El Paso County concerned about costs of new drug law
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- County sheriffs across Colorado are bracing for a change come 2020. A new law passed in 2019 is bringing an increase in inmates to their already crowded jails.
HB19-1263 changes the consequences for drug possession of less than 4 grams of Schedule I and II drugs including heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. Instead of a felony, those accused will face a misdemeanor, but the El Paso County Sheriff's Office is expressing concern.
"Four grams of any of those drugs is a lot of drugs for personal use," says Janet Huffor, the legislative liaison for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
She says when the law takes effect, about 170 inmates will move from state prisons and 30 of them will end up in the El Paso County Jail.
"Adding another 30 inmates to our jail at over $80 per day to house them is a big financial impact for El Paso County. The impact to the county as a whole is that it's no longer on the state dime, it's on the local county taxpayers' dime," Huffor said.
In an updated fiscal note, lawmakers stated an increased cost would come to county jails, but in turn should decrease costs for other departments.
It reads, "however, because the courts have the discretion of incarceration or imposing a fine, the precise county impact cannot be determined. Under current law, the state reimburses county jails for housing state inmates."
The law will not take effect until March 1, 2020.
