Page 1
February 1, 2023 SB 23-064
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 23-0263
Sen. Gardner; Ginal
Rep. Snyder
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
February 1, 2023
Senate Judiciary
John Armstrong | 303-866-6289
john.armstrong@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: CONTINUE OFFICE OF PUBLIC GUARDIANSHIP
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☒ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☐ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill expands the Office of Public Guardianship to provide services in all judicial
districts. Starting in FY 2024-25, the bill will increase state expenditures on an ongoing
basis.
Appropriation
Summary:
No appropriation is required in FY 2023-24.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under SB 23-064
Budget Year
FY 2023-24
Out Year
FY 2024-25
Out Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
Revenue
- - - -
Expenditures General Fund - $1,048,395 $1,710,272 $2,438,436
Centrally Appropriated. - $184,735 $337,733 $500,163
Total Expenditures - $1,233,130 $2,048,005 $2,938,599
Total FTE - 10.2 FTE 18.7 FTE 27.8 FTE
Transfers - - - -
Other Impacts General Fund Reserve - $157,259 $256,541 $365,765
Page 2
February 1, 2023 SB 23-064
Summary of Legislation
The Office of Public Guardianship (“the office”), established by House Bill 17-1087, currently operates
as a pilot program in three Judicial districts. This bill makes the office permanent and requires the
office to operate in all Judicial districts by 2028. The bill establishes a board of directors within the
Judicial Department to appoint the director of the office and develop rules for governance. The
director must begin administering the office by December 31, 2023, with agreed-upon assistance from
the Judicial Department. The office will hire public guardians to provide services to indigent and
incapacitated adults in each judicial district.
Background and Assumptions
The office currently serves indigent and incapacitated individuals in the 2
nd
judicial district. The office
received 316 referrals as of December 2022, and has served a total of 102 guardianships, including
83 currently active guardianships. Many referrals to the office were denied because clients were not
in the 2
nd
judicial district. Demand for guardianship services across the state is expected to be high. A
statistical analysis conducted by the office suggests an unmet statewide need of between 2,754 and
3,736 individuals requiring assistance from a guardian.
State Revenue
Beginning in FY 2024-25, revenue to the Records and Reports Cash Fund will increase to conduct
additional CAPS background checks on newly hired public guardians. Based on the assumed
number of new public guardians hired, the fiscal note assumes increases to the cash fund will be
minimal. The current fee for a CAPS background check is $9.00. Revenue to the CAPS Cash Fund is
subject to the TABOR revenue limit.
Page 3
February 1, 2023 SB 23-064
State Expenditures
The bill increases state General Fund expenditures by about $1.2 million in FY 2024-25, $2.0 million in
FY 2025-26, and $2.9 million in FY 2026-27, as shown in Table 2 and described below. These costs are
in the newly expanded Office of Public Guardianship and the Office of the State Court Administrator,
both within the Judicial Department
Table 2
Expenditures Under SB 23-064
FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27
Office of Public Guardianship
Personal Services - $759,893 $1,380,924 $2,032,124
Legal Services - $95,166 $95,166 $95,166
Operating Expenses - $14,850 $25,650 $36,450
Capital Outlay Costs - $73,370 $53,360 $60,030
Vehicle Costs - $30,672 $61,344 $97,128
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
- $181,337 $330,937 $489,970
FTE – Personal Services - 10.0 FTE 18.3 FTE 27.2 FTE
FTE – Legal Services - 0.5 FTE 0.5 FTE 0.5 FTE
OPG Subtotal - $1,155,288 $1,947,381 $2,810,868
Office of the State Court Administrator
Personal Services - $12,757 $25,517 $38,274
Court-Ordered Appointments - $61,687 $68,311 $78,454
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
- $3,398 $6,796 $10,193
FTE – Personal Services - 0.2 FTE 0.4 FTE 0.6 FTE
OSCA Subtotal - $77,842 $100,624 $126,921
Total Costs - $1,233,130 $2,048,005 $2,937,789
Total FTE - 10.2 FTE 18.7 FTE 27.8 FTE
1
Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation.
Page 4
February 1, 2023 SB 23-064
Office of Public Guardianship
Between FY 2024-25 and FY 2026-27, the office will expand to all 23 judicial district in the state,
resulting in additional staffing, legal services and operating costs, which are shown in Table 2 above
and described in more detail in the following sections. Costs are assumed to come from the General
Fund.
Staff costs. BY FY 2026-27, the office will require 28.0 FTE to implement the expanded public
guardianship program. The fiscal note assumes that this staff will be phased in over a 3-year period
beginning in FY 2024-25. Staff costs include personal services costs, operating costs, and capital outlay
costs as shown in Table 2. The fiscal note assumes a July 1 start date and the General Fund pay date
shift for new staff across all three years of the expansion.
Public guardians. The fiscal note assumes a public guardian can serve between 15 and 20 indigent
or incapacitated adults in the judicial districts that they serve. Based on this standard, the office
will hire 19 new public guardians by FY 2026-27, who will provide services to around 405 clients.
The fiscal note also assumes the office will take a phased in approach by hiring 6 new guardians
in FY 2024-25, 6 new guardians in FY 2025-26 and 7 new guardians in FY 2026-27.
Support staff. In addition, the office will require two training coordinators to create and
implement training curriculums for guardians and create an employee wellness program; one
grants and research specialist to expand the office’s funding resources and complete a cost-benefit
analysis evaluation of the office; a staff attorney to provide in-house counsel; a staff assistant to
assist the director of the office with the expansion and day-to-day operations of the office; two
human resources analysts to manage personnel matters, a case management aide to assist
guardians with managing cases in the 1
st
and 18
th
judicial districts; and public guardian supervisor
to manage newly hired and existing public guardians. Similar to the public guardians, these
support staff positions will phase in through FY 2026-27.
Legal services. As a result of the expansion, the office is expected to require additional legal services
from the Department of Law. In FY 2021-22, the office used about 360 hours of legal services.
Accounting for the expected growth in caseload, it is estimated that an additional 900 hours of legal
services will be required annually beginning in FY 2024-25. Legal services are provided at a rate of
$105.74 per hour by the Department of Law, which will require the equivalent of 0.5 FTE for this work.
Vehicle costs. Each new public guardian will require a fleet vehicle, managed by the Department of
Personnel and Administration. Vehicle leases are estimated to cost $3,000 per vehicle and
maintenance and operating for each vehicle is estimated at about $2,100 per year based on
approximately 9,100 miles of driving to serve their clients, on average. The Department of Personnel
and Administration will bill the office for fleet vehicle services and reappropriated spending authority
will be adjusted as necessary through the annual budget process starting in FY 2024-25.
Page 5
February 1, 2023 SB 23-064
Office of the State Court Administrator
The bill increase costs to the courts and the Office of the State Court Administrator for administrative
support and additional court-ordered appointments. These costs are detailed below.
Personal services. Increasing staff, payments, and other processes in the Office of Public
Guardianship will increase workload in the Judicial Department accounting section, located within
the office of the State Court Administrator. Accounting staff are estimated to increase by about 0.2 FTE
per year over the three-year expansion of the office.
Court-ordered appointments. Each new guardianship case can result in additional court-ordered
appointments of guardians ad litem, court visitors, and legal counsel, whether required by statute or
at the discretion of the court. Based on data from the pilot program, it is estimated that a guardian
ad litem will attend 15 percent of guardianship hearings and an attorney will attend 29 percent of the
hearings. Other hearings are attended by lay individuals working on behalf of the guardian. Costs for
these appointments are shown in Table 2 above.
Department of Human Services.
Starting in FY 2024-25, workload to the Department of Human Services will increase to conduct
additional CAPS background checks. The fiscal note assumes this work can be accomplished within
existing appropriations.
Governor’s Office
Workload will minimally increase for the Governor’s Office of Boards and Commissions to make the
required appointment under the bill. This work can be accomplished within existing appropriations.
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
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.
Page 6
February 1, 2023 SB 23-064
Technical Note
The bill requires the Judicial Department to assign office space for the Office of Public Guardianship
in all judicial districts. Because local courthouses are owned by the counties in which they reside, the
bill as currently drafted would require the Judicial Department to acquire office space elsewhere.
Based on DPA office space standards and an annual cost of $30/square foot, leased space for 28 FTE
would cost about $185,000 per year. Remote work, hoteling, and other strategies may reduce the
amount of office space required and this potential cost. At this time, costs for office space have not
been included in the fiscal note, as additional clarity is needed surrounding this provision,
responsibility for obtaining office space, and the office’s needs and plans for using office space during
the expansion.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his signature.
State and Local Government Contacts
Judicial Law Office of Public Guardianship
Human Services
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.