---
type: "Bill"
title: "Conflict-free Representation In Municipal Courts"
description: "The bill requires each municipality, on and after January 1, 2020, to provide independent indigent defense for each indigent defendant facing a possible jail sentence for a violation of a municipal ordinance. Independent indigent defense requires, at minimum, that a nonpartisan entity independent of the municipal court and municipal officials oversee the provision of indigent defense counsel. To satisfy this requirement, a municipality may:"
jurisdiction: "us/states/co"
legislature: "Colorado General Assembly"
session: "2018A"
identifier: "SB 18-203"
citation: "Colorado SB 18-203 (2018A)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Susan Lontine", "Vicki Marble"]
version_count: 11
action_count: 17
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2018-03-12T06:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2018-06-01T06:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e909f220-ce89-4684-b563-d16243bd4cc6"
source_url: "http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb18-203"
source_hash: "8903c2d4581ff9fd5a15a673852cf21d470f6a2e5271c24fca755fe28c58ab65"
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 18-203 (2018A) — Conflict-free Representation In Municipal Courts

The bill requires each municipality, on and after January 1, 2020, to provide independent indigent defense for each indigent defendant facing a possible jail sentence for a violation of a municipal ordinance. Independent indigent defense requires, at minimum, that a nonpartisan entity independent of the municipal court and municipal officials oversee the provision of indigent defense counsel. To satisfy this requirement, a municipality may:

## 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/2018a/bills/cr/2018a_sb203_h_app_002.pdf)
2. **Engrossed (04/16/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203_eng.pdf)
3. **Final Act (05/11/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203_enr.pdf)
4. **Introduced (03/12/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203_01.pdf)
5. **PA1 (04/02/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203sjud_001_01.pdf)
6. **PA2 (04/30/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203jud_01.pdf)
7. **PA3 (05/02/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203app.pdf)
8. **Reengrossed (04/17/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203_ren.pdf)
9. **Rerevised (05/03/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203_rer.pdf)
10. **Revised (05/02/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203_rev.pdf)
11. **Signed Act (06/01/2018)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_203_signed.pdf)

## Votes

- REPASS — **26–8** (pass) · upper
- ADHERE — **14–20** (fail) · upper
- CONCUR — **24–10** (pass) · upper
- BILL — **29–6** (pass) · upper
- BILL — **36–29** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Susan Lontine — primary (person)
- Vicki Marble — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2018-06-01T06:00:00+00:00** Governor Signed `executive-signature`
- **2018-05-11T06:00:00+00:00** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2018-05-11T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the Speaker of the House
- **2018-05-11T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2018-05-04T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Considered House Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass
- **2018-05-03T06:00:00+00:00** House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `reading-3, passage`
- **2018-05-02T06:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee
- **2018-05-02T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole `referral-committee, committee-passage`
- **2018-04-27T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2018-04-20T06:00:00+00:00** Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary `introduction`
- **2018-04-17T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `reading-3, passage`
- **2018-04-16T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee `reading-2`
- **2018-04-13T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
- **2018-04-11T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole `referral-committee, committee-passage`
- **2018-03-28T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2018-03-21T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Judiciary Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only
- **2018-03-12T06:00:00+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/e909f220-ce89-4684-b563-d16243bd4cc6`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).