DENVER — Colorado lawmakers could be days away from sending Governor Jared Polis a bill that would prevent municipal courts from handing down harsher sentences than the state when it comes to low-level crimes.
Supporters of House Bill 25-1147 say it would restore fairness to the criminal justice system, while opponents say it would interfere with the constitutional rights of home-rule cities.
Jack Johnson, an attorney with Disability Law Colorado, which protects the rights of people with disabilities, said municipal courts in Colorado often treat people with disabilities, as well as those struggling with substance use and homelessness, unfairly whenever they're convicted of low-level crimes like petty theft and trespassing.
“For us, it's a simple question of equity,” said Johnson. “Those individuals often end up with longer prison sentences or jail sentences than they would at the state level, and maybe not the appropriate level of justice or care.”
He said HB25-1147 would change that by ensuring municipal courts don’t hand down harsher sentences than state courts for the same low-level crimes.
“The intent behind House Bill 1147 is really to align the existing practices that we have at the state court level, especially around the way we treat and sentence defendants, to municipal courts,” said Johnson.
But mayors of the state’s three largest cities, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Aurora, are against the bill. They sent Colorado Gov. Jared Polis a letter, urging him to veto the bill should it reach his desk.
“HB25 -1147 is a significant overstep of our home rule authority and negatively impacts our ability to address crime in a manner that is relevant to our communities as outlined in the Colorado Constitution Article XX Section 6(h),” the mayors wrote. “This legislation, which would prevent municipal leaders from addressing specific local issues faced by their constituents, would have a negative impact on our residents who expect their elected leaders to address local issues head-on.”
Pete Schulte, the city attorney for Aurora, said Colorado’s constitution gives home rule cities the right to address certain local issues that are unique to them, like fighting crime.
“This bill takes away the ability for cities to be able to handle issues that are going on in their own city by dictating that any criminal behavior on the misdemeanor court level has to match the penalties that are at the state level,” said Schulte.
A spokesperson for the governor said he is "skeptical” of legislation that limits the ability of local governments to improve public safety.
“The Governor is focused on making Colorado one of the top ten safest states and is skeptical of actions that may limit local governments' ability to improve public safety in our communities and neighborhoods,” said Eric Maruyama, the governor’s spokesperson. “The Governor is quite alarmed by the various concerns that cities and victim advocates from across the state have raised, and will weigh those objections heavily in his deliberations about the bill should it reach his desk. Fundamentally, the Governor believes cities need flexibility and tools to solve area-specific public safety issues, and this would potentially remove one important tool.”
Meanwhile, groups like Disability Law Colorado, the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless are urging the governor to sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
The bill has passed both chambers, but the House must consider Senate amendments before it can be sent to the governor.
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