Colorado is attempting to place defendants with physical and mental disabilities into involuntary care through pushing for Senate Bill 149. Previously, Colorado judges could not easily commit people with disabilities into involuntary care due to narrow qualifications on what constituted mental disabilities. With Senate Bill 149, Colorado would be able to place defendants with permanent disabilities into “enhanced protective placement,” which would place these defendants into residential placements or state hospitals  assigned by the Colorado Department of Human Services.

However, this decision has faced criticism from experts on competency cases, criminal cases, and mental health officials. These criticisms consist of how the proposed involuntary care fails to solve any financial and regulatory barriers. 94% of defendants are willing to receive care, but they face systemic barriers such that prevent access. This bill, rather than tackling these systemic barriers, would continue to add more people to an already overcrowded system. This is additionally apparent in what the bill plans to do if they can not find a place to put the defendants into.

The bill plans to send defendants to the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo, a hospital that is already strained by the amount of present and incoming patients and understaffed. To handle the crowding issue, lawmakers are aiming to contract with nursing homes, private mental hospitals, and convert facilities to take in people with physical and mental disabilities. The concern that comes with this however, is the amount of security these places would offer.

One last concern about this bill regards the judicial oversight. A judge, under Senate Bill 149, could dismiss a defendant’s case but keep them for an extended time in the system by placing them into “enhanced protective placement.” This raises additional concerns as it places restrictions on a person’s civil liberties.

Colorado’s Senate Bill 149 is covered more extensively by the DailyCamera. These details can be found in the DailCamera article linked in the sources.

Sources

Bradbury, Shelly, and Seth Klamann. “Colorado Eyes Changes to Courts’ Competency Process after High-Profile Case Stirred Outrage.” Boulder Daily Camera, Boulder Daily Camera, 5 Apr. 2026, www.dailycamera.com/2026/04/05/colorado-competency-court-reform-bill/.