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March 31, 2023 HB 23-1222
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 23-0431
Rep. Duran; Weissman
Sen. Roberts
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
March 31, 2023
House Judiciary
John Armstrong | 303-866-6289
john.armstrong@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN MUNICIPAL COURT
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☒ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☒ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill prohibits domestic violence cases from being heard in municipal court. The
bill increases state revenue and expenditures to multiple agencies on an ongoing
basis.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2023-24, the bill requires an appropriation of $2.2 million to multiple state
agencies.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 23-1222
Budget Year
FY 2023-24
Out Year
FY 2024-25
Revenue General and Cash Funds $131,006 $573,932
Total Revenue $131,006 $573,932
Expenditures General Fund $2,213,052 $4,493,432
Centrally Appropriated $398,345 $956,028
Total Expenditures $2,611,397 $5,449,460
Total FTE 22.0 FTE 52.8 FTE
Transfers - -
Other Budget Impacts TABOR Refund $131,006 $573,932
General Fund Reserve $331,958 $674,015
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March 31, 2023 HB 23-1222
Summary of Legislation
The bill prevents municipal courts from hearing cases regarding alleged acts of domestic violence and
requires these cases to be heard in either county or district court instead.
Assumptions
The fiscal note assumes that domestic violence cases filed in municipal court under current law will
be filed in county court under the bill. There are at least five municipal courts that hear domestic
violence cases, including Aurora, Denver, Englewood, Lakewood, and Westminster. Shifting
Denver’s average of 2,000 cases per year to Denver County Court from Denver municipal court
primarily represents a cost shift in that city and county, except for the state impact to the public
defender. Of the remaining municipal courts, a five-year average of cases indicates that 1,884 cases
per year will be heard by state-funded county courts in the 1st, 17th, and 18th Judicial Districts.
State Revenue
The bill will increase revenue to the in the Judicial Department by an estimated $131,006 in FY 2023-24
and $573,932 in FY 2024-25. These revenues are dispersed to a variety of cash funds, as well as the
General Fund and to other state departments. Of assumed 1,884 cases outlined above, 707 are
expected to have fines, fees or surcharges levied against parties in FY 2023-24 with an average
assessment of $883, after accounting for the effective date of the bill and indigent status of some clients.
In FY 2024-25, 1,413 cases will have fines, fees and surcharges levied against parties after accounting
for indigence factor.
State Expenditures
The bill increases state General Fund expenditures by $2.6 million in FY 2023-24 and $5.4 million in
FY 2024-25 in the Judicial Department, including the Office of the State Public Defender and the Office
of the Alternate Defense Counsel. Expenditures are shown in Table 2 and detailed below.
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 23-1222
FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25
Judicial Department
Personal Services $1,207,187 $2,897,247
Operating Expenses $104,360 $104,360
Capital Outlay Costs $173,758 $16,000
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$297,028 $709,786
FTE – Personal Services 16.7 FTE 39.8 FTE
Judicial Subtotal $1,782,333 $3,727,393
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March 31, 2023 HB 23-1222
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 23-1222 (Cont.)
Office of the State Public Defender
Personal Services $458,229 $1,099,748
Operating Expenses $8,775 $17,550
Capital Outlay Costs $86,710 -
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$123,120 $246,242
FTE – Personal Services 5.3 FTE 13.0 FTE
OSPD Subtotal $655,031 $1,363,540
Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel
Legal Services $174,033 $358,527
OADC Subtotal $174,033 $358,527
Total $2,611,397 $5,449,460
Total FTE 22.0 FTE 52.8 FTE
1
Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation.
Judicial Department. The Judicial Department will require 16.7 FTE in FY 2023-24 and 39.8 FTE in
FY 2024-25 to implement the provisions of the bill. In FY 2023-24, costs are prorated for the General
Fund pay date shift and a January 1 start date, and include standard judicial operating and capital
outlay costs. Staff duties differ by position and are detailed as follows:
Court magistrate. A county court magistrate that hears domestic violence cases averages a
caseload of approximately 1,066 cases annually. An additional 1.8 Magistrate FTE will be required
on an ongoing basis to hear an estimated 1,884 cases that would have been heard at the municipal
court level annually.
Court support staff. County support staff are allocated to each county court magistrate at a
2:1 ratio, resulting in 3.6 FTE on an ongoing basis. These staff include transcribers, judicial
assistants, and bailiffs.
Probation officers. Persons convicted of domestic violence charges may be subject to probation.
This fiscal note assumes that 7 percent of new domestic violence cases will be subject to
pre-sentence investigation reports, and that 1,074 cases will be sentenced to probation. Probation
sentencing ranges between 1 and 7 hours of supervision, on average. In total, between
pre-sentence investigation reports and probation supervision, an estimated 51,077 hours will be
required for probation officers, resulting in 24.5 FTE on an ongoing basis.
Probation officer supervisors and support staff. The staffing ratio for probation staff includes
1 supervisor for every 6 probation officers, resulting in 4.1 FTE on an ongoing basis. Additionally,
every 5 probation officers are assisted by a support staff, resulting in 5.7 FTE on an ongoing basis.
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March 31, 2023 HB 23-1222
Office of the State Public Defender. The bill requires state public defenders to represent defendants
in the 3,884 cases that would have been heard by a municipal public defender. First-year costs are
prorated for a January 1 start date and the General Fund pay date shift, and include capital outlay and
standard operating costs. Assuming the OSPD will represent 95 percent of individuals in bond
hearings and 70 percent of individuals in the actual case, the bill requires 7.0 FTE Public Defenders,
2.0 FTE Investigators, 1.0 FTE Paralegal, 2.0 FTE Administrative Assistants, and 1.0 FTE Supervising
Public Defender on an ongoing basis.
Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel. Assuming that approximately 1 in 5 cases involving public
defenders are referred to the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, the office requires
approximately 366 contract hours for legal services in FY 2023-24 and 754 hours in FY 2024-25 and
ongoing.
Centrally appropriated costs. Pursuant to a Joint Budget Committee policy, certain costs associated
with this bill are addressed through the annual budget process and centrally appropriated in the Long
Bill or supplemental appropriations bills, rather than in this bill. These costs, which include employee
insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments, are shown in Table 2.
Other Budget Impacts
TABOR refunds. The bill is expected to increase the amount of state revenue required to be refunded
to taxpayers by the amounts shown in the State Revenue section above. This estimate assumes the
March 2023 LCS revenue forecast. A forecast of state revenue subject to TABOR is not available
beyond FY 2024-25.
General Fund reserve. Under current law, an amount equal to 15 percent of General Fund
appropriations must be set aside in the General Fund statutory reserve. Based on this fiscal note, the
bill is expected to increase the amount of General Fund held in reserve by the amounts shown in
Table 1, decreasing the amount of General Fund available for other purposes.
Local Governments
District attorneys. District attorney offices in the 1st, 17th, and 18th Judicial Districts will have an
increase in costs estimated to range from $600,000 to $1.8 million to hire attorneys, witness specialists,
legal assistants, and investigators to handle additional domestic violence cases at the county level.
Counties will cover 20 percent of these costs, as discussed below.
Counties. Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Lincoln counties are
expected to share costs ranging from $120,000 to $370,000, which represents the county portion of
district attorney costs among impact districts. These counties may also have a minimal increase in
revenue from court-related fees. To the extent that counties need to expand court facilities to
accommodate additional caseloads, capital construction costs will increase in future fiscal years.
Denver courts. This bill shifts Denver municipal court caseload and related costs to the Denver
County Courts. Because the City and County of Denver funds both courts, this represents a cost shift. Page 5
March 31, 2023 HB 23-1222
Municipalities. The bill will decrease revenue and expenditures to municipal courts that currently
hear domestic violence cases, including the municipalities of Aurora, Lakewood, Englewood and
Westminster, among others. The estimated decrease of 1,884 cases annually across these municipal
courts will result in less court fees collected and also reduce the number of hours spent by municipal
public defenders, investigators, and court support staff. Revenue and expenditure reductions will
vary by municipality based on caseload.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect January 1, 2024, assuming no referendum petition is filed, and applies to offenses
committed on or after this date.
State Appropriations
For FY 2023-24, the bill requires the following General Fund appropriations:
$1,485,305 to the Judicial Department and 16.7 FTE;
$553,714 to the Office of the State Public Defender and 5.3 FTE; and
$174,033 to the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel.
State and Local Government Contacts
Counties District Attorneys Judicial
Municipalities
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit: leg.colorado.gov/fiscalnotes.