HB1140 would narrow Colorado’s current restrictions on probation offices sharing personal information with federal immigration authorities. Under existing law, probation officers and probation department employees are generally prohibited from providing such information. This bill creates an exception for individuals who are on probation for certain serious violent felony convictions, including first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree kidnapping, first- or second-degree sexual assault, first-degree arson, first-degree burglary, and aggravated robbery.
In practical terms, the bill would authorize probation personnel to disclose personal information about those specified probationers to immigration authorities, while leaving the general prohibition in place for everyone else. The measure is framed as a public-safety exception and includes a safety clause, indicating the legislature’s intent for immediate effect if enacted.
Impact
The bill would amend Colorado Revised Statutes section 24-76.6-103, which limits probation offices from sharing personal information with federal immigration authorities. If enacted, it would carve out a new statutory exception for probationers serving sentences for enumerated violent felonies, allowing disclosure of personal information to immigration authorities in those cases. The affected parties would be probation officers, probation department employees, and individuals on probation for the listed offenses, with the change potentially affecting coordination between state probation systems and federal immigration enforcement.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the bill faced strong opposition in committee. On February 18, 2025, the House Judiciary Committee voted 9-0 to postpone the bill indefinitely, which indicates unanimous committee support for stopping the measure rather than advancing it. No committee transcript is available, so the specific debate points are not recorded here, but the vote outcome suggests the proposal did not have sufficient support in committee.
Contention
The central point of contention is whether probation officers should be permitted to share personal information with federal immigration authorities for certain offenders. Supporters of the bill appear to view the exception as a public-safety measure focused on people convicted of serious violent crimes. Opponents, as reflected by the unanimous committee action to postpone indefinitely, likely objected to expanding cooperation with immigration authorities or to creating an exception to Colorado’s existing confidentiality limits for probation offices. The bill’s narrow focus on violent felonies suggests the debate was likely about balancing public safety against limits on local participation in immigration enforcement.