HB 1032

                          Second Regular Session
                       Seventy-fifth General Assembly
                         STATE OF COLORADO
                                                                         INTRODUCED
LLS NO. 26-0322.01 Eden Rolland x2373  HOUSE BILL 26-1032
                           HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
 Richardson and Velasco,
                          SENATE SPONSORSHIP
 Pelton B.,
House Committees  Senate Committees
Finance
                                   A BILL FOR AN ACT
101     CONCERNING THE CREATION OF A FALLEN FIREFIGHTER SPECIAL
102LICENSE PLATE.
                                         Bill Summary
             (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
     not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
     passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
     applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
     http://leg.colorado.gov.)
            The bill creates the fallen firefighter special license plate. An
     applicant becomes eligible to use the plate by providing a certificate to
     the department of revenue (department) confirming that the applicant has
     made a donation to a nonprofit organization (organization) designated by
     the department based on the organization's provision of services to the
     families of firefighters who have died in the line of duty.
         Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
      Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
            Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law.
       In addition to the normal fees for a license plate, a person must pay
2 additional one-time fees in the amount of $25, one of which is credited
to the highway users tax fund and the other to the Colorado DRIVES
vehicle services account.
1 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
2SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 42-3-272 as
3 follows:
442-3-272. Special plates - fallen firefighter.
5(1) BEGINNING ON THE EARLIER OF JANUARY 1, 2027, OR WHEN
6 THE DEPARTMENT IS ABLE TO ISSUE THE PLATES, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL
7 ISSUE SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES TO QUALIFIED APPLICANTS IN ACCORDANCE
8 WITH THIS SECTION FOR MOTORCYCLES, PASSENGER CARS, TRUCKS, OR
9 NONCOMMERCIAL OR RECREATIONAL MOTOR VEHICLES THAT DO NOT
10 EXCEED SIXTEEN THOUSAND POUNDS EMPTY WEIGHT.
11(2) (a) THE FALLEN FIREFIGHTER SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE IS
12 ESTABLISHED.
13(b) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL APPROVE AND USE A DESIGN FOR THE
14 LICENSE PLATE, WHICH DESIGN MUST CONFORM TO STANDARDS SET BY THE
15 DEPARTMENT.
16(3) (a) AT LEAST ONCE EVERY FIVE YEARS, THE DEPARTMENT
17 SHALL DESIGNATE ONE OR MORE ORGANIZATIONS TO QUALIFY APPLICANTS
18 TO BE ISSUED THE FALLEN FIREFIGHTER SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE. AN
19 ORGANIZATION IS ELIGIBLE TO BE DESIGNATED IF THE ORGANIZATION IS A
20 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION EXEMPT FROM TAXATION AND:
21(I) IS LOCATED IN COLORADO;
22(II) HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR AT LEAST FIFTEEN YEARS; AND
23(III) PROVIDES COUNSELING, SUPPORT, LEGAL AID, EDUCATION
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1 ASSISTANCE, OR JOB TRAINING TO THE FAMILIES OF FIREFIGHTERS WHO
2 HAVE DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY OR OFFERS SCHOLARSHIPS TO THE
3 CHILDREN OF FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS.
4(b) A PERSON MAY APPLY FOR A FALLEN FIREFIGHTER SPECIAL
5 LICENSE PLATE IF THE PERSON PAYS THE TAXES AND FEES REQUIRED
6 UNDER THIS SECTION AND PROVIDES TO THE DEPARTMENT A CERTIFICATE
7 ISSUED BY THE ORGANIZATION DESIGNATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH
8 SUBSECTION (3)(a) OF THIS SECTION CONFIRMING THAT THE APPLICANT
9 HAS MADE A DONATION TO THE ORGANIZATION. THE ORGANIZATION MAY
10 ESTABLISH A MINIMUM DONATION AMOUNT TO QUALIFY FOR THE LICENSE
11 PLATE.
12(c)   THE ORGANIZATION DESIGNATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH
13 SUBSECTION (3)(a) OF THIS SECTION SHALL FILE WITH THE DEPARTMENT
14 AN ANNUAL STATEMENT VERIFYING THAT THE ORGANIZATION IS A
15 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.
16(4) THE AMOUNT OF THE TAXES AND FEES REQUIRED FOR SPECIAL
17 LICENSE PLATES UNDER THIS SECTION IS THE SAME AS THE AMOUNT OF THE
18 TAXES AND FEES FOR REGULAR MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE PLATES; EXCEPT
19 THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL COLLECT THE FEE SPECIFIED IN SECTION
20 42-3-312 AND AN ADDITIONAL ONE-TIME FEE OF TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS
21 FOR ISSUANCE OR REPLACEMENT OF THE SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES. THE
22 DEPARTMENT SHALL TRANSMIT THE ADDITIONAL ONE-TIME FEE TO THE
23 STATE TREASURER, WHO SHALL CREDIT THE FEE TO THE HIGHWAY USERS
24 TAX FUND CREATED IN SECTION 43-4-201.
25(5)   AN APPLICANT MAY APPLY FOR PERSONALIZED FALLEN
26 FIREFIGHTER SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES.  UPON    PAYMENT OF THE
27 ADDITIONAL      FEE   REQUIRED   BY     SECTION   42-3-211 (6)(a)   FOR
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1 PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES, THE DEPARTMENT MAY ISSUE THE PLATES
2 IF THE APPLICANT COMPLIES WITH SECTION 42-3-211. IF AN APPLICANT
3 HAS EXISTING PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE, THE
4 APPLICANT MAY TRANSFER THE COMBINATION OF LETTERS OR NUMBERS
5 TO A NEW SET OF FALLEN FIREFIGHTER SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES FOR THE
6 VEHICLE UPON PAYING THE FEE REQUIRED BY SECTION 42-3-211 (6)(a)
7 AND UPON TURNING IN THE EXISTING PLATES TO THE DEPARTMENT. A
8 PERSON THAT HAS OBTAINED PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES UNDER THIS
9 SUBSECTION (5) SHALL PAY THE ANNUAL FEE IMPOSED BY SECTION
10 42-3-211 (6)(b) FOR RENEWAL OF THE PERSONALIZED PLATES. THE FEES
11 ASSESSED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION (5) ARE IN ADDITION TO ALL OTHER
12 APPLICABLE TAXES AND FEES.
13SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, amend 42-3-312 as
14 follows:
1542-3-312. Special license plate surcharge.
16In addition to any other fee imposed by this article 3, an applicant
17 for a special license plate created by rule in accordance with section
18 42-3-207, as the section existed when the plate was created, personalized
19 plates issued under section 42-3-211, or special license plates issued
20 under sections 42-3-212 to 42-3-214, sections 42-3-217 to 42-3-218,
21 sections 42-3-221 to 42-3-234 42-3-229, SECTIONS 42-3-231 TO 42-3-234,
22 sections 42-3-237 to 42-3-258, sections 42-3-260 to 42-3-265, and
23 sections 42-3-267 to 42-3-271 42-3-272 shall pay an issuance fee of
24 twenty-five dollars; except that the fee is not imposed on special license
25 plates exempted from additional fees for the issuance of a military special
26 license plate by section 42-3-213 (1)(b)(II). The department shall transfer
27 the money from the fee to the state treasurer, who shall credit it to the
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1 Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account created in section 42-1-211
2 (2).
3SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
4 takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
5 ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August
6 12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a
7 referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the
8 state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act
9 within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect
10 unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in
11 November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the
12 official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.
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