Adams County urges amendments to bill creating criminal civil‑confinement pathway, flags ABLE-account, liability concerns
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Summary
County staff warned a bill creating a court‑directed civil‑confinement pathway for criminal defendants with mental‑health or neurocognitive disorders would shift heavy workload and liability to county attorneys without funding; commissioners signaled support for seeking amendments. Separately, staff flagged HB 261347’s ABLE‑account rules for foster‑care youth as legally and operationally difficult and recommended close negotiation.
Peggy and county attorneys told the Board of County Commissioners on Friday that a proposed state bill creating a court-driven civil‑confinement pathway for criminal defendants with mental‑health or neurocognitive disorders would substantially increase county workloads and legal exposure.
"As written, it's going to require immense county resources in the county attorney's office," said the county attorney (functional_label). She said the measure transfers initiation and ongoing management of commitments from clinical providers and hospitals to courts and county attorneys, increasing hearings, medical‑decision litigation and staff time with no accompanying funding.
Commissioners described the proposal as an example of an unfunded mandate. Commissioner Steve (functional_label) said the idea might merit study but “right now I don't see that we have enough resources to do this,” and advocated deferring aggressive statutory shifts until a statewide, cross‑functional plan is developed.
Human services staff recommended targeted amendments to remove changes to the county civil process and to avoid imposing new criminal‑law duties on county civil attorneys. The county attorney noted constitutional and federal‑program liability risks for caseworkers and counsel if counties must manage medical decision‑making and federal disability‑related processes.
On a separate human‑services bill, staff briefed the board on HB 261347, which would let counties use federal disability benefits for foster‑care cost‑of‑care and require unused benefits be held in ABLE accounts for youth aging out of care. Staff said sponsors have been cooperative but that ABLE account mechanics — which currently require individual identity information and have limited organizational account options — create legal and administrative problems.
"Caseworkers being required to enter personal information for account setup is not something we're going to go for," staff said, noting ABLE vendors and the Department of Higher Education (the existing ABLE host in Colorado) have limited capacity. Staff said the bill also contemplates a single FTE at the state level to help counties manage benefits, which counties view as insufficient for 64 counties.
The board directed staff to pursue an "oppose unless amended" position in committee while continuing negotiations, with a follow‑up to the behavioral‑health and criminal‑justice coordinating committees and a request for a formal fiscal estimate.
Next steps: staff will submit a two‑page amendment request to sponsors and meet again with state fiscal staff; commissioners indicated they will pursue a formal county position once recommended amendments are drafted and the fiscal impact is clarified.
