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Administration warns Colorado will hit jail backlog and capacity limits without supplemental action on prison beds and medical caseload
Summary
OSPB and DOC officials told the JBC that forecast changes have accelerated a capacity squeeze: the county jail backlog was about 691 as of Jan. 20, 2026, and could exceed 1,000 by June unless additional DOC beds or alternative measures are authorized. Officials presented trade-offs between opening DOC capacity (~$2.3M) and paying higher county-jail backlog costs (possibly $2.4M to $10M).
Office of State Planning and Budgeting Director Mark Ferrendino and Department of Corrections officials briefed the Joint Budget Committee on projected prison population, jail backlog and medical caseload shortfalls and requested supplemental flexibility to manage near-term capacity needs.
Ferrendino and DOC data showed the jail backlog stood at about 691 on Jan. 20, 2026, and projected that number could exceed 1,000 by June without action. The administration presented two broad fiscal paths: open additional DOC beds (DOC estimated additional bed costs around $2.3 million for the supplemental request to open capacity) or continue paying county jail backlog costs, which DOC estimated could total roughly $2.4 million more this fiscal year and potentially much higher depending on trends. Ferrendino noted the same dollars will be spent one way or another, but the venue (state DOC vs county jails) and programmatic outcomes differ.
Committee members pressed for specifics and a broader plan to reduce prison population demand. Senators and representatives asked which prison population management bills the governor's office would support and whether increased treatment and community corrections could be part of a durable solution. Ferrendino said the administration was reviewing proposed bills (including a prison population management measure and reforms to JCAP) and that policy changes together with capacity and programming decisions would be required; he repeatedly emphasized the need to pair population-management reforms with capacity decisions to avoid unintended consequences.
DOC officials also described a medical caseload shortfall projected at roughly $7 million to $8 million and highlighted a persistent shortage of clinical staff inside prison facilities. DOC said it is finalizing an audit and third-party workforce review to identify drivers of clinical staffing shortages and would report results within weeks. Committee members said they want a plan that couples added dollars with policy commitments and measurable deliverables.
No supplemental was approved during this hearing; committee members asked administration and DOC to return with additional analysis, bill positions, and metrics that tie budget decisions to specific policy options.
Next steps: DOC to deliver the audit findings, provide clearer cost correlation models showing how opening beds would reduce jail backlog expenditures, and administration to identify which policy proposals it will support.
