---
type: "Bill"
title: "Children's Code Definition Of Special Respondent"
description: "The current definition of 'special respondent' in the Children's Code only allows a party to be involuntarily joined in a dependency or neglect proceeding. The bill amends that definition to allow a party to be voluntarily joined in a dependency or neglect proceeding."
jurisdiction: "us/states/co"
legislature: "Colorado General Assembly"
session: "2017A"
identifier: "SB 17-177"
citation: "Colorado SB 17-177 (2017A)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["John Cooke", "Paul Rosenthal"]
version_count: 8
action_count: 12
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2017-02-08T07:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2017-04-06T06:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d1ffdb7e-5b4f-4dcc-a9ac-e087d5c3cf29"
source_url: "http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb17-177"
source_hash: "102616def6d660f3d1f03c29b93de0bedea6f187060b9491d6ff56cc50471c86"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-co"]
---

# Colorado SB 17-177 (2017A) — Children's Code Definition Of Special Respondent

The current definition of 'special respondent' in the Children's Code only allows a party to be involuntarily joined in a dependency or neglect proceeding. The bill amends that definition to allow a party to be voluntarily joined in a dependency or neglect proceeding.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Committee Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017a/bills/cr/2017A_SB177_H_JUD_001.pdf)
2. **Engrossed (03/02/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_177_eng.pdf)
3. **Final Act (03/31/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_177_enr.pdf)
4. **Introduced (02/08/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_177_01.pdf)
5. **Reengrossed (03/03/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_177_ren.pdf)
6. **Rerevised (03/27/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_177_rer.pdf)
7. **Revised (03/24/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_177_rev.pdf)
8. **Signed Act (04/06/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_177_signed.pdf)

## Votes

- Refer Senate Bill 17-177 to the Committee of the Whole, with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendar. The motion passed on a vote of 4-0. — **4–0** (pass) · legislature
- Refer Senate Bill 17-177 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0. — **10–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- John Cooke — primary (person)
- Paul Rosenthal — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2017-04-06T06:00:00+00:00** Governor Signed `executive-signature`
- **2017-04-03T06:00:00+00:00** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2017-03-31T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the Speaker of the House
- **2017-03-31T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2017-03-27T06:00:00+00:00** House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `reading-3, passage`
- **2017-03-24T06:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Passed - No Amendments `reading-2`
- **2017-03-21T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole `referral-committee, committee-passage`
- **2017-03-06T07:00:00+00:00** Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary `introduction`
- **2017-03-03T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `reading-3, passage`
- **2017-03-02T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments `reading-2`
- **2017-02-27T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole `committee-passage`
- **2017-02-08T07:00:00+00:00** Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Judiciary `introduction`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d1ffdb7e-5b4f-4dcc-a9ac-e087d5c3cf29`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).