Colorado House Bill 1281
Session 2026A
Homicide Criminal Offenses
Introduced
Introduced in Senate on Apr 30, 2026
Sponsors
4 Sponsors
M. Carter
C. Espenoza
N. Hinrichsen
M. Weissman
First Action
Feb 20, 2026
Latest Action
May 12, 2026
Origin Chamber
House
Type
Bill
Bill Number
1281
State
Colorado
Session
2026A
C. Espenoza
grade
Sponsor
M. Carter
grade
Sponsor
M. Weissman
grade
Sponsor
N. Hinrichsen
grade
Sponsor
J. Bacon
Cosponsor
J. Mabrey
Cosponsor
L. García
Cosponsor
N. Ricks
Cosponsor
R. English
Cosponsor
Y. Zokaie
Cosponsor
Motion Text
BILL
House Roll Call Votes
Bacon
Yes
Barron
No
Boesenecker
Yes
Bottoms
No
Bradfield
No
Bradley
No
Brooks
No
Brown
Yes
Caldwell
No
Camacho
Yes
Carter
Yes
Clifford
No
DeGraaf
No
Duran
No
English
Yes
Espenoza
Yes
Feret
Yes
Flanell
No
Froelich
Yes
Garcia
Yes
Garcia Sander
No
Gilchrist
Yes
Goldstein
No
Gonzalez R.
No
Hamrick
No
Hartsook
No
Jackson
Yes
Johnson
No
Joseph
Yes
Keltie
No
Lieder
No
Lindsay
Yes
Luck
No
Lukens
No
Mabrey
Yes
Marshall
No
Martinez
Yes
Mauro
Yes
McCluskie
Yes
McCormick
Yes
Nguyen
Yes
Paschal
Yes
Phillips
Yes
Richardson
No
Ricks
Yes
Rutinel
No
Rydin
Yes
Sirota
Yes
Slaugh
No
Smith
Yes
Soper
No
Stewart K.
No
Stewart R.
Yes
Story
Yes
Suckla
No
Taggart
No
Titone
Yes
Valdez
Yes
Velasco
Yes
Weinberg
No
Willford
No
Winter T.
No
Woodrow
Yes
Woog
No
Zokaie
Yes
Summary
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.)
Committee Report for Judiciary on 05/06/2026
Committee Report for Judiciary on 04/14/2026
Sort by most recent
05/12/2026
Senate
Senate Second Reading Special Order - Laid Over to 05/14/2026 - No Amendments
04/30/2026
Senate
Introduced In Senate - Assigned to
05/11/2026
Senate
Senate Second Reading Special Order - Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
05/06/2026
Senate
Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole
04/30/2026
Senate
Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Judiciary
04/29/2026
House
House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments
04/27/2026
House
House Third Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
04/24/2026
House
House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee
04/17/2026
House
House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
04/14/2026
House
House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole
02/20/2026
House
Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary
Sources
CO Legislature
Record Created
Feb 21, 2026 1:04:01 AM
Record Updated
May 12, 2026 10:15:36 PM