---
type: "Bill"
title: "Fairness & Transparency in Municipal Court"
description: "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.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/co"
legislature: "Colorado General Assembly"
session: "2026A"
identifier: "HB 1134"
citation: "Colorado HB 1134 (2026A)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts & Judicial"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["C. Clifford", "D. Roberts", "E. Velasco", "J. Amabile", "J. Bacon", "J. Coleman", "J. Gonzales", "J. Mabrey", "K. Wallace", "L. García", "L. Gilchrist", "M. Carter", "M. Weissman", "N. Hinrichsen", "Y. Zokaie"]
version_count: 7
action_count: 12
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2026-02-04"
last_action: "2026-04-27"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6249612e-5d11-4d7e-acbb-9daa63bdac70"
source_url: "https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1134"
source_hash: "dccd5f74e0407116be054850fb5281a8317deb9421275f291dfa144f99317344"
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 HB 1134 (2026A) — 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 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.)

## Version chain

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

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/111321/download)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/112769/download)
3. **Final Act** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/114483/download)
4. **Reengrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/112807/download)
5. **Rerevised** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/113890/download)
6. **Revised** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/113852/download)
7. **Signed Act** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/115303/download)

## Votes

- BILL — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Refer House Bill 26-1134, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment D). — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Refer House Bill 26-1134 to the Committee of the Whole. — **pass** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- C. Clifford — primary (person)
- D. Roberts — primary (person)
- E. Velasco — primary (person)
- J. Amabile — primary (person)
- J. Bacon — primary (person)
- J. Coleman — primary (person)
- J. Gonzales — primary (person)
- J. Mabrey — primary (person)
- K. Wallace — primary (person)
- L. García — primary (person)
- L. Gilchrist — primary (person)
- M. Carter — primary (person)
- M. Weissman — primary (person)
- N. Hinrichsen — primary (person)
- Y. Zokaie — primary (person)
- A. Boesenecker — cosponsor (person)
- C. Espenoza — cosponsor (person)
- C. Kipp — cosponsor (person)
- E. Sirota — cosponsor (person)
- I. Jodeh — cosponsor (person)
- J. Jackson — cosponsor (person)
- J. Joseph — cosponsor (person)
- J. Marchman — cosponsor (person)
- J. Phillips — cosponsor (person)
- K. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- K. McCormick — cosponsor (person)
- K. Mullica — cosponsor (person)
- K. Nguyen — cosponsor (person)
- L. Goldstein — cosponsor (person)
- M. Froelich — cosponsor (person)
- M. Lindsay — cosponsor (person)
- M. Rutinel — cosponsor (person)
- R. English — cosponsor (person)
- S. Camacho — cosponsor (person)
- S. Lieder — cosponsor (person)
- S. Woodrow — cosponsor (person)
- T. Exum — cosponsor (person)
- T. Story — cosponsor (person)
- T. Sullivan — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-04-27** Governor Signed `executive-signature`
- **2026-04-16** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2026-04-16** Signed by the President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-04-16** Signed by the Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2026-03-31** Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-03-30** Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments `reading-2`
- **2026-03-25** Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2026-03-10** Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Judiciary `introduction`
- **2026-03-03** House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-03-02** House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor
- **2026-02-25** House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2026-02-04** Introduced In House - 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/6249612e-5d11-4d7e-acbb-9daa63bdac70`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).