Colorado § 17-1-112 - Expenses - reimbursement by department - report.

§ 17-1-112. Expenses - reimbursement by department - report.

(1) Subject to available appropriations, the department shall reimburse any county or city and county for a portion of the expenses and costs incurred by that county or city and county in the confinement and maintenance in a local jail of any person who is sentenced to a term of imprisonment in a correctional facility. The general assembly shall annually establish the amount of reimbursement in the general appropriations bill, taking into consideration the information reported pursuant to subsection (4) of this section. Such reimbursement is for each day following seventy-two hours after such sentence is imposed but prior to the transmittal of the sentenced inmate to a department facility. Subject to available appropriations, the department may contract with any county or city and county for the expenses incurred by that county or city and county in the confinement and maintenance of any person who is sentenced to a term of imprisonment pursuant to section 16-11-308.5.

(1.5) In no event shall any agreement to reimburse any city and county or county affect or reduce any city and county's or county's duty to exercise reasonable care and use its best efforts to supervise and use reasonable precautions to assure the adequate care of any state inmate.

(1.7) On or after April 19, 1993, each city and county or county shall send an invoice to the executive director within three months after the expenses and costs for the confinement and maintenance of inmates in local jails are incurred; however, each city and county or county is encouraged to send such invoice on a monthly basis, when possible. Failure by a city and county or county to send an invoice to the executive director within three months after such expenses and costs are incurred shall result in a forfeiture of any reimbursement by the state for such expenses and costs.

(2) Any moneys to which a county or city and county may be entitled pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be paid to the treasurer of the county or the manager of revenue of the city and county, who shall credit the same to the general fund of the county or city and county or such other fund as the board of county commissioners of the county or the city council of the city and county may direct and who shall account for such moneys as provided by law.

(3) (Deleted by amendment, L. 88, p. 710, § 9, effective July 1, 1988.)

(4) To assist the general assembly in determining the amount of reimbursement described in subsection (1) of this section, on or before January 1, 2019, and on or before January 1 each year thereafter, each county and each city and county shall report to the joint budget committee the average cost of confining and maintaining persons in a local jail for more than seventy-two hours after each such person has been sentenced to the custody of the department. On or before September 1, 2018, the joint budget committee shall establish guidelines to ensure that each county and each city and county reports costs pursuant to this subsection (4) in a uniform manner. At a minimum, the guidelines must allow each county and each city and county to report costs in the following categories:

(a) Food;

(b) Clothing and laundry;

(c) Medical and behavioral health-care costs;

(d) Personnel costs, including salaries and benefits;

(e) Inmate transportation costs;

(f) Vocational training and educational costs; and

(g) Menstrual hygiene products, as defined by section 17-1-113.6 (2).

Source: L. 85: Entire section added, p. 1339, § 1, effective July 1. L. 88: Entire section amended, p. 710, § 9, effective July 1. L. 89: (1.5) added, p. 879, § 1, effective June 5. L. 89, 1st Ex. Sess.: (1) amended, p. 20, § 4, effective July 1. L. 91: (1) and (1.5) amended, p. 337, § 2, effective July 1, 1992. L. 93: (1) and (1.5) amended and (1.7) added, p. 405, § 2, effective April 19. L. 95: (2) amended, p. 880, § 17, effective May 24. L. 2000: (1), (1.5), and (1.7) amended, p. 836, § 14, effective May 24. L. 2018: (1) amended and (4) added, (HB 18-1132), ch. 163, p. 1129, § 1, effective April 25. L. 2019: (4) amended, (HB 19-1224), ch. 131, p. 588, § 2, effective April 25.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 19-1224, see section 1 of chapter 131, Session Laws of Colorado 2019.

ANNOTATION

"Subject to appropriation", as seen in subsection (1), limits a remedy and not a legal right. Local municipalities have the right to receive reimbursement from the department of corrections for incurred expenses, but the implementation of that right is subject to available appropriations. It expresses the intent of the legislature that the satisfaction of state obligations to local governments for housing state prisoners shall be dependent on future appropriations. State for Use of Dept. of Corr. v. Pena, 855 P.2d 805 (Colo. 1993) (decided under law in effect prior to 1988 amendment).

To the extent appropriations are insufficient to cover expenses incurred by the department of corrections, that department cannot order and implement full relief. The department does have the obligation to bring to the legislature's attention the inadequacy of funding. State for Use of Dept. of Corr. v. Pena, 855 P.2d 805 (Colo. 1993) (decided under law in effect prior to 1988 amendment).

The department of correction's liability pursuant to this section is not dependent upon the availability of funds. Therefore, the city and county of Denver's entitlement to judgment is not affected by lack of sufficient appropriations. State for Use of Dept. of Corr. v. Pena, 837 P.2d 210 (Colo. App. 1992), aff'd 855 P.2d 805 (Colo. 1993) (decided under law in effect prior to the 1988 amendment).