HB 25-1116: Department of Corrections Search Court Records Before Offender Release - Colorado

Rerevised (04/10/2025) → Revised (04/09/2025) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was revised to update the Senate sponsorship list and change the reading status from '3rd Reading Unamended' to 'Revised' after second reading in the Senate. A new substantive provision was added requiring the Department of Corrections to notify offenders and their public defender liaisons when a warrant is issued, ensuring transparency and legal representation awareness.

Scope change

The bill's scope now includes a new requirement for warrant notification procedures, expanding the enforcement mechanism to ensure offenders are informed of warrants and their right to legal representation.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for the Department of Corrections to notify offenders and their public defender liaisons when a warrant is issued, including providing all available warrant information.

TECHNICAL

Updated Senate sponsorship list to include only Pelton R. and Ball, removing other previously listed sponsors.

Changed reading status from '3rd Reading Unamended' to 'Revised' to reflect amendments adopted on second reading in the Senate.

PA1 (02/12/2025) → Rerevised (04/10/2025) · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill was re-revised to include all amendments adopted in the Second House, updating the bill's status from a preliminary version to a final version. The substantive policy content regarding the Department of Corrections' search requirements for offender warrants and pending cases remains consistent, though minor technical corrections were made to section numbering references.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill's header and status information to reflect that all amendments have been adopted, changing the version from 'PREAMENDED' to 'REREVISED'.

Corrected a section reference from 'subsection (2)(a)(II)' to 'subsection (2)(a)(I)' in the reporting timeline requirement.

Added reading dates and committee information to reflect the bill's progression through the legislative process.

Final Act (04/24/2025) → PA1 (02/12/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was reformatted from a final enacted version to a preliminary version with committee amendments. The substantive policy content regarding warrant searches for offenders remains unchanged, though formatting and layout were significantly altered.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; changes are primarily formatting and layout adjustments.

TECHNICAL

Header information was changed from final enacted format to preliminary format indicating it is a PREAMENDED version with committee amendments not yet adopted.

Committee assignments and sponsor lists were reorganized and reformatted from a single block to separate House and Senate sections.

Bill text formatting was altered to include line numbers and page markers typical of preliminary versions rather than final enacted versions.

Summary section was replaced with explanatory notes about the unofficial nature of the version and how to find the official bill summary.

Signed Act (04/30/2025) → Final Act (04/24/2025) · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill was finalized and signed into law, with minor formatting adjustments to the text. The substantive policy content regarding warrant searches for offenders remains unchanged from the original version.

Scope change

No change in scope or applicability; the bill's provisions remain the same.

TECHNICAL

Added a note indicating the bill has been prepared for signatures and is ready for legislative action.

Reordered the title and sponsor information to match standard final act formatting.

Minor spacing and punctuation adjustments throughout the text for consistency.

Reengrossed (03/05/2025) → Signed Act (04/30/2025) · 5 edits · Apr 30, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand the Department of Corrections' warrant search requirements, add new Senate sponsors, and strengthen provisions for offender notifications and court appearances. Key changes include extending the search timeline window, clarifying notification procedures, and adding requirements for virtual court appearances.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include additional Senate sponsors and modified the search timeline requirements to provide more flexibility while maintaining oversight.

TIMELINE

The warrant search timeline was modified to allow searches between 8-3 months prior to community corrections eligibility, with an exception if the offender is within 4 months of their statutory date when an initial search was conducted.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements were added for the Department of Corrections to establish guidelines and policies for handling additional search requests from public defender liaisons.

New requirement added for the Office of State Public Defender to designate an email address for receiving notifications about outstanding warrants and pending cases.

ENFORCEMENT

New provisions encourage courts to use virtual appearances and ensure offenders are assigned counsel when eligible to resolve warrants without delaying release processes.

SCOPE

Senate sponsorship was expanded to include 14 additional senators, indicating broader legislative support for the bill.

Engrossed (03/04/2025) → Reengrossed (03/05/2025) · 3 edits · Apr 10, 2025

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to include additional House sponsors and updated the bill summary to reflect that it is now in its third reading unamended version. The substantive text changes involve removing a section that required the Department to notify offenders about pending Colorado court cases when found during searches, likely to streamline the search and notification process.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding offender search procedures was narrowed by removing the requirement to notify offenders of pending court cases.

TECHNICAL

Added additional House sponsors (Barron, Boesenecker, Caldwell, Clifford, Duran, Jackson, Johnson, Keltie, Lindsay, Sirota, Titone) to the bill sponsorship list.

Updated the bill summary to indicate this is the reengrossed version with third reading unamended status and a new date of March 5, 2025.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement for the Department to notify offenders about pending Colorado court cases and provide case details when found during searches.

Introduced (01/27/2025) → Engrossed (03/04/2025) · 4 edits · Apr 10, 2025

MODERATE

This bill was amended to streamline search requirements for offenders held in correctional facilities, removing the initial admission search and adjusting timing thresholds for subsequent searches. The changes aim to reduce redundant searches while maintaining oversight of warrants and pending cases.

Scope change

The bill's scope was modified to eliminate the requirement for searching offenders upon admission to the department, shifting focus to searches tied to sentence evaluations and community correction eligibility dates.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement to search offenders immediately upon admission to the department.

Modified notification requirements to remove specific details like parole eligibility dates and community corrections eligibility dates from what must be shared with offenders and public defender liaisons.

Added requirement for the department to establish guidelines and policies addressing requests for additional searches as needed by public defender liaisons.

TIMELINE

Changed the timing for pre-eligibility searches from 'six months after admission' to 'no earlier than eight months but no later than three months prior to community corrections eligibility date'.

Department of Corrections Search Court Records Before Offender Release

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