Colorado officials review placement and parole when prison beds run low

When the prison bed vacancy rate stays below four percent for 30 days, the corrections department must notify listed officials and carry out population-management steps. The vacancy rate counts department inmates held in local jails, but excludes the first 400 held under local jail contracts. The department must request information about unused community corrections beds and ask providers to review certain residents for intensive supervision placement. Case managers must refer inmates eligible for community corrections to the relevant board within seven days after determining eligibility. Parole officers are asked to consider other sanctions for technical violations when lawful and consistent with public safety. The department must send the initial notices within 48 hours after the threshold is reached. It must notify recipients when the measures end and update notices to the governor and parole board every 30 days while they remain in effect.

The parole board must review listed inmates who meet the stated eligibility rules and may grant or deny parole. These reviews concern inmates on the department's list who are past their parole eligibility date and meet the listed plan and risk or custody criteria. The list covers eligible inmates past their parole eligibility date who have a favorable parole plan and meet the stated risk or custody criteria. If victim notice is required and a victim wants to give input, the board must hold a hearing instead of a file review. The board may ask the department for more information, and denying parole requires a majority vote of the full board. The text excludes people serving sentences for listed offenses and people with certain recent disciplinary violations. It also lists other exclusions, including pending felony charges, detainers, or extraditable warrants, and describes a limited eligibility category for certain lower-level drug and nonviolent felony convictions. The department must send the list within 14 days after the bed-shortage notice. The board generally sets release conditions within 30 days after receiving it and a release date within 30 days after its review or hearing.

If the required measures fail to raise the vacancy rate above four percent within 120 days, the department must send the governor and parole board a list of eligible inmates and recommend release or transfer options. The list covers inmates serving department sentences who are eligible for parole, subject to the stated offense exclusions for early release. The parole board may release listed inmates up to 90 days before their parole eligibility date, with stated exclusions for certain serious offenses. The department may refer inmates to community corrections, and the governor may consider and grant a sentence reduction. The department must send its list within 30 days after determining that the measures did not reach the target. The 120-day period starts with the initial shortage notices.

The corrections department must develop an ongoing population plan and report monthly on jail backlog and compliance with the measures. The plan covers staff and inmate safety and compliance with prison population-management requirements. When the measures were in effect during the previous month, the report must include notices sent, actions taken, and documented impact. The report is due by the fifth day of each month and covers the previous month.

For certain new court commitments near parole eligibility, the department must notify the sentencing court, which must tell the parties about a possible sentence-reconsideration motion. The provision concerns new court commitments admitted to the corrections department who are past or within 90 days of parole eligibility, subject to the listed offense exceptions. The notice applies when the department finds during admission that a person is past or within 90 days of parole eligibility, with exceptions for specified offenses. The defendant may choose whether to file a motion, except when the sentence came from a stipulated plea for an exact number of prison years. If a motion is filed, the court may change the sentence, but may not impose jail. The department must notify the court within 14 days after admission. The court must decide a filed motion within 35 days.