The new laws will help convicts apply for jobs and college, vote, and even earn a scholarship.
Author: Jennifer Meckles
Published: 10:43 PM MDT May 28, 2019
Updated: 10:43 PM MDT May 28, 2019
It was a significant day for criminal justice reform in Colorado as Governor Jared Polis signed several new bills into law Tuesday. That legislation will help convicts apply for jobs and college, vote, and even earn a scholarship.
Second Chance Center in Aurora hosted the signing event.
âWeâre a re-entry hub. Weâre here to support men and women going home after incarceration,â said Second Chance Founder and Executive Director, Hassan Latif.Â
âWe try to ease the transition challenges, and try to work on the kinds of things we think feed into the behavior patterns that cause people to run into problems with judicial systems.â
Latif, who says he served 18 years in prison for an armed robbery conviction, knows how tough it can be to start over.
âWe're telling them your life can be different if you just commit to doing some things differently,â he said.
One of the bills Governor Polis signed Tuesday will allow people on parole to vote.
State Representative Leslie Herod (D-Denver) is one of the sponsors for HB-1266.
âWhen you increase participation in democracy, you lower the recidivism rate,â she told the crowd at Second Chance Center.
Latif remembers his time on parole and being in the crowd at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. He couldnât wait to vote.
âIt felt like there wasnât a stranger in the place, it was that kind of hopefulness and peopleâs involvement and engagement in the process and I was sitting there thinking, you know, itâs a shame that I wonât be able to be a part of this going forward, but knowing it would be the last time that I would not be a part of it."
Representative Herod sponsored several other bills signed Tuesday, too.
HB 1025, sometimes called the âBan the Boxâ bill, prohibits employers from asking about an applicantâs criminal history on the initial job application.
âYou no longer will have that box on the initial application that asks if you have a criminal history,â Herod told the crowd. âYou can actually get a chance to tell your own story, to look an employer in the eye and say, "Iâm ready to work.ââ
Weâre here. And weâre ready.
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Latif remembers applying for jobs after prison, and one boss that gave him a face-to-face meeting.
âHe was sitting there scratching his head trying to figure out a way to ask me to leave his office,â Latif said. âAnd I said to him, âSir, I know thatâs a lot to get over. But I can tell you a couple of things. One, I donât get high anymore, so Iâll be at work every day.â I said, âIâm a quick learner, so whatever you teach me, Iâll be able to pick it up. And three, if you give me an opportunity, Iâll make sure you donât regret it.'â
He added, âThatâs all I could tell him. I didnât have a resume. And he looked in my face and decided he would take a chance on me.â
In 2012, Latif founded the Second Chance Center. Now, his organization works to help people with things like career readiness, financial literacy, resume training, and mentoring after they have spent time behind bars.
He wrote a book, titled âNever Going Back: 7 Steps to Staying Out of Prison.â Latif also serves on the board of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.
Tuesday, Governor Polis signed several other bills into law.
Those include:
SB 170, which limits how much colleges can ask about an applicant's criminal history before admission
SB 191, which removes many of the fines and fees around bond and bail, and requires courts to hold a bond hearing within 48 hours of a defendant arriving at the jail, according to bill sponsor, Representative Herod
SB 231, which creates a scholarship for young people who were in juvenile custody and want to pursue higher education
HB 1263, which reclassifies several existing drug felonies as drug misdemeanors, reduces fines and jail time for drug misdemeanors, and creates a grant program to fund drug courts and behavioral health treatment, according to a statement from Governor Polis
HB 1250, which expands the law around unlawful sexual conduct by peace officers. âItâs hard to prove that you didnât consent when a law enforcement officer uses their badge, lights and authority and pulls you over on the street and says, âHave relations with me and you will not go to jail,ââ explained bill sponsor, Representative Herod. âSo no weâve made it very clear that is not allowed, not here in Colorado.â