures related to Medicaid, insurance carriers, and health care facilities. It also considered measures concerning substance use disorders, health care costs, and the health care workforce.
During the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to increasing access to behavioral health services, increasing capacity for competency restoration, protecting children in foster care, child care assistance funding, and increasing the effectiveness of other...