Creating Equal Justice License Plate

Second Regular Session Seventy-fifth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED HOUSE BILL 26-1251 LLS NO. 26-0731.01 Renee Leone x2695 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Joseph and Woodrow, SENATE SPONSORSHIP (None), House Committees Senate Committees Finance A BILL FOR AN ACT CONCERNING THE CREATION OF AN EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATE THAT A PERSON QUALIFIES FOR BY DONATING TO THE EQUAL JUSTICE AUTHORITY.

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 equal justice license plate (plate). An applicant becomes eligible for the plate by making a donation to the equal justice authority (authority). The department of revenue (department) will collect the donation on behalf of, and remit the money to, the authority. The authority must spend the donation in the same manner as currently 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.

required by law for the equal justice fee. In addition to the donation and 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. The bill allows the department to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations, and mandates that the department will not commence work on the creation of the plate until the department has received sufficient gifts, grants, and donations to cover the cost of creating the plate and any other related administrative or programming needs.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds that:

(a) Access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law and ensures that all public and private people, institutions, and entities, including the state, are held accountable to laws that are publicly adopted, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated;

(b) Without access to justice, people would be unable to exercise their rights, have their voices heard, challenge discrimination, or hold decision-makers accountable;

(c) Providing civil legal aid to people with low incomes is vital to Colorado's missions, including those that involve providing justice for victims of intimate partner violence, ensuring that veterans receive their well-earned benefits, protecting the elder population from abuse, fighting human trafficking, and safeguarding access to necessities such as food and shelter;

(d) Without access to civil legal representation, laws and protections are often unenforceable for Coloradans with low incomes;

(e) Adequately funded legal aid in certain civil matters reinforces the importance of the right to counsel to ensure a fair trial; (f) Equal access to justice would have little effective meaning if an individual could not afford that right on the basis of income; and

(g) The donation to the equal justice authority for the purpose of obtaining the equal justice license plate supports users of Colorado courts and promotes equal access to justice, legal aid, and court efficiency, and the donation:

(I) Allows drivers who obtain the equal justice license plate to display their support for equal access to justice and increased court efficiency;

(II) Is an amount that is based on the overall cost of the services provided by the equal justice authority; and

(III) Is not a tax.

(2) Therefore, the general assembly declares that the lack of access to civil legal justice is a problem that has serious social, legal, economic, and political consequences, and the general assembly creates the equal justice license plate to:

(a) Provide funding for equal access to justice in Colorado;

(b) Provide Colorado drivers a means to display their support of equal access to justice; and (c) Reaffirm the general assembly's commitment to equal access to the civil legal process. SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 42-3-272 as follows:

42-3-272. Special plates - equal justice - legislative declaration.

(1) BEGINNING ON THE EARLIER OF JANUARY 1, 2028, OR WHEN THE DEPARTMENT IS ABLE TO ISSUE THE PLATE, AND ONLY AFTER THE DEPARTMENT HAS RECEIVED SUFFICIENT GIFTS, GRANTS, OR DONATIONS FROM PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SOURCES, AS PERMITTED IN SUBSECTION (7) OF THIS SECTION, TO COVER THE COST OF CREATING THE PLATE AND ANY OTHER RELATED ADMINISTRATIVE OR PROGRAMMING NEEDS, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ISSUE SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES TO QUALIFIED APPLICANTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS SECTION FOR MOTORCYCLES, PASSENGER CARS, TRUCKS, OR NONCOMMERCIAL OR RECREATIONAL MOTOR VEHICLES THAT DO NOT EXCEED SIXTEEN THOUSAND POUNDS EMPTY WEIGHT.

(2) (a) THE EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATE IS ESTABLISHED.

(b) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL USE A DESIGN FROM THE EQUAL JUSTICE AUTHORITY, CREATED IN SECTION 13-5.7-202. THE DESIGN MUST CONFORM TO DEPARTMENT STANDARDS AND BE APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT.

(3) (a) A PERSON MAY APPLY FOR AN EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATE IF THE PERSON PAYS THE TAXES AND FEES REQUIRED IN THIS SECTION AND PAYS A DONATION, IN AN AMOUNT OF AT LEAST FIFTY DOLLARS, AS SET BY THE EQUAL JUSTICE AUTHORITY BOARD PURSUANT TO

SECTION 13-5.7-208 (3), TO THE EQUAL JUSTICE AUTHORITY.

(b) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT RENEW THE REGISTRATION OF AN EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATE UNLESS THE PERSON THAT WAS ISSUED THE LICENSE PLATE PAYS A RENEWAL DONATION, IN AN AMOUNT OF AT LEAST FIFTY DOLLARS, AS SET BY THE EQUAL JUSTICE AUTHORITY BOARD PURSUANT TO SECTION 13-5.7-208 (3), TO THE EQUAL JUSTICE AUTHORITY.

(c) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL COLLECT THE EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATE DONATION REQUIRED IN SUBSECTIONS (3)(a) AND (3)(b) OF THIS SECTION ON BEHALF OF THE EQUAL JUSTICE AUTHORITY IN THE SAME MANNER IN WHICH THE DEPARTMENT COLLECTS OTHER TAXES AND FEES;

EXCEPT THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT TRANSMIT THE COLLECTED DONATION TO THE STATE TREASURER FOR DEPOSIT IN A STATE FUND BUT SHALL REMIT THE MONEY TO THE EQUAL JUSTICE AUTHORITY.

(d) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FINDS AND DECLARES THAT DONATIONS RECEIVED UNDER SUBSECTIONS (3)(a) AND (3)(b) OF THIS SECTION ARE CUSTODIAL FUNDS AND, THEREFORE, ARE NOT SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION OR TO SECTION CONSTITUTION.

20 OF ARTICLE X OF THE STATE

(4) THE AMOUNT OF THE TAXES AND FEES FOR A SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE REQUIRED UNDER THIS SECTION IS THE SAME AS THE AMOUNT OF THE TAXES AND FEES FOR A REGULAR MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE PLATE;

EXCEPT THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL COLLECT THE FEE SPECIFIED IN

SECTION 42-3-312 AND AN ADDITIONAL ONE-TIME FEE OF TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS FOR ISSUANCE OR REPLACEMENT OF THE SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES. THE STATE TREASURER SHALL CREDIT THE FEE TO THE HIGHWAY USERS TAX FUND CREATED IN SECTION 43-4-201.

AN APPLICANT MAY APPLY TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR PERSONALIZED EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATES. UPON PAYMENT OF THE ADDITIONAL PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES, THE DEPARTMENT MAY ISSUE THE PLATES IF THE APPLICANT COMPLIES WITH SECTION 42-3-211. IF AN APPLICANT HAS EXISTING PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE, THE APPLICANT MAY TRANSFER THE COMBINATION OF LETTERS OR NUMBERS TO A NEW SET OF EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATES FOR THE VEHICLE UPON PAYING THE FEE REQUIRED BY SECTION 42-3-211 (6)(a) AND UPON TURNING IN THE EXISTING PLATES TO THE DEPARTMENT. A PERSON THAT FEE REQUIRED BY SECTION 42-3-211 (6)(a) FOR HAS OBTAINED PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES UNDER THIS SUBSECTION

(5) MUST PAY THE ANNUAL FEE IMPOSED BY SECTION 42-3-211 (6)(b) TO RENEW THE PERSONALIZED PLATES. THE FEES ASSESSED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION (5) ARE IN ADDITION TO ALL OTHER APPLICABLE TAXES AND FEES.

(6) THE EQUAL JUSTICE AUTHORITY SHALL RECEIVE THE MONEY COLLECTED FROM AN EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATE DONATION AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 13-5.7-208 AND DISTRIBUTE THE MONEY RECEIVED IN THE MANNER SET FORTH IN SECTION 13-5.7-206 (1) AND (2).

(7) THE DEPARTMENT MAY SEEK, ACCEPT, AND EXPEND GIFTS, GRANTS, OR DONATIONS FROM PRIVATE OR PUBLIC SOURCES FOR THE PURPOSES SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION.

SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, amend 42-3-312 as follows:

42-3-312. Special license plate surcharge. In addition to any other fee imposed by this article 3, an applicant for a special license plate created by rule in accordance with section 42-3-207, as the section existed when the plate was created, personalized plates issued under section 42-3-211, or special license plates issued under sections 42-3-212 to 42-3-214, sections 42-3-217 to 42-3-218, sections 42-3-221 to 42-3-234, sections 42-3-237 to 42-3-258, sections 42-3-260 to 42-3-265, and sections 42-3-267 to 42-3-271 42-3-272 shall pay an issuance fee of twenty-five dollars; except that the fee is not imposed on special license plates exempted from additional fees for the issuance of a military special license plate by section 42-3-213 (1)(b)(II). The department shall transfer the money from the fee to the state treasurer, who shall credit it to the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account created in section 42-1-211 (2). SECTION 4. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 13-5.7-203, amend (1)(i) as follows:

13-5.7-203. General powers.

(1) In addition to any other powers granted to the authority in this part 2, the authority has the following powers:

(i) To contract for and to accept any gifts, grants, OR DONATIONS, INCLUDING DONATIONS MADE TO APPLY FOR OR RENEW THE EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATE PURSUANT TO SECTION 42-3-272, and loans of funds, property, or any other aid in any form from the federal government, the state, any A state agency, or any other source, or any combination thereof, and to comply, subject to the provisions of this part 2, with the terms and conditions of such contracts or the acceptance of such items;

SECTION 5. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 13-5.7-206, amend (1) as follows:

13-5.7-206. Distribution of equal justice fees - purpose.

(1) On July 1, 2025, and each July 1 thereafter EACH YEAR ON JULY 1, the authority shall annually distribute all money deposited into the authority's account as required by section 13-5.7-205 (2) SECTIONS 13-5.7-205 (2) AND 13-5.7-208, less the authority's direct and indirect expenses in administering the requirements of this part 2 and any other related work completed to advance the mission of the authority. The authority shall distribute sixty-seven percent of the remaining revenue to the Colorado recipient of a federal legal services corporation field grant and thirty-three percent to qualified civil legal aid providers.

SECTION 6. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 13-5.7-208 as follows:

13-5.7-208. Equal justice license plate - donations.

(1) THE AUTHORITY MAY RECEIVE MONEY FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE THAT WAS COLLECTED IN THE FORM OF A DONATION MADE BY A PERSON TO APPLY FOR OR RENEW THEIR REGISTRATION FOR THE EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATE PURSUANT TO SECTION 42-3-272.

(2) THE AUTHORITY SHALL DEPOSIT THE MONEY COLLECTED FROM DONATIONS RECEIVED PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (1) OF THIS SECTION IN AN ACCOUNT IN A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.

THE AUTHORITY SHALL ANNUALLY SET THE REQUIRED DONATION FOR THE ISSUANCE OR RENEWAL OF THE EQUAL JUSTICE LICENSE PLATE IN AN AMOUNT OF NOT LESS THAN FIFTY DOLLARS.

(4) MONEY RECEIVED BY THE AUTHORITY FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION IS NOT STATE REVENUE.

SECTION 7. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.