by Sheriff Shannon K. Byerly

HB19-1263 (Offense Level For Controlled Substance Possession) is irresponsible legislation being pushed by the Colorado Assembly as an attempt to reduce inmate populations in the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) by reducing the seriousness of illegal drug possession. The assembly believes they can shift fiscal responsibility to local jurisdictions, AKA county jails, by making illegal possession of scheduled drugs a misdemeanor crime instead of a felony. It is extremely concerning when we begin to dissect what this really means for society and local communities.

Currently possession of any Schedule I, II, or III controlled substance such as Methamphetamines, Ketamine, Ruffes, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and about 58 other illegal substances is a Class 4 Felony and can result in prosecution and DOC sentences of up to several years depending on the quantity. HB19-1263 looks to change those charges to a class 1 Misdemeanor and the sentence would be to a County Jail for no more than 2 years. ON the face of it, there appears to be some merit to sentence reduction and rehabilitation but if you look deeper, you will see this will set a disturbing trend and cost counties millions of dollars.
The legislature estimates HB19-1263 to have an effect on approximately 179 inmates statewide at a cost of $17,691 per day, or approximately $6,457,215 a year. They also admit this estimate is probably conservative and those numbers could be higher, to significantly higher. This prediction does not take into account the increased number of defendants who will begin to refuse plea bargains and take their cases to trial because they have nothing to lose by doing so. Currently an individual who is arrested on their first offense for drug possession will be offered a plea deal from a Class 4 Felony, to a Class 1 Misdemeanor in order to avoid serving time in DOC. They might get minimal sentences to county Jails and mandatory Rehabilitation. With the proposed changes, an offender will no longer have anything to gain by taking a plea deal because the sentence will not be reduced. In turn, we will see a drastic increase to the case loads for District Attorney’s Offices and as such, will need more funding to hire more attorneys. Lest we forget, the DA’s Office is funded by counties and the HB19-1263 cost does not even begin to approach this added cost.
Locally, we will not see a million dollar increase. Instead we will see increases in the funding requests from the DA’s office annually. We will see an increase in our court docket as more cases go to trial. We will see an increase in housing costs for inmates who are sentenced to county jail. Currently we have two individuals who are serving time in DOC for Felony Drug charges. With the proposals from HB19-1263 , we would be housing those offenders right here in our county jail. Additionally, they would be released with a shorter sentence and without the rehabilitation services they typically receive in DOC.
So ultimately what is HB 1263 going to cost us here in Custer County? That is a very difficult predictor. With the continued rise in the drug offenses we are seeing, coupled with the reduced deterrent, increases in court trials and inmates who get fewer opportunities for rehabilitation will result in greater costs, both to the county budget and to community safety as a whole. We can’t afford this new legislation, fiscally or socially.

(Editor/GG: The Sentinel requested comment from Custer County Sheriff Byerly. We appreciate the above summary he provided.)