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House adopts transit‑worker safety bill after debate over penalties, mental‑health impacts
Summary
HB12‑90, a bill adding protections for transit workers and seeking to align some uses of Prop 130 funding, passed the House after extended debate over whether the measure duplicates existing assault statutes and the risk of criminalizing people with serious mental illness.
The Colorado House on March 20 adopted HB12‑90, a bill that adds transit workers to a list of protected classes in statute and creates a heightened penalty for conduct that prevents transit workers from performing their lawful duties. Sponsors said the measure aims to protect operators and riders; critics warned it creates a separate criminal category that could worsen competency and mental‑health burdens.
Representative Linstead, the bill sponsor, said committee changes added language to avoid unintentionally covering indecent exposure and clarified that workers such as Amtrak personnel are included. “We added Amtrak workers to the bill and clarified language,” Linstead said while asking for an I vote on the committee report.
The bill drew sustained opposition from members concerned about overlapping criminal statutes and the consequences for people with untreated mental‑health conditions.…
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