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Committee approves weekend sheriff work program bill after witness testimony on cost savings
Summary
The committee recommended favorably House Bill 136, which would authorize a sheriff-run weekend work program allowing eligible nonviolent offenders to serve intermittent sentences on supervised work crews. Witnesses cited bed-day savings and hours of community labor from similar programs in other states.
Representative Owens (sponsor not present) and committee witnesses described House Bill 136 as a statute authorizing a voluntary sheriff’s work program that lets qualified offenders serve weekend jail sentences on supervised work crews rather than occupying a jail bed. Proponents said the program is optional for sheriffs and restricted to qualified, nonviolent offenders; judges can exclude the program in individual cases.
David Bennett, a retired jail and criminal justice consultant who said he founded Salt Lake County’s pretrial services program, testified to the policy goal: avoid overcrowding releases by providing alternatives that keep jail beds available for higher-priority inmates. "Rule number 1, no overcrowding releases," Bennett said, and described the program as an option to reduce weekend bed usage without reducing punishment.
Jill Fox, director of alternative sentencing in Larimer County, Colorado, described nearly 50 years of operation of her county’s work-release program and provided financial data from Larimer County for 2024: the daily cost of a jail bed was $175.78 compared with $95.95 for the alternative sentencing facility; the county saved about 2,992 jail bed days in 2024, yielding nearly $240,000 in savings and providing over 17,000 hours of labor to nonprofits and tax-supported agencies.
Bennett and witnesses said the sheriff's association supports offering the option because sheriffs can decide whether it is operationally appropriate. The committee had no witnesses against the bill.
Senator Brammer moved that the committee recommend favorably House Bill 136 to the full Senate; the committee approved the motion unanimously, 5–0.
Votes at the committee
- Recommend favorably HB 136 to the full Senate: motion moved by Senator Brammer; outcome: recommended favorably 5–0.
Program design and limits
Witnesses emphasized the program's limits: it applies only to qualified, nonviolent offenders, is optional for sheriffs, and judges may exclude it in particular cases. Supporters framed it as a cost-saving, bed-preserving tool to reduce pressure on county jails without removing judicial discretion or imposing mandatory participation.
