HB 1283

NOTE: This bill has been prepared for the signatures of the appropriate legislative
officers and the Governor. To determine whether the Governor has signed the bill
or taken other action on it, please consult the legislative status sheet, the legislative
history, or the Session Laws.
     HOUSE BILL 26-1283
     BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Ricks and Joseph, Bacon, English, Jackson,
     McCormick, Rydin;
     also SENATOR(S) Marchman and Benavidez, Cutter, Exum, Gonzales J.,
     Hinrichsen, Jodeh, Kipp, Rodriguez, Wallace, Weissman, Coleman.
     CONCERNING      PROTECTIONS RELATING TO THE  CONFISCATION  OF
             INDIVIDUALS' IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS.
     Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
            SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly
     finds that:
            (a) Every person has the inalienable right to recognition before the
     law, and access to legal identity is foundational to the protection of
     individual rights, participation in civic life, and equal protection under the
     law;
           (b) International human rights authorities, including the United
     Nations in its Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,
     adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, have recognized
     that ensuring migrants have proof of legal identity and adequate
     ________
     Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
     through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
     the act.
documentation is essential to safe, orderly, and regular migration and to the
protection of human dignity;
       (c) A person deprived of access to their identification documents
may become effectively invisible to legal and administrative systems
designed to safeguard rights, which can hinder access to health care,
education, justice, lawful employment, banking services, and other essential
services;
       (d) For migrant workers, including documented migrants, possession
and control of personal identification documents is critical to maintaining
lawful status, accessing protections, reporting abuse, engaging in
contractual relationships, and participating fully in economic life;
        (e) The confiscation, retention, or threatened disclosure to federal
immigration enforcement agencies of identification documents may threaten
a person's livelihood, legal stability, and very ability to exist and function
within the protections of the law and may create conditions of fear,
isolation, dependency, or vulnerability to exploitation, forced labor, or
human trafficking;
      (f) Such practices may disproportionately impact immigrant
communities and women working in industries where economic insecurity,
language barriers, or power imbalances heighten vulnerability; and
       (g) Colorado has a compelling interest in:
        (I) Ensuring that employment verification practices are conducted
solely for lawful purposes, are transparent, and are consistent with state and
federal law; and
      (II) Preventing arbitrary, coercive, retaliatory, or discriminatory
conduct involving identification documents.
       (2) Therefore, the general assembly declares that it is necessary to
safeguard the rights, safety, and dignity of all persons within the state by
prohibiting the unlawful confiscation or retention of identification
documents, deterring intimidation and harassment, and affirming that no
person in Colorado should be rendered vulnerable through the unlawful
control or confiscation of their identification documents.
PAGE 2-HOUSE BILL 26-1283
      SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 8-2-124.5 as
follows:
      8-2-124.5. Identification documents - retention by employers
prohibited - definition.
      (1) (a) EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION AND
SECTION 8-2-125 (1)(c), AN EMPLOYER OR AN EMPLOYER'S AGENT SHALL
NOT DEMAND, CONFISCATE, RETAIN, OR OTHERWISE REQUIRE AN INDIVIDUAL
WHO IS AN EMPLOYEE OR AN APPLICANT FOR EMPLOYMENT OR WHO IS
PERFORMING WORK OR SEEKING TO PERFORM WORK FOR THE EMPLOYER IN
ANY CAPACITY, INCLUDING A MIGRANT WORKER OR SEASONAL EMPLOYEE,
TO SURRENDER THE INDIVIDUAL'S GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION
CARD.
      (b) AN EMPLOYER OR EMPLOYER'S AGENT MAY:
      (I)   REQUEST AND TEMPORARILY RETAIN AN INDIVIDUAL'S
GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION CARD FOR THE PURPOSE OF VERIFYING
THE INDIVIDUAL'S EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY STATUS THROUGH COMPLETION
OF THE EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION FORM I-9, OR ITS
SUCCESSOR FORM, FOR EMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES;
      (II) RETAIN AN INDIVIDUALS'S GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION
CARD ONLY FOR AS LONG AS IS NECESSARY TO VERIFY THE INDIVIDUAL'S
EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY AND MAKE A COPY OF THE CARD, AND IN NO CASE
FOR MORE THAN TEN HOURS; AND
      (III) RETAIN A COPY OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S GOVERNMENT-ISSUED
IDENTIFICATION CARD IN THE EMPLOYER'S RECORDS.
       (2) (a) WHEN AN EMPLOYER VERIFIES AN INDIVIDUAL'S EMPLOYMENT
ELIGIBILITY, THE EMPLOYER SHALL NOTIFY THE INDIVIDUAL OF THE
PROHIBITION DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (1) OF THIS SECTION. THE
NOTIFICATION MUST BE:
      (I) IN WRITING;
      (II) IN ENGLISH;
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     (III) IN THE INDIVIDUAL'S PRIMARY LANGUAGE, IF THE EMPLOYER
KNOWS THE INDIVIDUAL'S PRIMARY LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH; AND
       (IV) ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE INDIVIDUAL.
      (b) THE EMPLOYER SHALL RETAIN A RECORD OF THE NOTIFICATION
AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT IN THE EMPLOYER'S EMPLOYMENT RECORDS.
      (3) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION PROHIBITS AN EMPLOYER FROM
RETAINING A GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT IF THE
RETENTION IS:
     (a) REQUIRED OR PERMITTED BY STATE OR FEDERAL LAW OR
REGULATION, INCLUDING FOR THE PURPOSE OF VERIFYING AN INDIVIDUAL'S
EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY; OR
       (b) PERFORMED PURSUANT TO A SIGNED JUDICIAL WARRANT.
       (4) AN EMPLOYER THAT KNOWINGLY VIOLATES SUBSECTION (1) OF
THIS SECTION COMMITS CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF AN IDENTIFICATION
DOCUMENT, AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 18-5-903.5.
      (5) AS USED IN THIS SECTION, "GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION
CARD" HAS THE MEANING SET FORTH IN SECTION 8-2-125 (3)(c).
       SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 18-5-903.5, amend (1)
and (2)(a); and add (3) as follows:
       18-5-903.5. Criminal possession of an identification document
- bias-motivated crime enforcement - civil actions.
       (1) A person commits criminal possession of an identification
document if the person knowingly has in his or her possession or under his
or her control CONFISCATES OR POSSESSES OR CONTROLS another person's
actual driver's license, actual government-issued identification card, actual
social security card, or actual passport knowing that he or she does so
without permission or lawful authority.
      (2) (a) EXCEPT AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 18-9-121, criminal
possession of one or more identification documents issued to the same
PAGE 4-HOUSE BILL 26-1283
person INDIVIDUAL is a class 2 misdemeanor.
      (3) AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS HARMED BY A PERSON'S COMMISSION OF
THE OFFENSE DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION MAY:
      (a) REQUEST THAT THE COURT ORDER THE PERSON TO RETURN THE
IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT IMMEDIATELY; AND
      (b) BRING A CIVIL ACTION TO RECOVER ANY DAMAGES CAUSED BY
THE PERSON'S COMMISSION OF THE OFFENSE.
       SECTION 4. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 18-9-121, amend (2)
and (3) as follows:
       18-9-121. Bias-motivated crimes - legislative declaration.
       (2) A person commits a bias-motivated crime if, with the intent to
intimidate or harass another person, in whole or in part, because of that
person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin,
physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity, the
person:
       (a) Knowingly causes bodily injury to another person; or
       (b) By words or conduct, knowingly places another person in fear
of imminent lawless action directed at that person or that person's property
and such words or conduct are likely to produce bodily injury to that person
or damage to that person's property; or
      (c) Knowingly causes damage to or destruction of the property of
another person;
       (d) COMMITS CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF AN IDENTIFICATION
DOCUMENT, AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 18-5-903.5; OR
       (e) PROVIDES, OR THREATENS TO PROVIDE, AN INDIVIDUAL'S
GOVERNMENT - ISSUED IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT TO FEDERAL
IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES, EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE REQUIRED OR
PERMITTED UNDER STATE OR FEDERAL LAW.
PAGE 5-HOUSE BILL 26-1283
        (3) Commission of a bias-motivated crime as described in paragraph
(b) or (c) of subsection (2) SUBSECTIONS (2)(b) TO (2)(e) of this section is
a class 1 misdemeanor. Commission of a bias-motivated crime as described
in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) SUBSECTION (2)(a) of this section is a
class 5 felony; except that commission of a bias-motivated crime as
described in said paragraph (a) SUBSECTION (2)(a) OF THIS SECTION is a
class 4 felony if the offender is physically aided or abetted by one or more
other persons during the commission of the offense.
       SECTION 5. Applicability. This act applies to conduct occurring
on or after the effective date of this act.
       SECTION 6. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,
determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for
PAGE 6-HOUSE BILL 26-1283
the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state
institutions.
____________________________        ____________________________
Julie McCluskie  James Rashad Coleman, Sr.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE  PRESIDENT OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES  THE SENATE
____________________________        ____________________________
Vanessa Reilly  Esther van Mourik
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE  SECRETARY OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES  THE SENATE
       APPROVED________________________________________
                          (Date and Time)
                 _________________________________________
                Jared S. Polis
                GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
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