The Denver City Council has adopted an ordinance to overhaul classifications and penalties for low-level municipal criminal offenses.

The 8-4 vote came after almost two hours of public comment and discussion, with Councilmembers Kevin Flynn, Chris Hinds, Amanda Sawyer and Darrell Watson carrying the dissenting votes.

“We don’t make Denver safer by making sentences longer simply because it sounds tougher, and we don’t make Denver safer by ignoring the law,” Denver City Council President Amanda Sandoval said. “This ordinance is about ensuring that our municipal code complies with state law, and that justice is applied fairly and consistently.

According to the bill sponsors, the measure aims to align municipal penalties with state law to “stop criminalizing poverty,” reducing maximum sentences for minor offenses like public urination, panhandling, and urban camping from 300 days to 10 days and fines up to $300.

The Colorado Supreme Court recently ruled that municipalities may not impose sentences harsher than those under state law for identical offenses.

The ordinance also creates a special working group to iron out details and make recommendations for municipal-only crimes.

But opponents of the measure argue that reducing penalties for such crimes could negatively impact the city.

“This bill here is not going to bring in businesses; it is going to bring in criminals, Denver resident Jimmy Smrz told the council members during a public comment period.”

Proponents argue that people in Denver face jail sentences up to 30 times higher than what is allowed by state law and that incarcerations that exceed 30 days can lead to the suspension of Social Security benefits, loss of housing, loss of employment, inability to care for children and, for immigrants, deportation.

“The purpose of the criminal justice system is to restore people, to make them whole again, to help them become productive members of society again, and when we place impediments in front of them and pose roadblocks that they can overcome, especially our poor citizens, we make it hard for them to be restored, we make it hard for them to show repentance, we make it hard for them to be rehabilitated,” former Colorado Speaker of the House Terrence Carroll said.