2022 Colorado Code
Title 13 - Courts and Court Procedure
Article 10 - Municipal Courts
§ 13-10-113. Fines and Penalties

1. 1. Except as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section, any person convicted of violating a municipal ordinance in a municipal court of record may be incarcerated for a period not to exceed three hundred sixty-four days or fined an amount not to exceed two thousand six hundred fifty dollars, or both.
   2. 1. The limitation on municipal court fines set forth in paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) shall be adjusted for inflation on January 1, 2014, and on January 1 of each year thereafter.
      2. As used in this paragraph (b), "inflation" means the annual percentage change in the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, consumer price index for Denver-Boulder, all items, all urban consumers, or its successor index.

   (1.5) Any person convicted of violating a municipal ordinance in a municipal court which is not of record may be incarcerated for a period not to exceed ninety days or fined an amount not to exceed three hundred dollars, or both.

2. In sentencing or fining a violator, the municipal judge shall not exceed the sentence or fine limitations established by ordinance. Any other provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, the municipal judge may suspend the sentence or fine of any violator and place him on probation for a period not to exceed one year.
3. The municipal judge is empowered in his discretion to assess costs, as established by the municipal governing body by ordinance, against any defendant who pleads guilty or nolo contendere or who enters into a plea agreement or who, after trial, is found guilty of an ordinance violation.
4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a municipal court has the authority to order a child under eighteen years of age confined in a juvenile detention facility operated or contracted by the department of human services or a temporary holding facility operated by or under contract with a municipal government for failure to comply with a lawful order of the court, including an order to pay a fine. Any confinement of a child for contempt of municipal court shall not exceed forty-eight hours.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a juvenile, as defined in section 19-2.5-102, arrested for an alleged violation of a municipal ordinance, convicted of violating a municipal ordinance or probation conditions imposed by a municipal court, or found in contempt of court in connection with a violation or alleged violation of a municipal ordinance must not be confined in a jail, lockup, or other place used for the confinement of adult offenders but may be held in a juvenile detention facility operated by or under contract with the department of human services or a temporary holding facility operated by or under contract with a municipal government that shall receive and provide care for the juvenile. A municipal court imposing penalties for violation of probation conditions imposed by such court or for contempt of court in connection with a violation or alleged violation of a municipal ordinance may confine a juvenile pursuant to section 19-2.5-305 for up to forty-eight hours in a juvenile detention facility operated by or under contract with the department of human services. In imposing any jail sentence upon a juvenile for violating any municipal ordinance when the municipal court has jurisdiction over the juvenile pursuant to section 19-2.5-103 (1)(a)(II), a municipal court does not have the authority to order a juvenile under eighteen years of age to a juvenile detention facility operated or contracted by the department of human services.
6. Whenever the judge in a municipal court of record imposes a fine for a nonviolent municipal ordinance or code offense, if the person who committed the offense is unable to pay the fine at the time of the court hearing or if he or she fails to pay any fine imposed for the commission of such offense, in order to guarantee the payment of such fine, the municipal judge may compel collection of the fine in the manner provided in section 18-1.3-506, C.R.S. For purposes of this subsection (6), "nonviolent municipal ordinance or code offense" means a municipal ordinance or code offense which does not involve the use or threat of physical force on or to a person in the commission of the offense.
7. Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (1.5) of this section, the municipal judge of each municipality which implements an industrial wastewater pretreatment program pursuant to the federal act, as defined in section 25-8-103 (8), C.R.S., may provide such relief and impose such penalties as are required by such federal act and its implementing regulations for such programs.
8. If, as a condition of or in connection with any sentence imposed pursuant to this section, a municipal court judge requires a juvenile who is younger than eighteen years of age to attend school, the municipal court shall notify the school district in which the juvenile is enrolled of such requirement.

Source: L. 69: p. 275, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 37-22-11. L. 81: (4) added, p. 882, § 2, effective April 30; (5) added, p. 1041, § 2, effective July 1. L. 87: (2) and (3) amended, p. 546, § 1, effective April 23; (4) and (5) amended, p. 814, § 11, effective October 1. L. 89: (6) added, p. 887, § 3, effective April 6. L. 90: (4) and (5) amended, p. 1016, § 1, effective April 20; (7) added, p. 1345, § 6, effective July 1. L. 91: (1) and (3) amended and (1.5) added, p. 743, § 4, effective April 4. L. 92: (7) amended, p. 2183, § 59, effective June 2. L. 94: (4) and (5) amended, pp. 2641, 2615, §§ 90, 23, effective July 1; (5) amended, p. 1462, § 1, effective July 1. L. 96: (5) amended, p. 1679, § 2, effective January 1, 1997. L. 2000: (8) added, p. 320, § 8, effective April 7. L. 2002: (6) amended, p. 1487, § 121, effective October 1. L. 2013: (1) amended, (HB 13-1060), ch. 121, p. 411, § 1, effective April 18. L. 2019: (1)(a) amended, (HB 19-1148), ch. 59, p. 201, § 1, effective August 2. L. 2021: (5) amended, (SB 21-059), ch. 136, p. 710, § 11, effective October 1.

Editor's note: Amendments to subsection (5) by Senate Bill 94-089 and House Bill 94-1029 were harmonized.

Cross references: (1) For municipal ordinances and penalties relating thereto, see §§ 31-15-103 and 31-16-101.

(2) For the legislative declaration contained in the 1994 act amending subsections (4) and (5), see section 1 of chapter 345, Session Laws of Colorado 1994. For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act amending subsection (6), see section 1 of chapter 318, Session Laws of Colorado 2002.