Defense of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity Report Requirements

Detected April 1st, 2026

Summary

The Colorado General Assembly is considering SB26-014, which would modify the not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) defense by requiring defense examination reports to be furnished to the court (in addition to prosecution), which then forwards copies to the Department of Human Services. The bill also authorizes community placement for NGRI defendants and clarifies release standards from Department supervision. The bill is currently in draft form, having passed the Senate and awaiting House third reading.

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What changed

Colorado SB26-014 would amend existing NGRI defense procedures by adding new reporting requirements. Specifically, defendants claiming not guilty by reason of insanity must now provide copies of their psychiatric examination reports to both the prosecution AND the court, which is required to forward copies to the Department of Human Services. The bill also codifies provisions for community placement of defendants for treatment and rehabilitation, and clarifies the legal standards governing conditional and unconditional release from Department supervision.

Defense counsel and defendants pursuing NGRI claims must ensure examination reports are provided to the court in advance of trial. Trial courts handling NGRI cases should prepare new document handling procedures to comply with forwarding requirements to the Department of Human Services. The Department of Human Services should anticipate increased reporting and potential caseload changes related to community placement authorization. The bill is currently under consideration with House third reading scheduled for April 1, 2026.

What to do next

Review current NGRI defense report submission procedures to identify where court-furnishing requirements must be added
Establish internal workflows for courts to forward defense examination reports to the Department of Human Services
Coordinate with the Department of Human Services regarding new community placement and release standard procedures

Source document (simplified)

SB26-014

Modification to Defense of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

| Type | Bill |
| --- | --- |
| Session | 2026 Regular Session |
| Subjects | Courts & Judicial Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement Human Services |
Concerning modifications to the affirmative defense of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Recent Bill (PDF) Recent Fiscal Note (PDF) Bill Summary:

Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. Current law requires the defense to furnish a copy of any report of examination of the defendant that is made at the instance of the defense to the prosecution in a reasonable amount of time in advance of trial. The bill requires a copy of the report to also be furnished to the court who, upon receipt of the copy, shall provide a copy to the department of human services.

The bill authorizes community placement of a defendant for treatment and rehabilitation.

The bill clarifies the legal standard for a defendant's conditional or unconditional release from the department.

The bill makes technical corrections.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Prime Sponsors

Senator

Judy Amabile
Representative

Gretchen Rydin
Representative

Matt Soper

Committees

Senate

Judiciary

House

Judiciary

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Status

Under Consideration

Introduced

Under Consideration

Upcoming Schedule

1 meeting

Wed

Apr 1

House Third Reading of Bills - Final Passage

9:00 AM House Chamber

Related Documents & Information

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03/30/2026 | Revised | PDF |
| 02/10/2026 | Reengrossed | PDF |
| 02/09/2026 | Engrossed | PDF |
| 01/14/2026 | Introduced | PDF |

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 02/05/2026 | PA1 | PDF |

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 01/16/2026 | Initial Fiscal Note | PDF |

| Activity | Vote | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Refer Senate Bill 26-014 to the Committee of the Whole. | The motion passed on a vote of 7-4. | Vote summary |
Hearing Summary | Committee Report: PDF
| Activity | Vote | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment A) | The motion passed without objection. | Vote summary |
| Refer Senate Bill 26-014, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. | The motion passed on a vote of 5-2. | Vote summary |
Hearing Summary | Committee Report: PDF
| Date | Calendar | Motion | Vote | Vote Document |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 02/10/2026 | Third Reading | BILL | 20 AYE 12 NO 3 OTHER | Vote record |

| Date | Amendment Number | Committee/ Floor Hearing | Status | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 03/30/2026 | L.010 | Second Reading | Lost [] | PDF |
| 03/30/2026 | L.006 | Second Reading | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/09/2026 | L.002 | Second Reading | Lost [] | PDF |
| 02/09/2026 | L.003 | Second Reading | Lost [] | PDF |
| 02/09/2026 | L.005 | Second Reading | Lost [] | PDF |
| 02/09/2026 | L.004 | Second Reading | Lost [] | PDF |
| 02/04/2026 | L.001 | SEN Judiciary | Passed [*] | PDF |
* Amendments passed in committee are not incorporated into the measure unless adopted by the full House or Senate.

** The status of Second Reading amendments may be subsequently affected by the adoption of an amendment to the Committee of the Whole Report. Refer to the House or Senate Journal for additional information.

| Date | Location | Action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03/31/2026 | House | House Third Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments |
| 03/30/2026 | House | House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Floor |
| 03/23/2026 | House | House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments |
| 03/18/2026 | House | House Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole |
| 02/11/2026 | House | Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary |
| 02/10/2026 | Senate | Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments |
| 02/09/2026 | Senate | Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee |
| 02/04/2026 | Senate | Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to Senate Committee of the Whole |
| 01/14/2026 | Senate | Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Judiciary |
Prime Sponsor

Sen. J. Amabile

Rep. G. Rydin | Rep. M. Soper

Sponsor

(None) Co-Sponsor