HB 1315: Accurate Documents for Parole Determinations - Colorado

Final Act → Signed Act · 5 edits · Jun 3, 2026

MODERATE

This bill establishes a new legal requirement for the Colorado Department of Corrections to create a 'Risk Assessment Quality Review Team' that audits parole risk assessments for accuracy and consistency. It mandates specific periodic reviews of these assessments, requires annual public reporting on error rates and supervision levels, and declares any contracts prohibiting the disclosure of this data to be void. The changes aim to address reported high error rates in parole risk tools by increasing transparency and accountability in how parole decisions are made.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of oversight from general parole supervision to specifically target the accuracy and consistency of actuarial risk assessment tools used by the Division of Adult Parole.

REQUIREMENT

Mandates the creation of a new internal team to develop policies for reviewing risk assessments and training staff.

TIMELINE

Sets a deadline of August 31, 2026, for implementing the new review system and policies.

REPORTING

Requires the Department to include specific data on review counts, error rates, and supervision levels in annual 'Smart Act' hearings starting in January 2027.

ENFORCEMENT

Legally voids and unenforceable any agreements that attempt to prevent the public disclosure of risk assessment outputs.

DEFINITION

Updates the statutory definition of 'risk assessment' to include specific criteria regarding validated instruments and their use in guiding parole supervision.

Rerevised → Final Act · 4 edits · May 29, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to strengthen transparency and accountability regarding parole risk assessments by adding new reporting requirements and clarifying that assessment outputs are public records. The changes address concerns that the original text did not sufficiently mandate ongoing quality controls or explicitly include risk assessment scores in public inspection. The amendment ensures that the Department of Corrections must conduct systematic reviews, implement quality assurance practices, and report specific error rates to the public annually.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include 'risk assessment outputs' (scores and supervision levels) as public criminal justice records, whereas the original text focused more broadly on the assessments themselves. Additionally, the reporting requirements were made indefinite rather than temporary.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandate for the Department of Corrections to establish a 'Risk Assessment Quality Review Team' by August 31, 2026, to implement systematic reviews, fidelity checks, and training.

TIMELINE

Established a recurring annual reporting requirement starting in January 2027, requiring the department to report total reviews conducted, the number of assessments with errors, and steps taken to mitigate past issues.

DEFINITION

Added a specific definition for 'Risk Assessment Outputs' to clarify that the total score and resulting supervision level are included in the scope of public records.

ENFORCEMENT

Clarified that the requirement to submit annual reports continues indefinitely, overriding any previous limitations on how long such reporting must occur.

Revised → Rerevised · 3 edits · May 12, 2026

MINOR

The bill was re-revised to include additional Senate sponsors and update the reading status to reflect amendments adopted in the Second House. Substantively, the definition of 'risk assessment' was expanded to explicitly require the instrument to be validated, and a new requirement was added mandating that the Department establish a Quality Review Team to oversee these assessments.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding risk assessments was broadened by adding specific quality control requirements and a new oversight team.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandate for the Department to establish a Risk Assessment Quality Review Team to develop policies and practices for validating assessments.

DEFINITION

Updated the definition of 'risk assessment' to explicitly require the instrument to be validated.

TECHNICAL

Added new Senate sponsors (Amabile, Benavidez, Coleman, Exum, Gonzales J., Jodeh, Kipp, Wallace) and updated the legislative status to 'Rerevised' with a new reading date.

Reengrossed → Revised · 3 edits · May 11, 2026

MINOR

The bill was reclassified from 'Reengrossed' to 'Revised' to reflect amendments adopted during the second reading in the Senate. Substantive changes include clarifying that the risk assessment tool is specifically for 'community supervision' rather than general parole, and updating the legislative findings to refer to 'community supervision tool' risk assessments instead of generic ones. The core requirements for establishing a quality review team and implementing systematic reviews remain largely the same, though the context of the findings has been tightened to focus on the specific tool used for community supervision.

Scope change

The scope was narrowed slightly by explicitly naming the 'community supervision tool' in the legislative findings and definitions, replacing broader references to 'correctional supervision tool' or generic 'parole risk assessments'.

DEFINITION

The text now explicitly refers to the 'community supervision tool' instead of generic terms like 'correctional supervision tool' or 'parole supervision tool' in several sections.

REQUIREMENT

The legislative findings regarding audit results and the need for quality controls were updated to specifically mention the 'community supervision tool' and its associated risk assessments.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was updated from 'Reengrossed' to 'Revised' to indicate it includes amendments adopted on second reading in the second house.

Engrossed → Reengrossed · 4 edits · Apr 28, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was reengrossed to include additional sponsors and updated the summary date to reflect amendments adopted in the House of Introduction. Substantively, the bill was amended to remove a requirement for periodic fidelity reviews of an assessor's work and the mandate for appropriate training for sustained and accurate completion of risk assessments.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding assessor oversight was narrowed by removing specific requirements for fidelity reviews and training.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement for the department of corrections to conduct periodic fidelity reviews of an assessor's work.

Removed the requirement to provide appropriate training for the sustained and accurate completion of risk assessments.

TECHNICAL

Added new sponsors to the bill: Boesenecker, Clifford, Duran, Lieder, Lindsay, Phillips, Ricks, and Rydin.

Updated the bill summary header to indicate it is 'Reengrossed' and includes amendments adopted in the House of Introduction.

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Apr 27, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was reclassified from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed' after passing the House, adding the Appropriations committee to its jurisdiction. The text was reorganized and edited for clarity, specifically changing the legislative declaration to focus on a single news outlet's 2025 report rather than multiple outlets, and updating the timeline for mandatory audits from December 2026 to August 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded by adding the Appropriations committee to the list of House committees involved in its review.

TIMELINE

The deadline for the Department of Corrections to establish a risk assessment quality review team was moved from December 31, 2026, to August 31, 2026.

DEFINITION

The legislative declaration was rewritten to describe inaccuracies found in 2025 by a single Colorado news outlet, replacing language about multiple outlets and specific high-profile crimes.

REQUIREMENT

The audit requirement was slightly rephrased to focus on determining if inmates received low-risk classifications that did not align with their documented criminal history or risk factors.

SCOPE

The Appropriations committee was added to the list of House committees assigned to the bill.

Accurate Documents for Parole Determinations

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