republic-os/legislation/us/states/co/2021a/hb-21-1280.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Pre-trial Detention Reform"
description: "The act requires a court to hold a bond setting hearing within 48 hours after an arrestee's arrival at a jail or holding center beginning on April 1, 2022.Under current law, a person is allowed to post bond within 2 hours after the sheriff receives the bond information. The act repeals that requirement. The act states a bond may be paid at a minimum by cash, money order, or cashier's check, and a judge, judicial officer, or bond hearing officer shall not require a monetary bond be paid in the defendant's name. Unless extraordinary circumstances exist, the custodian of a jail shall release a defendant who is granted a personal recognizance bond no later than 6 hours after the defendant is back in jail, and in cases when cash bond is set, the defendant shall be released no later than 6 hours after bond is set, after the defendant is physically present in the jail, and after the defendant or surety notifies the jail that the defendant or surety is prepared to post bond. If the custodian fails to release the defendant within 6 hours after the bond has been set, the custodian shall inform the defendant and any person posting bond on behalf of the defendant the reason for the delay and shall document the reason for delay in the defendant's file. The act requires that after a bond has been paid, the defendant and surety, if any, receive a copy of the bond paperwork, a notice of rights related to bonding, and information regarding the defendant's next court date. The act requires each jurisdiction to establish a way to pay bond online by January 1, 2022. The act states that a bond is posted when the surety or defendant pays the bond as evidenced by the time stamp on the bond or bond receipt.Each sheriff shall post a notice of rights related to bonding on the sheriff's website, including information about how to file a complaint for violations. The sheriff shall include the notice in the inmate handbook and must provide the notice free of charge to anyone requesting a copy. The sheriff shall post a notice that contains the bonding information in the common area of the jail in a location clearly visible to the inmates and clearly visible in the public portion of the jail where a person posts bond.By October 1, 2021, each sheriff shall:Create written policies to comply with statutory bonding requirements;"
jurisdiction: "us/states/co"
legislature: "Colorado General Assembly"
session: "2021A"
identifier: "HB 21-1280"
citation: "Colorado HB 21-1280 (2021A)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Pete Lee", "Robert Rodriguez", "Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez", "Steven Woodrow"]
version_count: 10
action_count: 15
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-04-16T06:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2021-07-06T06:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f85de328-6ab7-4bcf-b031-d6c1a14a8445"
source_url: "http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb21-1280"
source_hash: "2c59e82c94795e684d91897d766a5804bc91891cac8139856231c6ea1343e25d"
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 21-1280 (2021A) — Pre-trial Detention Reform

The act requires a court to hold a bond setting hearing within 48 hours after an arrestee's arrival at a jail or holding center beginning on April 1, 2022.Under current law, a person is allowed to post bond within 2 hours after the sheriff receives the bond information. The act repeals that requirement. The act states a bond may be paid at a minimum by cash, money order, or cashier's check, and a judge, judicial officer, or bond hearing officer shall not require a monetary bond be paid in the defendant's name. Unless extraordinary circumstances exist, the custodian of a jail shall release a defendant who is granted a personal recognizance bond no later than 6 hours after the defendant is back in jail, and in cases when cash bond is set, the defendant shall be released no later than 6 hours after bond is set, after the defendant is physically present in the jail, and after the defendant or surety notifies the jail that the defendant or surety is prepared to post bond. If the custodian fails to release the defendant within 6 hours after the bond has been set, the custodian shall inform the defendant and any person posting bond on behalf of the defendant the reason for the delay and shall document the reason for delay in the defendant's file. The act requires that after a bond has been paid, the defendant and surety, if any, receive a copy of the bond paperwork, a notice of rights related to bonding, and information regarding the defendant's next court date. The act requires each jurisdiction to establish a way to pay bond online by January 1, 2022. The act states that a bond is posted when the surety or defendant pays the bond as evidenced by the time stamp on the bond or bond receipt.Each sheriff shall post a notice of rights related to bonding on the sheriff's website, including information about how to file a complaint for violations. The sheriff shall include the notice in the inmate handbook and must provide the notice free of charge to anyone requesting a copy. The sheriff shall post a notice that contains the bonding information in the common area of the jail in a location clearly visible to the inmates and clearly visible in the public portion of the jail where a person posts bond.By October 1, 2021, each sheriff shall:Create written policies to comply with statutory bonding requirements;

## 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/2021a_hb1280_s_app_003.pdf)
2. **Engrossed (05/19/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_1280_eng.pdf)
3. **Final Act (06/23/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_1280_enr.pdf)
4. **Introduced (04/16/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_1280_01.pdf)
5. **PA1 (05/07/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_1280jud_01.pdf)
6. **PA2 (05/14/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_1280app.pdf)
7. **Reengrossed (05/20/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_1280_ren.pdf)
8. **Rerevised (06/04/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_1280_rer.pdf)
9. **Revised (06/03/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_1280_rev.pdf)
10. **Signed Act (07/06/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2021a_1280_signed.pdf)

## Votes

- BILL — **30–5** (pass) · upper
- BILL — **39–22** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Pete Lee — primary (person)
- Robert Rodriguez — primary (person)
- Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez — primary (person)
- Steven Woodrow — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-07-06T06:00:00+00:00** Governor Signed `executive-signature`
- **2021-06-23T06:00:00+00:00** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-06-23T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the Speaker of the House
- **2021-06-23T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2021-06-04T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-06-03T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments
- **2021-06-03T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole `committee-passage`
- **2021-05-25T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Refer Unamended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-20T06:00:00+00:00** Introduced In Senate - Assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs `introduction`
- **2021-05-20T06:00:00+00:00** House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-05-19T06:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor
- **2021-05-18T06:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
- **2021-05-14T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2021-05-05T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-16T06:00:00+00:00** 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/f85de328-6ab7-4bcf-b031-d6c1a14a8445`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).