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HB26-1053 • 2026

Motor Vehicle Regulation Administration

Effective January 1, 2028, the act repeals a requirement that requires motor-vehicle license plates to be retired and reissued in certain circumstances and authorizes the owner to transfer the plates

Budget Taxes Technology
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Rep. T. Mauro, Sen. B. Pelton, Sen. K. Wallace, Rep. J. Caldwell, Rep. C. Clifford, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. L. Garcia Sander, Rep. R. Keltie, Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. J. McCluskie, Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. J. Phillips, Rep. N. Ricks, Rep. M. Rutinel, Rep. R. Weinberg, Rep. T. Winter, Sen. S. Bright, Sen. J. Carson, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. C. Kipp, Sen. J. Marchman
Last action
2026-06-03
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The specific 'certain circumstances' under which plates were previously required to be retired are not detailed in the provided summary text.

Motor Vehicle License Plate Transfer and Emergency Planning

Starting in January 2028, this law lets car owners keep their license plates when they buy a new vehicle instead of getting new ones, and it requires the state to have an emergency plan for its licensing system.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the rule that forces people to retire old license plates in certain situations starting January 1, 2028.
  • Allows car owners to move their current license plates onto a new vehicle they purchase.
  • Requires the Department of Revenue to create and keep an emergency plan for its vehicle licensing services.
  • Sets standards that the emergency plan must meet to protect critical operations during disruptions.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Motor vehicle owners in Colorado who want to transfer their license plates.
  • The Department of Revenue, which must manage licensing operations and create emergency plans.

Terms To Know

Repeals
Removes or cancels an existing law or rule so it no longer applies.
Contingency plan
A prepared strategy to handle unexpected problems and keep services running during a disruption.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not take effect until January 1, 2028.
  • The summary mentions 'certain circumstances' for plate retirement without listing every specific situation covered by the old rule.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

J.001

HOU Appropriations

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment adds funding to pay for the computer systems and staff needed to let people keep their old license plates instead of getting new ones.

  • $18,170 is set aside from a special vehicle tax fund to help the Department of Revenue start this change in the 2026-27 budget year.
  • Most of the money ($13,520) will be used to fix and support the DRIVES computer system that handles license plates.
  • $4,650 is split between hiring staff for vehicle services, office administration, and paying the information technology team.
  • The amendment only lists how much money will be spent; it does not explain exactly what changes are being made to the computer system or which specific jobs need new workers.
  • It is unclear if this funding amount covers all costs for future years after 2027.
L.001

HOU Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment removes several sections of the bill that would have changed how license plates are retired or transferred.

  • Removes a specific line on page 6 and all lines from 1 to 25 on page 7, which likely contained rules about retiring old license plates.
  • Updates references in later parts of the bill so that section numbers match after removing those earlier sections.
  • The amendment text only lists line and page deletions without showing the actual words being removed, so it is unclear exactly which rules about license plates are changing.
  • Because the specific content of the deleted lines is not provided in this document, we cannot explain the full details of what will no longer happen.
L.003

SEN Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment removes several sections of the bill that would have changed how license plates are retired or transferred.

  • Deletes specific text on pages 4 and 5 of the original bill regarding motor vehicle plate rules.
  • The provided amendment only lists which lines to delete but does not include the actual text being removed, so it is unclear exactly what rules about license plates are no longer included in this version.
  • Because the specific content of the deleted sections is missing from the input, I cannot explain the exact details of how plate retirement or transfer would have worked before these changes.
L.002

Second Reading

Passed [**]

Plain English: This amendment changes the rule so that only Colorado organizations that have been active for at least ten years can transfer their old license plates.

  • The bill now requires a group to be based in Colorado and have existed for at least ten years before they can keep using or transferring specific license plates.
  • The amendment text does not explain which types of groups are affected, what happens if a group is younger than ten years old, or exactly how the plate transfer process works.
  • It is unclear from this short change whether other rules about license plates were also updated in different parts of the bill.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-03 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-06-02 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-06-02 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  4. 2026-06-02 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  5. 2026-05-04 House

    House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass

  6. 2026-04-28 House

    House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Laid Over Daily

  7. 2026-04-27 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  8. 2026-04-24 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee

  9. 2026-04-24 Senate

    Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole

  10. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Senate Committee on Finance Refer Amended to Appropriations

  11. 2026-03-19 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Finance

  12. 2026-03-16 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  13. 2026-03-13 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor

  14. 2026-03-13 House

    House Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

  15. 2026-02-09 House

    House Committee on Finance Refer Amended to Appropriations

  16. 2026-01-14 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Finance

Official Summary Text

Effective January 1, 2028, the act repeals a requirement that requires motor-vehicle license plates to be retired and reissued in certain circumstances and authorizes the owner to transfer the plates to a new motor vehicle.
The act requires the department of revenue (department) to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive contingency plan to ensure continuity of operations and the protection of critical services in the event of a disruption in vehicle licensing operations. Standards are set for the contingency plan. The governor's office of information technology must provide the appropriate network and equipment support to the department.
To implement this act, $18,170 is appropriated to the department from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)