Senate committee advances SB 151 after testimony on runaway youth; amendments remove fiscal impact

The Colorado Senate Health & Human Services Committee voted 7–1 to advance Senate Bill 151 on measures aimed at preventing youth from running away from residential care and to set baseline requirements for how facilities respond.

Senator Michaelson Janae, sponsor of SB 151, moved the bill as amended after the committee adopted two amendments (L001 and L002). The Legislative Council staff memo provided with amendment L001 indicated that, if L001 were adopted, the bill would have a zero fiscal note; the committee adopted L001 and L002 without recorded opposition. A roll call on the committee’s final motion to move the bill to the Committee of the Whole recorded seven ayes and one no (Senator Carson), and the bill was given a favorable recommendation.

The bill responds to findings of the Timothy Montoya Task Force, convened after the 2020 death of 12‑year‑old Timothy Montoya, who ran away from a residential treatment facility and was struck by a vehicle. Task force members and witnesses told the committee that Colorado lacks consistent systems to prevent and respond to youth who run from care.

Witnesses described the core requirements that appear in SB 151 as presented to the…