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Senate adopts expanded prison population management measure after hours of debate
Summary
After extended floor debate and multiple amendment votes, the Colorado Senate adopted Senate Bill 36, a package of discretionary measures to help manage Department of Corrections capacity and jail backlogs; sponsors said it improves information sharing and targeted parole review while opponents warned it risks undermining sentencing finality and victims' expectations.
The Colorado Senate adopted Senate Bill 36 on April 21, 2026, after several hours of debate and a series of failed and adopted amendments that narrowed the bill's eligibility and clarified exclusions.
Senator Dominick Gonzales, the bill's co-prime sponsor, said the amended proposal seeks to make the state's prison population management mechanism work more effectively after the statute's narrow triggers proved insufficient in practice. Gonzales said the bill responds to a capacity crisis and the risk that the state might need to fund new prison beds without better operational tools.
“Back in 2018 … we agreed that we should establish prison population management measures,” Gonzales said, describing months of negotiation to craft a plan that would address jail backlogs and help ensure people leaving the Department…
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