Committee advances bill to expand prosecution fellowship eligibility for rural districts

The Colorado House Education Committee voted unanimously Feb. 12 to send Senate Bill 67, which revises the state's Prosecution Fellowship Program, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation.

Supporters said the bill would help rural district attorney offices recruit and retain prosecutors by changing how fellowship funds are awarded and broadening eligibility. "This is an investment into rural Colorado," Vice Chair Martinez said, arguing that rural offices struggle to match metro salaries and that the bill will allow more experienced attorneys to work outside the Front Range.

Sponsors and witnesses described three main changes: (1) the program would move from awarding a single fellow per grant to distributing funds through a grant-like system managed by the Colorado District Attorneys' Council (CDAC), (2) eligibility would be opened to all graduates of Colorado law schools regardless of how long ago they graduated, and (3) the program would prioritize rural districts based on need and eligibility.

Gordon McLaughlin, district attorney in the Fifth Judicial District, said many prosecutors start in rural jurisdictions and then move to metro areas, leaving rural offices short staffed. "The pipeline goes to the front range, it rarely returns," McLaughlin said. Travis Sides, district attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial District and current CDAC president, said all 23 elected district attorneys voted to support the bill because it gives rural jurisdictions more flexibility to use funds in ways that meet local needs.

Witnesses gave specific examples of staffing pressures: Sides said he had turned over about six of nine prosecutor positions in recent years, and that some counties have only a handful of private attorneys available. Michael Doherty, a district attorney and law professor, said the bill is supported by the University of Colorado Law School and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and confirmed the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) had not opposed the bill.

Sponsor advocates emphasized the bill carries no new fiscal cost in the current year and passed the Senate unanimously. Vice Chair Martinez moved the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; Representative Johnson seconded the motion. The committee recorded the measure as passing unanimously.

The committee'level vote that advanced the bill was read by roll call; members who verbally recorded "yes" included Representatives Garcia Sander, Gilchrist, Hamrick, Hartsook, Johnson, Phillips, Smith, Story, Martinez and the committee chair. Representative Bacon was excused at the time of the vote.

Committee members asked several clarifying questions about the bill's language. Representative Phillips pressed sponsors about the provision that limits eligibility to graduates of Colorado law schools and suggested adding a requirement that qualifying schools be "regionally accredited." Vice Chair Martinez said she is open to amendment language that would require regional accreditation while avoiding a statutory list of institutions that could become obsolete if new accredited law schools open in the future.

The committee also discussed program administration: sponsors said a committee created under the bill would review applicants and recommend which offices should receive funding. Members emphasized that the measure is intended to be a structural change to increase rural access to the fellowship, not to create immediate new appropriations.

With the committee vote complete, supporters said the bill will next be considered by the Committee of the Whole.