2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 16 - CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS (§§ 16-1-101 — 16-23-105) › CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (§§ 16-1-101 — 16-13-1002) › Article 2.3 - CIVIL INFRACTIONS (§§ 16-2.3-101 — 16-2.3-106) › Section 16-2.3-102 - Penalty assessment notice for civil infractions

(1)
(a)
At any time that a peace officer, as described in section
16-2.5-101
, charges a person with the commission of any civil infraction, the peace officer may, except when prohibited by the section describing the charged civil infraction, offer to give a penalty assessment notice to the person. For all civil infractions, the fine listed on the penalty assessment notice is one hundred dollars, unless the fine is otherwise provided in the section describing the civil infraction.
(b)
The penalty assessment notice that a peace officer serves upon the person must be a summons and complaint containing the following:
(I)
Identification of the alleged offender;
(II)
Specification of the offense, including a citation to the section alleged to have been violated and a brief description of the civil infraction;
(III)
The amount of the fine for the civil infraction and the amount of the surcharges pursuant to sections
24-4.1-119 (1)(g)
,
24-4.2-104 (1)
, and
24-33.5-415.6
;
(IV)
The date the peace officer serves the penalty assessment notice upon the person;
(V)
Instructions to the person to appear in a specified county court at a specified time and place if the fine and surcharges are not paid;
(VI)
The peace officer's signature;
(VII)
A place where the person may execute a signed acknowledgment of liability and an agreement to pay the fine and surcharges within twenty days; and
(VIII)
Other information as may be required by law to constitute the penalty assessment notice to be a summons and complaint should the fine and surcharges not be paid within the time allowed in subsection (2) of this section.
(c)
A penalty assessment notice issued and served pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section on a minor under eighteen years of age must also contain or be accompanied by a document containing:
(I)
A preprinted declaration stating that the minor's parent or legal guardian has reviewed the contents of the penalty assessment notice with the minor;
(II)
Preprinted signature lines following the declaration on which the reviewing person described in subsection (1)(c)(I) of this section shall affix the person's signature and for a notary public to duly acknowledge the reviewing person's signature; and
(III)
An advisement to the minor that:
(A)
The minor shall, within seventy-two hours after service of the penalty assessment notice, inform the minor's parent or legal guardian that the minor has received a penalty assessment notice;
(B)
The parent or legal guardian of the minor is required by law to review and sign the penalty assessment notice and to have the person's signature duly acknowledged by a notary public; and
(C)
Noncompliance with the requirement set forth in subsection (1)(c)(III)(B) of this section will result in the minor and the parent or legal guardian of the minor being required to appear in court pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.
(d)
The peace officer must serve one copy of the penalty assessment notice upon the person and shall send one copy to the clerk of the county court in the county in which the alleged offense occurred. The copy sent to the clerk of the county court must be sent immediately after service upon the person.
(e)
The time specified in the summons portion of the penalty assessment notice must be at least thirty days but not more than ninety days after the date the penalty assessment notice is served.
(f)
The place specified in the summons portion of the penalty assessment notice must be a county court within the county in which the civil infraction is alleged to have been committed.
(g)
If the person refuses to accept service of the penalty assessment notice, tender of the notice by the peace officer to the person constitutes service upon the person.
(2)
(a)
If the person served a penalty assessment notice acknowledges guilt, the person may pay the specified fine and surcharges in person or by mail at the place and within the time specified in the notice. If the person does not acknowledge guilt, the person shall appear as required in the notice. Upon final hearing, if the person is found guilty, the court shall impose the fine and surcharges specified in the notice for the offense for which the person was found guilty and the court may impose court costs against the person in addition to the fine and surcharges.
(b)
The fine specified in the penalty assessment notice for the violation charged and the surcharges must be paid to the clerk of the court of the jurisdiction in which the offense is alleged to have occurred, either in person or by postmarking such payment within twenty days after the date the penalty assessment notice is served upon the person. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4) of this section, acceptance of a penalty assessment notice and payment of the fine and surcharges to the court are complete satisfaction for the violation. The person must be given a receipt if the person pays the fine and surcharges in currency or other form of legal tender.
(3)
If a person charged with a civil infraction fails to pay the fine and surcharges within twenty days after the date of the penalty assessment notice, or if the clerk of the court does not accept payment for the fine and surcharges as evidenced by receipt, the person is allowed to pay the fine, surcharges, and the docket fees in the amounts set forth in sections
13-1-204 (1)(b)
and
16-2.3-106 (5)(a)(I)
to the clerk of the court referred to in the summons portion of the penalty assessment notice during the two business days prior to the time for appearance, as specified in the notice. If the fine for a civil infraction and surcharges is not timely paid, the case is heard in the court of competent jurisdiction prescribed on the penalty assessment notice in the manner provided for in this article 2.3 for the prosecution of civil infractions.
(4)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, a minor under eighteen years of age shall appear at a hearing on the date and time specified in the penalty assessment notice and answer the alleged violation if the penalty assessment was timely paid but not signed and notarized in the manner required by subsection (1)(c)(III)(B) of this section.
(5)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, if the offense charged is for the commission of a civil infraction for a parks and wildlife violation contained in title 33, the penalty assessment procedures contained in section
33-6-104
or
33-15-102
apply.
Added by 2022 Ch. 68, § 1, eff. 9/1/2022.