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March 7, 2024 SB 24-035
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Revised Fiscal Note
(replaces fiscal note dated January 22, 2024)
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 24-0331
Sen. Pelton B.; Fields
Rep. Winter T.
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
March 7, 2024
House Judiciary
Aaron Carpenter | 303-866-4918
aaron.carpenter@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☐ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill makes two human trafficking offenses subject to crimes of violence sentencing
guidelines, and increases the statute of limitations for prosecuting the offenses to
20 years. The bill will impact state and local expenditures starting in FY 2024-25.
Appropriation
Summary:
No appropriation is required.
Fiscal Note
Status:
This revised fiscal note reflects the reengrossed bill.
Summary of Legislation
The bill requires the court to sentence defendants convicted of human trafficking for involuntary
servitude and human trafficking for sexual servitude pursuant to crimes of violence sentencing
guidelines, and increases the statute of limitations for prosecuting these offenses to 20 years.
The bill does not impact the unlimited statute of limitations for human trafficking for sexual
servitude of a minor. The bill also expands the affirmative defense of being a victim of human
trafficking to defendants accused of any human trafficking for sexual servitude instead of just
human trafficking of minors for sexual servitude.
Comparable Crime Analysis
Legislative Council Staff is required to include certain information in the fiscal note for any bill
that creates a new crime, changes the classification of an existing crime, or creates a new factual
basis for an existing crime. The following section outlines crimes that are comparable to the
offense in this bill and discusses assumptions on future rates of criminal convictions resulting
from the bill.
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March 7, 2024 SB 24-035
Prior conviction data. The bill changes the classification of two crimes to crimes of violence.
Human trafficking – involuntary servitude. From FY 2020-21 to FY 2022-23, four
individuals have been convicted and sentenced for this offense. Of the persons convicted, all
4 were male. Demographically, 2 were White and 2 were Black/African American.
Human trafficking – sexual servitude. From FY 2020-21 to FY 2022-23, 17 individuals have
been convicted and sentenced for this offense. Of the persons convicted, all 15 were male,
1 was female, and 1 did not have a gender identified. Demographically, 1 was White, 14 were
Black/African American, 1 was Asian, and 1 did not have a race identified.
Additionally, the fiscal note analyzed the offenses sentenced to the Department of Corrections
and the sentence length for these convictions, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2
FY 2020-21 to FY 2022-23 Sentencing Data for Human Trafficking
C.R.S. Crime Felony Class Number of Cases Average Sentence
Involuntary Servitude F4 2 7.5 years
Sexual Servitude
F2 6 28 years
F3 7 14.6 years
F4 1 6 years
Currently, the presumed range for a crime of violence is:
16 to 48 years for a class 2 felony;
10 to 32 years for a class 3 felony; and
5 to 16 years for a class 4 felony.
Assumptions. Based on the data outlined above, and the presumed sentencing range for crimes
of violence, the fiscal note assumes that individuals sentenced for the human trafficking offenses
in the bill are sentenced within the crime of violence range under current law, or the additional
time falls outside the five-year impact forecast window. The fiscal note also assumes that
increasing the statute of limitations may minimally increase the number of criminal cases and
sentences to the DOC; however, based on the overall number of convictions, any impact is
expected to be minimal.
State Expenditures
Beginning in FY 2024-25, this bill increases workload and costs in the Judicial Department. It
may also increase state General Fund expenditures in the Department of Corrections, as
discussed below.
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March 7, 2024 SB 24-035
Judicial Department. Based on the assumptions outlined above, this bill will increase workload
and costs for the trial courts in the Judicial Department to process additional and potentially
longer criminal cases to the extent longer incarceration reduces the number of plea deals. To
the extent that new offenders are sentenced to probation, workload and costs in the Division of
Probation will increase. Workload and costs may increase in the agencies that provide
representation to indigent persons, including the Office of the State Public Defender and the
Office of Alternate Defense Counsel. Overall, it is assumed these impacts can be accomplished
within existing appropriations. Should a change in funding be required for any agency or
division with the Judicial Department, the fiscal note assumes it will be addressed through the
annual budget process.
Department of Corrections. To the extent that this bill increases the number of individuals
sentenced to or the length of time an individual is in the custody of the DOC, costs will increase.
However, as outlined in the Comparable Crime Analysis, it is assumed that that increases in the
sentence length will be minimal and that any increase in costs will be addressed through the
annual budget process, as necessary.
Local Government
The bill increases workload and costs for district attorneys to prosecute additional felonies due
to the increase in the statute of limitations, or to participate in longer trials if there is a reduction
in plea deals. District attorney offices are funded by counties, with each county in a judicial
district contributing based on its population.
Technical Note
The affirmative defense outlined in the bill still refers to human trafficking of minors for
servitude, instead of human trafficking for sexual servitude as a whole. The fiscal note assumes
that the intent is to expand the affirmative defense to defendants who are victims of human
trafficking and are accused of any human trafficking for sexual servitude offense.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his
signature.
State and Local Government Contacts
Corrections District Attorneys Judicial
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 the General Assembly website.