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  • Prison Budget: Sentencing Laws Drive State Spending0

    • June 28, 2009

    Back on June 3, Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law Senate Bill 228, repealing a longstanding statutory spending limitation (the Bird-Arveschoug cap) that held the annual increase in general fund spending in Colorado to 6 percent. But take a breath before anyone gets all teary-eyed – whether from joy or sorrow – because the majority Democrats in the Legislature will finally have the budgetary flexibility to spend as they see fit. Recent history shows that prison spending in Colorado, and the sentencing polices that drive that spending, has been constraining state spending for decades and will continue to do so into the near future.

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  • Criminal sentencing bill is flawed, but debate over sentencing is long overdue0

    • April 21, 2009

    Few issues in Colorado state government generate as much fear-driven acrimony or panic-tinged opposition as criminal sentencing reform. This helps explain why even modest sentencing reforms, which could potentially save million of dollars in prison spending, have been off the table during the last few big budget battles.

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  • Hold Onto Your Assets0

    • March 2, 2009

    Seven years ago, the Colorado legislature passed reforms to the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws, implementing important safeguards to protect citizens from having their property unfairly seized by overreaching government agencies. Now those reforms are under assault this year.

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  • Prison Spending, Recidivism, and the Colorado Budget0

    • February 24, 2009

    Run Time: 0:12:01 MP3 02/24/09 Where does spending on corrections stand in the Colorado budget? Are we paying more per year for housing inmates? Is the inmate population increasing, and if so, does recidivism play a role? Mike Krause joins Amy Oliver to discuss these issues and his event coming up next week at the

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  • Calling in the Guard: State Dems Get in Touch With Their Inner Drug-Warrior0

    • February 12, 2009

    A slavish devotion to drug prohibition in the United States has spawned predatory and hugely flawed practices at nearly every level of government. Colorado lawmakers have actually cranked up that devotion by turning the Colorado National Guard into really well armed drug police working on commission for the federal government.

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  • U.S. Should Support Taiwan’s Democracy0

    • February 9, 2009

    For 30 years, the U.S. has maintained an “unofficial” relationship with Taiwan.

    And while this outdated policy acquiesces nicely to communist China’s absurd (and equally outdated) claim of sovereignty over democratic Taiwan, it also badly undermines the American tradition of supporting democracy around the globe.

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