Senate adopts DOC supplemental after debate on prison costs and population management

The Colorado Senate on Feb. 19 adopted House Bill 11-51, a supplemental appropriation for the Department of Corrections, after floor debate about the size and management of the prison population and the budget tradeoffs of corrections spending.

Senator Bridges moved the bill and yielded the floor. Senator Weisman framed the discussion around long-standing sentencing choices and fiscal tradeoffs, noting that "the average cost to incarcerate somebody in the Department of Corrections is $60,000 a year," and urging colleagues to consider the fiscal opportunity costs of DOC spending relative to schools, roads and health care.

Senator Wallace opposed the supplemental, arguing that the request "asks taxpayers to pay more for prison beds not because crime has surged" but because the Department and Parole Board are failing to manage the population and release eligible inmates. Wallace urged the Senate to require measurable progress on earned-time release, programming access and a plan for population management before approving additional funds.

Senator Bridges said the vote was compelled by practical operational constraints: without the supplemental, county jails would remain backlogged and