El Paso County Sheriff says drug decriminalization bill will cost county jails

A bill making its way through Colorado’s legislature is sparking debate from El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder.

HB 19-1263 would change the penalties for possessing certain illegal drugs from a felony down to a misdemeanor.

The bill has bipartisan support in the House and Senate, but Elder is worried it might cost county jails more money. In a YouTube video, he explained the costs it could put on individual communities.

Elder said, “the savings to our state department of correction will be just switched to Sheriff’s jail and most of these jails can’t handle the impact in the first place.”

The analysis in the fiscal note of the bill explains, if passed, “it is assumed that 179 fewer offenders per year will be convicted and sentenced to the DOC,” the bill reads.

After doing the math on the video, Elder explains it could cost $24 million to move those inmates from the Department of Corrections to county jails.

The bill doesn’t immediately send an offender to jail, but Elder explains decriminalizing the offense might deter them from taking the charge seriously.

“It’s non-custodial misdemeanor so if someone is caught with possession of those drugs. We don’t take them into custody. We give them a summons and they off,” he explains.

HB19-1263 has passed through the House and is scheduled to be heard before the Senate Finance Committee on Friday.