Colorado Lawmakers Advance Parole And Sentencing Changes in an Effort to Reduce Prison Population

By Taylor Dolven and Rae Solomon | The Colorado Sun

Colorado lawmakers passed two bills Thursday and are still considering a third aimed at reducing the state’s prison population, which has ballooned to the point where Gov. Jared Polis is recommending reopening up to two prisons.

It’s difficult to say whether the bills, which Polis has yet to sign, can cut the prison population enough to offset the Department of Corrections’ space needs this year. But they represent the legislature’s latest effort to reduce the number of incarcerated Coloradans, which has increased 19% since 2021 even as crime rates have fallen.

“This is part of the bigger conversation we’re having this year about the need to manage our prison population with public safety and the state budget reality in mind,” said Sen. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, who is sponsoring all three bills.

The effort comes as lawmakers have approved an increase of about $69 million in the corrections budget for the coming fiscal year, for a total budget of nearly $1.2 billion, including the addition of 941 prison beds. It was a bitter pill for lawmakers to swallow in a year with a $1.5 billion budget shortfall that forced them to make difficult cuts to Medica

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