As the 2026 Session of the Colorado General Assembly kicks off, the state Joint Budget Committee (JBC) meets to consider the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) request for a budget increase in order to add more prison beds. The JBC votes "no." Why? What's next? Today on UP TO THE MINUTE, Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) host JoyBelle Phelan sits down with Kyle Giddings from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) to learn about what might be next for Colorado's packed prisons, and what's on the horizon in criminal justice policy during the new legislative session.

UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) hosted a teach-in this month in Denver: “How Did We Get Here? Understanding Mass Incarceration in Colorado.” Colorado Radio for Justice’s Trevor Jones was there, and in this episode of UP TO THE MINUTE, he brings listeners into incisive, urgent insights and reflections from four voices: Christie Donner, Executive Director of CCJRC; Kym Ray, CCJRC’s Denver Campaign Coordinator; Nathan Eagan, attorney who also serves with the Alternate Defense Counsel; and Aubrey Valencia from The Storytellers Project and Breaking Chains Building Bonds.

UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

The State of Colorado Joint Budget Commission has approved a supplemental budget increase to add 153 private prison beds to Colorado's system. Why does our state need more prison beds now? Wasn't there a Prison Population Management Measure passed in 2018? How is the number of people in prisons having a domino effect on jails and halfway houses? And what's this about ICE and Homeland Security changing the equation on Colorado'ss facilities? Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) hosts JoyBelle Phelan and Bob Eisenman sit down with Christie Donner, Executive Director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC), to break it all down.

UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

00:00 Welcome to Up to the Minute
00:31 Introduction
00:57 $2.8M Funds to CDOC for 153 Private Prison Beds
02:39 Snapshot of State Supplemental Budget Process
03:50 Community Response to This Supplmenetal CDOC Funding
06:12 CDOC's Current Prison Vacancy Rates
07:36 The Prison Population Management Measures (PPMMM)
15:07 How CDOC Staffing Shortages Intersect with Low Vacancy
16:26 The "Tabled List" Of Prison Residents Whose Release Is On Hold
18:40 Value of Lived-Experience Perspectrives
19:16 Accountability of CDOC to PPMM
20:59 Quality Control on Facility, Department, & State Levels
23:34 "The Math Is Not Mathing:" The Jail Backlog
25:57 "The State Over A Barrel": Future Funding Requests, Private Prisons, & ICE
29:32 Inviting Community Ideas & Insight
30:11 Conclusion