HB26-1134 • 2026

Fairness & Transparency in Municipal Court

The act clarifies that municipal court defendants have a right to counsel and that municipal defense counsel have the same notice requirements, case information, and opportunity to meet with their cli

Crime

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Rep. J. Mabrey, Rep. E. Velasco, Sen. J. Amabile, Sen. M. Weissman, Rep. J. Bacon, Rep. M. Carter, Rep. C. Clifford, Rep. L. García, Rep. L. Gilchrist, Rep. Y. Zokaie, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. J. Gonzales, Sen. N. Hinrichsen, Sen. D. Roberts, Sen. K. Wallace, Rep. A. Boesenecker, Rep. K. Brown, Rep. S. Camacho, Rep. R. English, Rep. C. Espenoza, Rep. M. Froelich, Rep. L. Goldstein, Rep. J. Jackson, Rep. J. Joseph, Rep. S. Lieder, Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. K. McCormick, Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. J. Phillips, Rep. M. Rutinel, Rep. E. Sirota, Rep. T. Story, Rep. S. Woodrow, Sen. T. Exum, Sen. I. Jodeh, Sen. C. Kipp, Sen. J. Marchman, Sen. K. Mullica, Sen. T. Sullivan
Last action: 2026-04-27
Official status: Governor Signed
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Fairness & Transparency in Municipal Court

This law clarifies that people facing charges in municipal courts have a right to a lawyer and sets rules for how those lawyers receive information, get paid, and observe court proceedings.

What This Bill Does

Clarifies that defendants in municipal court have the right to legal counsel.
Requires defense attorneys in municipal court to receive the same notices, case information, and meeting opportunities as state-level defense attorneys.
Prohibits paying indigent defense lawyers a fixed or flat fee for all cases unless that amount equals or exceeds what hourly pay would be.
Applies this payment rule to all municipalities instead of only those handling domestic violence cases.
Requires virtual observation options for court proceedings involving people in custody.

Who It Names or Affects

Defendants appearing in municipal courts
Lawyers who represent defendants in municipal courts
Municipalities that operate local courts

Terms To Know

Indigent defense counsel: A lawyer provided to a defendant who cannot afford to pay for one.
Flat fee: A single, set payment amount for legal services instead of paying by the hour.

Limits and Unknowns

The official text does not state a specific effective date.
The summary notes requirements but does not detail penalties for non-compliance.

Amendments

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

L.001

HOU Judiciary

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment changes how the bill describes when a charge can lead to jail time and sets new rules for paying lawyers who represent clients in custody.

The text is changed from saying a 'charge carries incarceration' to saying the law allows for possible jail time in the current case.
Words describing different types of holding are simplified by removing extra options like 'either' and specific phrases about custody or other conditions.
A new rule adds that lawyers can be paid a flat fee for initial meetings with clients who are locked up, as long as this amount equals or is higher than the hourly rate state attorneys receive.

The amendment text only shows specific lines to delete and replace without providing the full original sentences, so some context about how these changes fit into the whole law is missing.
It references a specific section of Colorado law (21-2-101) for pay rates that is not included in this document.

L.002

Second Reading

Passed [**]

Plain English: This amendment updates the bill's text to correctly identify it as House Bill 26-1134.

Replaces a placeholder number with the official name 'HOUSE BILL 26-1134' on page 3 of the document.

Bill History

2026-04-27 Governor
Governor Signed
2026-04-16 Governor
Sent to the Governor
2026-04-16 Senate
Signed by the President of the Senate
2026-04-16 House
Signed by the Speaker of the House
2026-03-31 Senate
Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments
2026-03-30 Senate
Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments
2026-03-25 Senate
Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole
2026-03-10 Senate
Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Judiciary
2026-03-03 House
House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments
2026-03-02 House
House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor
2026-02-25 House
House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole
2026-02-04 House
Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary

Official Summary Text

The act clarifies that municipal court defendants have a right to counsel and that municipal defense counsel have the same notice requirements, case information, and opportunity to meet with their clients as do state-level defense counsel. Current law prohibits paying indigent municipal defense counsel on a fixed or flat-fee payment structure if the municipality prosecutes domestic violence cases. The act applies the prohibition to all municipalities and allows a flat fee arrangement if the flat fee is the same or higher than a resulting fee based on hourly compensation.
Current law requires municipal court proceedings to be open to public observation. The act requires virtual observation for all in-custody proceedings and prompt resolution of municipal cases.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)