Colorado law sets release support and ID rules for people leaving custody

The corrections department must provide suitable clothing, transportation, and a $100 release allowance. The rule covers individuals released from a correctional facility. Transportation must be provided at state expense to their Colorado residence or another place in Colorado. The allowance cannot be reduced for restitution, fees, clothing, transportation, or other costs tied to incarceration or release. These rules apply to people released on or after the act’s applicable effective date.

The corrections department must help eligible participants get a state-issued identification card before release and work with the revenue and public health departments to run the program. The program covers people in corrections custody who qualify for a state-issued identification card and lack a valid one. Participants must have a state-issued card upon release. A person who is eligible for an identification card but does not have a valid one may participate, unless they affirmatively opt out. The department must ask 180 days before release whether they still want to opt out. The department cannot charge fees during the process of securing identification documents. It may charge fees it paid in advance after release and combine them with existing legal debts. These rules apply to people released on or after the act’s applicable effective date.

The corrections department must report each year on release allowances and identification documents. The reports cover releases and allowance payments from the prior fiscal year, along with identification-document outcomes, ineligibility, and barriers to getting documents. The allowance report must be published on the department’s website and sent to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees or their successors. The identification report must be sent to those committees or their successors. The first reports are due September 15, 2027, and another is due each September 15 thereafter. Each report covers the preceding fiscal year.