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House committee advances bill to add mid‑sentence warrant checks for people in DOC
Summary
The House Judiciary Committee voted to send House Bill 11‑16, amended to add a warrant check 3–8 months before an offender's earliest release eligibility, to the appropriations committee with a favorable recommendation. Sponsors and witnesses said the change aims to reduce surprise reinstatements and costly transports that drive recidivism.
Representative Armagost, sponsor of House Bill 11‑16, told the House Judiciary Committee the bill responds to sheriff concerns after corrections releases that unexpectedly trigger outstanding warrants for released people.
The bill would require the Department of Corrections (DOC) to run an additional warrant check between three and eight months before an offender's earliest statutory eligibility for release or parole, and to notify the offender and the public defender if the check reveals outstanding warrants. The amendment adopted in committee (L1) sets the 3–8 month window.
Supporters said the additional check is intended to give people time to address pending matters before re‑entering the community, reducing unplanned transport between prisons and county jails. James Karbach of the Office of the State Public Defender testified the DOC liaison program already helps clear warrants on entry and the bill would add "one warrant check in the middle" so issues surface earlier. He said that, under the amendment negotiated with DOC, the department agreed it could remove the fiscal note. Crowley County Sheriff Terry Reeves testified it was "a common sense legislation" and that resolving warrants before release would save sheriff transports and help reintegration.
Representative Armagost and co‑prime sponsor Representative Bacon described the measure as bipartisan and efficiency‑oriented. Witnesses for the bill included James Karbach (Office of the State Public Defender), Natalie Perez (Stanford Children, reading testimony for Claudia Carrillo), Sheriff Terry Reeves (Crowley County), Kyle Giddings (Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition), Erin Meschke (resident), and Bree Buentejo (Representative and supporter).
Committee members asked about estimated savings and the fiscal note. Karbach and sponsors said savings are difficult to quantify because they depend on how many warrants are discovered earlier and whether cases can be handled by video court or other nontransport means. Karbach described working with DOC to write a policy for when the liaison would request checks, and said the policy work removed the fiscal note that had been attached to the introduced bill.
After public and panel testimony and adoption of amendment L1 (which inserts the 3–8 month warrant check timing), Representative Bacon moved House Bill 11‑16, as amended, to the committee on appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The committee roll call recorded the measure passing by an 11–0 vote.
The bill now goes to the Appropriations Committee. If enacted, sponsors and supporters said, the change would allow more prerelease resolution of outstanding warrants and reduce last‑minute reincarceration and costly transports.
