Committee advances bill to extend 2021 elimination of many juvenile court fees

House lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee voted 8‑3 to advance legislation that would preserve the 2021 decision to stop assessing many administrative juvenile court fees and prevent those fees from being resumed on July 1.

Supporters told the committee the bill, presented as a narrow technical fix, would extend the elimination adopted in House Bill 21‑1315 and prevent resumption of collections for juveniles or people prosecuted as juveniles.

Supporters said the 2021 law was bipartisan and intended to stop collecting administrative fees and court costs that do not further rehabilitation or public safety. They told the committee that the Judicial Department has continued to assess some fees in a technical sense but has not been collecting most of them since 2021, and that an unintended repeal date in the original statute would resume collections on July 1 unless the Legislature acts.

The bill sponsors, Rep. Jackson and Rep. Joseph, asked the committee to adopt two amendments: a title change to clarify the bill's scope and a strike‑below to close the drafting gap that created the sunset. The Judicial Department’s legislative liaison, Terry Scanlon, and the department’s collections manager, Linda Lindsey, testified that about 4,000 juveniles (described as “youthful offenders” in testimony) have outstanding assessed amounts that are currently non‑enforceable; if the repeal date were allowed to take effect those assessments could be collected, reintroducing liabilities for people who were minors at the time of their offense. Scanlon described the issue as a drafting oversight that would be corrected by the committee’s strike‑below.

Advocacy groups and legal service providers urged the committee to keep the policy in place. Ashley Chase, staff attorney and legislative liaison at the Office of the Child’s Representative, said the change enacted in 2021 reduced barriers to youth rehabilitation and that continuing the practice preserves those benefits. Anaya Robinson of the ACLU of Colorado said reinstating fees would hit rural youth and families hardest; Courtney Sutton of COVA testified about victim services funding changes tied to how juvenile fines and fees were formerly used.

Committee members pressed witnesses about details the bill does not change. Witnesses repeatedly clarified that the bill addresses the state’s authority to collect fees and does not change statutes governing assessment of fees; assessment practices and policy questions about whether courts should continue assessing fees were described as separate policy matters. The Judicial Department confirmed the bill does not affect criminal fines or restitution, which remain payable to victims where ordered.

After questions and adoption of two sponsor amendments to refine the title and remove the sunset language, the committee moved the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The roll call on the final motion was 8 yeas, 3 nays.

Votes at a glance

- Motion: Move House Bill 12‑94 as amended to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. Mover: Rep. Sherry Carter; Second: AML Bacon. Outcome: passed, 8 yes, 3 no.

Where the discussion landed

- Discussion (policy): The bill was presented as a technical fix to prevent an unintended resumption of juvenile fee collections created by drafting in the 2021 law (House Bill 21‑1315). Witnesses described the policy rationale from 2021: administrative fees and court costs were inefficient to collect and disproportionately burdened indigent youth and families. - Direction: Sponsors and stakeholders said they will pursue broader follow‑up work on assessment policy (who should be assessed and whether assessments should be imposed), separate from this bill. - Decision (formal): Committee adopted sponsor amendments and voted to advance the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation.

Ending

The committee advanced the bill as a corrective measure to preserve the practice established in 2021 and avoid the abrupt resumption of collection on juveniles next summer. Sponsors and multiple witnesses said they expect further stakeholder work on whether assessment practices should be reformed beyond the narrow fix presented in this bill.