Automated Vehicle Identification Systems

The bill exempts the use of automated vehicle identification systems (systems) for the purpose of collecting tolls, fees, or civil penalties on toll highways from requirements governing the use of these systems in a school zone; within a residential neighborhood; within a maintenance, construction, or repair zone; along a street that borders a municipal park; or in an automated vehicle identification corridor.

The bill changes the deadline by which the state, a county, a city and county, or a city municipality (jurisdiction) is required to issue and send by mail or other delivery service a notice of violation when a traffic violation is detected through the use of an automated vehicle identification system (system) a system from 90 days after the violation to:

• 30 days after the violation if the motor vehicle involved is registered in the state; or
• 60 days after the violation if the motor vehicle involved is registered outside of the state.

The bill specifies the information required in a notice of violation and a civil penalty assessment notice. If a registered motor vehicle owner (owner) driver fails to request a hearing to dispute the alleged violation or fails to pay the civil penalty in full by the deadline stated in the notice, the owner driver waives the right to contest the violation or amount of the penalty, and the jurisdiction is required to enter a final order of liability against the owner registered motor vehicle owner . Any appeal of a final order must be brought in the manner required by the jurisdiction for similar appeals county court in the county where the alleged violation occurred.The bill establishes that the owner of a motor vehicle involved in a violation detected through the use of a system, including an owner engaged in the business of leasing or renting motor vehicles, is presumed liable for any civil penalty imposed, but the owner may obtain payment for the penalty from a person that leased or rented the motor vehicle at the time the violation occurred or may avoid liability for the civil penalty if the owner demonstrates that, at the time of the violation, the motor vehicle was leased to another person for a period of more than one year.The bill also specifies the methods by which the owner of a motor vehicle involved in a traffic violation may rebut the presumption of liability for the violation.

The bill requires a jurisdiction utilizing a system to report unpaid violations to the department of revenue (department). The department shall keep a record of unpaid violations and suspend prohibit the renewal of the registration of the motor vehicle until the penalty is paid or and prohibit the title transfer of the motor vehicle. The bill allows the department to collect a $25 administration fee to cover its administration costs, which is transmitted to the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account .

The bill requires a jurisdiction implementing a new system after July 1, 2023, to:

• Announce the implementation of the system through its website for at least 30 days prior to the use of the system; and
• Issue only warnings for traffic violations detected by the system for the first 30 days after the system is installed or deployed.

The bill allows a municipality to designate all or a portion of a street as an automated vehicle identification corridor (corridor) within which the municipality may locate a system to detect traffic violations under specified circumstances. Before a municipality creates a corridor, it must:

• Post a permanent sign in a conspicuous place not fewer than 300 feet before the beginning of the corridor and a permanent sign not fewer than 300 feet before each camera within the corridor thereafter;
• Illustrate, through data collected within the past five years, incidents of crashes, speeding, reckless driving, or community complaints on a street designated as a corridor; and
• Coordinate between the local jurisdiction, the department of transportation, and the Colorado state patrol.

If a municipality implements a corridor, it must publish a report on its website disclosing the number of citations and revenue generated by the corridor.

The bill permits a jurisdiction to compensate a manufacturer or vendor of system equipment for the value of services provided, in addition to compensating for the value of the system equipment as permitted under current law.

The bill imposes restrictions on when photographs may be taken by a system and on access to and use of photographs, and video, and personally identifiable data created by systems and requires photographs and videos to be destroyed after a specified period, with certain exceptions.

(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.)