DENVER—A proposal to allow some Colorado criminal defendants to post bond to courts as part of a supervision program while they await trial failed Tuesday because there was not enough time to get it through the Legislature before adjournment.
A House panel approved the bill but referred it to another committee instead of the full chamber—an extra step that means the bill won’t pass before lawmakers adjourn Wednesday.
“I think the race is over,” said Rep. Mark Waller, a Republican from El Paso sponsoring the bill. “There’s just no way.”
The proposal would have allowed some defendants to avoid going through a bondsman to post bail if they are eligible for pretrial supervision programs. Some Colorado counties and places around the country have adopted such programs as an alternative to jail, partly over overcrowding concerns.
Advocates favoring pretrial supervision programs—which in addition to supervision from the court can include substance abuse treatment and mental health screenings—say such measures helps prevent criminals from reoffending and that it’s a change that the justice system needs.
“We arrest them, we house them, we bond them, and we bring them back in huge numbers,” said Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson, who spoke in support of the bill on behalf of the County Sheriffs of Colorado.
Bail bondsmen have opposed pretrial supervisions programs, saying it will put them out of business and that municipalities are putting communities in danger by making it easier for criminals to bond out. Opponents of the bill waved signs outside the Capitol, asking drivers to honk if they were in favor of saving jobs.
Waller said he tried to amend his bill so only bonds of $5,000 or less would be eligible to be picked up by the courts. But then he learned bonds in that range constitute the majority of business for bail businesses.
“I don’t want to put one person out of business in the state of Colorado,” he said.
Waller amended his bill so defendants could potentially bond out through the courts if they were not bailed out by a bonds business within five days. The goal was to give bondsmen the first chance to bond people out.
The bill passed with the amendment.
Waller called the system through which people are bonded out is broken because a lot of defendants sit in jail because they can’t afford to bond out.
“I think there’s room for improvement,” he said.
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Ivan Moreno can be reached
