republic-os/legislation/us/states/co/2021a/sb-21-146.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Improve Prison Release Outcomes"
description: "The act changes the eligibility criteria for inmates who are eligible for special needs parole. The act allows an inmate to request that the department of corrections (DOC) determine whether the inmate is eligible for special needs parole. The act requires the DOC, in consultation with the parole board, to develop policies and procedures related to special needs parole. The act allows the inmate to include a statement in the referral packet for special needs parole and an opportunity to provide any additional relevant information in the referral packet. The act requires the parole board to consider the age of the inmate and the DOC's ability to provide adequate medical and behavioral health treatment to the inmate in granting or denying special needs parole. The parole board cannot deny special needs parole based solely on the lack of a recommended parole plan.The act requires the DOC to:Develop a recommended parole plan for every inmate prior to release from prison;"
jurisdiction: "us/states/co"
legislature: "Colorado General Assembly"
session: "2021A"
identifier: "SB 21-146"
citation: "Colorado SB 21-146 (2021A)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jennifer Bacon", "Pete Lee"]
version_count: 12
action_count: 18
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2021-03-01T07:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2021-07-06T06:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1b97694a-b5c2-4367-92b5-55c5cdff1c76"
source_url: "http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-146"
source_hash: "26959445e7aa6b178323cd9fe79470fe9e89e0ed9bfe222b4a75adaf4ff6dc1f"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-co"]
---

# Colorado SB 21-146 (2021A) — Improve Prison Release Outcomes

The act changes the eligibility criteria for inmates who are eligible for special needs parole. The act allows an inmate to request that the department of corrections (DOC) determine whether the inmate is eligible for special needs parole. The act requires the DOC, in consultation with the parole board, to develop policies and procedures related to special needs parole. The act allows the inmate to include a statement in the referral packet for special needs parole and an opportunity to provide any additional relevant information in the referral packet. The act requires the parole board to consider the age of the inmate and the DOC's ability to provide adequate medical and behavioral health treatment to the inmate in granting or denying special needs parole. The parole board cannot deny special needs parole based solely on the lack of a recommended parole plan.The act requires the DOC to:Develop a recommended parole plan for every inmate prior to release from prison;

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Committee Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2021a_sb146_h_app_003.pdf)
2. **Engrossed (05/18/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146_eng.pdf)
3. **Final Act (06/18/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146_enr.pdf)
4. **Introduced (03/01/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146_01.pdf)
5. **PA1 (05/07/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146sjud_01.pdf)
6. **PA2 (05/14/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146sjudapp.pdf)
7. **PA3 (05/27/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146jud_01.pdf)
8. **PA4 (05/28/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146app.pdf)
9. **Reengrossed (05/19/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146_ren.pdf)
10. **Rerevised (06/07/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146_rer.pdf)
11. **Revised (06/03/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_146_rev.pdf)
12. **Signed Act (07/06/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2021a_146_signed.pdf)

## Votes

- AMD — **24–40** (fail) · lower
- BILL — **40–24** (pass) · lower
- CONCUR — **30–2** (pass) · upper
- REPASS — **27–5** (pass) · upper
- AMD — **24–40** (fail) · lower
- BILL — **30–5** (pass) · upper
- AMEND — **35–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Jennifer Bacon — primary (person)
- Pete Lee — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-07-06T06:00:00+00:00** Governor Signed `executive-signature`
- **2021-06-18T06:00:00+00:00** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-06-18T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the Speaker of the House
- **2021-06-18T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2021-06-07T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Considered House Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass
- **2021-06-07T06:00:00+00:00** House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-06-04T06:00:00+00:00** House Third Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
- **2021-06-03T06:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee
- **2021-06-02T06:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Special Order - Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
- **2021-05-28T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2021-05-26T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-19T06:00:00+00:00** Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary `introduction`
- **2021-05-19T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Third Reading Passed with Amendments - Floor `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-05-18T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor `reading-2`
- **2021-05-14T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole `committee-passage`
- **2021-05-06T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-15T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Judiciary Lay Over Amended
- **2021-03-01T07:00:00+00:00** Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Judiciary `introduction`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1b97694a-b5c2-4367-92b5-55c5cdff1c76`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).