HB 1281 CO
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Summary
This Colorado bill revises homicide statutes to create new offense categories and modify existing charges. It narrows first degree murder to require multiple deaths, death plus serious injury to multiple persons, death of a child under 12, or death of certain public safety personnel, creating a new second degree murder charge for grave risk conduct causing single deaths. The bill expands criminally negligent homicide to include motor vehicle operation and creates a new aggravated vehicular homicide offense for reckless or impaired driving causing death when combined with aggravating factors such as prior DUI convictions or eluding law enforcement. The bill also establishes a new negligent vehicular homicide offense classified as a Class 5 felony.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill (from the OpenStates abstract — no full text available yet) — neutral, and may be imperfect.
Official abstract
Under current law, if a person engages in conduct that creates a grave risk to human life with an extreme indifference to the value of human life and causes the death of another person, the person commits first degree murder. The bill requires that the person:Cause the death of more than one person;Cause the death of one person and cause serious bodily injury to 2 or more persons by means of a deadly weapon;Cause the death of a child who is under 12 years old; orCause the death of a peace officer, emergency medical service provider, emergency medical care provider, or firefighter engaged in the performance of their duties. The bill creates a new charge of murder in the second degree if a person engages in conduct that creates a grave risk to human life with an extreme indifference to the value of human life and causes the death of only one other person. The bill expands the conduct by which a person can commit criminally negligent homicide to include proximately causing the death of another person while operating or driving a motor vehicle with criminal negligence. The bill creates the offense of aggravated vehicular homicide by operating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner or while under the influence of or impaired by alcohol or other drugs and causing the death of another person when the person also:Has been convicted twice of driving under the influence or driving while ability impaired;Has been convicted of vehicular homicide or vehicular assault;Commits the offense while eluding or attempting to elude law enforcement;Commits the offense while in flight from the commission of another felony offense, not including a traffic offense; orCommits the offense while driving at a high rate of speed, creating an imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person. The bill creates the new offense of negligent vehicular homicide if a person drives a motor vehicle with criminal negligence and causes the death of another person. Negligent vehicular homicide is a class 5 felony.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Sponsors (4)
- M. Carter Democratic · sponsor
- C. Espenoza Democratic · sponsor
- N. Hinrichsen Democratic · sponsor
- M. Weissman Democratic · sponsor
Action history (11)
- May 12, 2026 Senate Second Reading Special Order - Laid Over to 05/14/2026 - No Amendments · upper
- Apr 30, 2026 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to · upper
- May 11, 2026 Senate Second Reading Special Order - Laid Over Daily - No Amendments · upper
- May 6, 2026 Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole · upper
- Apr 30, 2026 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Judiciary · upper
- Apr 29, 2026 House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments · lower
- Apr 27, 2026 House Third Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments · lower
- Apr 24, 2026 House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee · lower
- Apr 17, 2026 House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments · lower
- Apr 14, 2026 House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole · lower
- Feb 20, 2026 Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary · lower
Full text
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