Colorado’s 2026 Session Wrap-Up: Second Look, Restitution, Reentry, & More

Colorado’s 2026 Session Wrap-Up: Second Look, Restitution, Reentry, & More

The 2026 Colorado legislative session ended in May after 120 days, hundreds of bills, and a tight, high-stakes budget. Would Kyle Giddings of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition give this session’s criminal-legal developments an A, a B, an F…? Listen or watch to find out, as Colorado Radio for Justice host JoyBelle Phelan invites Giddings to break down what passed and what changed, including the “second look” post-conviction bill (SB 26-115), restitution reform limiting insurance companies’ role as restitution “victims,” and a reentry support bill (SB 26-1256) requiring $100 gate money and preventing DOC from denying IDs due to legal financial obligations. They also discuss a trauma-informed training requirement for peace officers; Giddings’ personal experience navigating steep restitution interest rates; and much more.  UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org [http://www.radioforjustice.org] COLORADO RADIO FOR JUSTICE https://www.radioforjustice.org/  Instagram //   radio4justice    Facebook //    radioforjustice    LinkedIn //   radioforjustice    Bluesky // https://bsky.app/profile/radioforjustice.bsky.social X (formerly Twitter) // https://x.com/home

Prison Pressures & Policy Shifts

The second regular session of Colorado's 75th General Assembly adjourned on May 13. In layman's terms: the legislature wrapped up their work last week. While state senators and representatives were pushing what bills they could across the finish line, and blocking others, JoyBelle Phelan from  Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) sat down a few blocks away at the office of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) with their Deputy Director, Kyle Giddings. In this episode, they take stock of what criminal-legal-related bills are headed to the governor's desk, to await signature or veto. Phelan and Giddings also take a look at some critical ballot measures on the horizon this fall in Colorado, and they dig into key questions: Do CCJRC's positions fly in the face of Prop 128 (2024)? What should voters make of the looming fentanyl ballot measure? And what's the number one misunderstanding the public has about the carceral system?  UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

Seeking Solutions to the System's Struggles

It’s become a familiar refrain: budget crisis, bed shortages, private prison purchase prospects, and population measure changes. But what can actually be done to change the game for corrections in Colorado? In this episode of Up to the Minute, Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ)’s JoyBelle Phelan hears from Kyle Giddings from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC). Turns out, there are some possible solutions on the horizon: new bills moving through the Colorado legislature; a proposed working group that would bring together voices from inside and outside state prisons; and a standoff in Walsenburg that may help redirect tax dollars toward more proactive prison measures.  UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

New Legi Bills; Prison Labor Lawsuit; CDOC Budget Update; & Clemency for Tina Peters?

This week, Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) brings you updates on numerous fronts in criminal-legal news, with guests Kym Ray from End Slavery Colorado and Jennifer Dillon from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC). CRJ host JoyBelle Phelan quizzes Ray and Dillon on the pending prison labor lawsuit; the continued back-and-forth by the state government on the Department of Corrections' requested bed/budget increase; a series of new prospective bills on criminal-legal reform; and, last but not least, the prospect - or specter - of clemency for incarcerated Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

What's Next After the CDOC Budget Flip-Flop

Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) host JoyBelle Phelan picks up where she left off in conversation with Kyle Giddings from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC): the Colorado Joint Budget Committee (JBC) voted "no" on a Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) request for a budget increase in order to add more prison beds. ... But then, they changed their minds. Why? What does this mean for both residents and staff of Colorado's crowded prisons? Plus, how CCJRC works to make 'bad' criminal justice bills better... and, a new edition of The Go Guide. UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org