Summary#

HB 26-1423, the Community Corrections Budget Request & Data Information bill, amends Colorado’s community corrections law in sections 17-27-102 and 17-27-108 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. It requires the Department of Public Safety to include detailed community corrections data in its budget request to the Joint Budget Committee and, starting in January 2027, in its annual SMART Act hearing presentation. Its stated purpose is to make projected need, program availability and funding allocations visible; the bill does not require the state to fund every projected need.

• The bill defines “projected need” as the Division of Criminal Justice’s best estimate of future community corrections placements by judicial district and placement type. The estimate must consider state correctional population projections, people expected to be eligible or referred and accepted, and expected changes in program capacity and availability.
• The Department’s budget request must explain projected need and its drivers, how the requested appropriation and projected allocations relate to need, differences among districts, and planned or requested changes to per diem reimbursement rates.
• The request must show projected allocations by district and program, including standard residential beds, nonresidential slots, fixed payments, specialized beds, funding sources, community corrections board funding and other allocations.
• Starting in January 2027, the Department must present information at its SMART Act hearing on identified differences between offender-population distribution, program availability and projected need.
• The bill is enacted, according to the supplied status. The text supplied does not state when the budget-request reporting requirement begins.

What it means for you#

• Department of Public Safety: It must prepare the specified data and explanations for its budget request. It must also present information on identified differences at the annual SMART Act hearing beginning in January 2027.
• Community corrections programs and boards: Their expected beds, slots, rates and funding allocations must be included in the Department’s projected budget information. The bill does not require programs or boards to submit applications or change their services.
• People in community corrections: The bill does not directly change eligibility, referrals, placement decisions, supervision or services.
• Taxpayers and the public: The bill requires more detail about the Department’s community corrections budget request and expected allocations. It does not itself set reimbursement rates or require an appropriation at a particular level.

Money#

No cost estimate is included in the available material.

• The bill requires the Department to prepare and present information, but does not specify added staff or funding for this work.
• It does not appropriate money, change per diem rates or require funding to match projected need. It requires the Department to explain planned or requested rate changes and show expected allocations from general and non-general fund sources.

What is unclear#

• The full existing law is not supplied, so it is not possible to verify what budget or reporting duties already apply or exactly how this bill changes them.
• The bill does not give a detailed method for making the Division of Criminal Justice’s “best estimate,” such as how its listed factors should be weighed.
• The text does not state when the new budget-request reporting duty first applies, or how the Department must handle later changes to its projections.
• It does not require the state to close gaps between projected need, available programs and requested or approved funding.

Case for#

• A possible argument for the bill is that legislators can better judge a budget request when it shows expected need, available capacity, rates and allocations together.
• District-by-district and program-level information could make differences between projected placements and available beds or slots easier to identify.
• Reporting both general and non-general fund allocations could give the Joint Budget Committee a fuller picture of the request.

Case against#

• The bill requires disclosure and explanations, but does not require more beds, slots or funding when projected need exceeds availability.
• “Best estimate” leaves room for judgment, and the bill does not set a detailed method for producing or checking the projections.
• The additional reporting may require Department time and resources, but the supplied material gives no estimate of that cost.