Drug sentencing reform bill may end up costing Colorado county jails

Having a felony conviction can prevent you from doing a lot of things like vote in an election or own a firearm. A new bill recently signed in Colorado would help reduce the number of felony charges in the state.

HB19-1263 which was signed by Governor Jared Polis makes it so those who possess fewer than four grams of any type of drug like cocaine, heroin, or meth will be charged with a misdemeanor instead of a felony. Meaning they would spend less time behind bars and not have a felony on their record.

Criminal defense attorney Jeremey Loew says a fourth of the population in Colorado has this problem, “So many people in El Paso County and throughout the state of Colorado are saddled with felony convictions and they face challenges as a result of those felony convictions.”

With the reduced prison sentences, it will mean more financial savings for the state. “To house somebody for one year in the department of corrections it’s approximately 50,000 dollars,” Loew says.

But while the state may benefit, the cost will now be shifted to the counties.

Those charged with felonies go to state prisons and those with misdemeanors go to county jails.

El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder says this is going to cost the county millions and make its already overcrowded jail worse.

“We are going to see an uptick in the number of people that are sentenced to county jails and that effect alone is going to cost counties more money,” Elder says.

Adding it will impact fewer than 200 people a year and not help overcrowding in state prisons as much as lawmakers think.

As of now, Elder says the county jail is at capacity. He and his office are working on ways to reduce the overcrowding but he says it may build to a point where they will soon have to discuss building a new facility.