---
type: "Bill"
title: "Increase Penalty Texting While Driving"
description: "Currently, the penalty for text messaging while driving is a $50 fine and one point assessed against the violator's driver's license for a first offense and a $100 fine and one point assessed against the violator's driver's license for a second or subsequent offense. The bill increases the penalty to a $300 fine and 4 points for each offense. A driver may not be cited for text messaging while driving unless the driver was also operating the motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner."
jurisdiction: "us/states/co"
legislature: "Colorado General Assembly"
session: "2017A"
identifier: "SB 17-027"
citation: "Colorado SB 17-027 (2017A)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jovan Melton", "Lois Court"]
version_count: 11
action_count: 17
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2017-01-11T07:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2017-06-01T06:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b4040b45-5c66-4e74-9b1f-40e88d6bb56d"
source_url: "http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb17-027"
source_hash: "e070df7652515158bc786f801d1779b290941db5f5aca286bad5205a64361c93"
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 17-027 (2017A) — Increase Penalty Texting While Driving

Currently, the penalty for text messaging while driving is a $50 fine and one point assessed against the violator's driver's license for a first offense and a $100 fine and one point assessed against the violator's driver's license for a second or subsequent offense. The bill increases the penalty to a $300 fine and 4 points for each offense. A driver may not be cited for text messaging while driving unless the driver was also operating the motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment L.003** (committee substitute) — [source](http://coga.prod.acquia-sites.com/sites/default/files/html-attachments/s_sa_2017a_20170208t133539z2__hearing_summary/17SenateState0208AttachH.pdf)
2. **Amendment L.006** (committee substitute) — [source](http://coga.prod.acquia-sites.com/sites/default/files/html-attachments/h_jud_2017a_20170321t110721z4__hearing_summary/17HouseJud0321AttachH.pdf)
3. **Committee Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017a/bills/cr/2017A_SB027_H_APP_001.pdf)
4. **Engrossed (03/02/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_027_eng.pdf)
5. **Final Act (05/01/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_027_enr.pdf)
6. **Introduced (01/11/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_027_01.pdf)
7. **PA1 (02/09/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_027ssta_01.pdf)
8. **Reengrossed (03/03/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_027_ren.pdf)
9. **Rerevised (04/24/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_027_rer.pdf)
10. **Revised (04/21/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_027_rev.pdf)
11. **Signed Act (06/01/2017)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017A/bills/2017a_027_signed.pdf)

## Votes

- Refer Senate Bill 17-027 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-2. — **11–2** (pass) · legislature
- Refer Senate Bill 17-027 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 12-0. — **12–0** (pass) · legislature
- Refer Senate Bill 17-027, as amended, to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 4-1. — **4–1** (pass) · legislature
- Refer Senate Bill 17-027 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 6-1. — **6–1** (pass) · legislature
- Refer Senate Bill 17-027 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 5-0. — **5–0** (pass) · legislature
- Refer Senate Bill 17-027 to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1. — **10–1** (pass) · legislature
- Adopt amendment L.003 (Attachment H) to SB 17-027. The motion passed without objection. — **0–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Jovan Melton — primary (person)
- Lois Court — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2017-06-01T06:00:00+00:00** Governor Signed `executive-signature`
- **2017-05-01T06:00:00+00:00** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2017-05-01T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the Speaker of the House
- **2017-04-27T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2017-04-24T06:00:00+00:00** House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `reading-3, passage`
- **2017-04-21T06:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments
- **2017-04-21T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole `referral-committee, committee-passage`
- **2017-04-03T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Finance Refer Unamended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2017-03-21T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended to Finance `referral-committee`
- **2017-03-08T07:00:00+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 with Amendments - Committee `reading-2`
- **2017-02-28T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole `referral-committee, committee-passage`
- **2017-02-16T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Finance Refer Unamended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-08T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Refer Amended to Finance `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-25T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only
- **2017-01-11T07:00:00+00:00** Introduced In Senate - Assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs `introduction`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b4040b45-5c66-4e74-9b1f-40e88d6bb56d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).