republic-os/legislation/us/states/co/2021a/sb-21-271.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Misdemeanor Reform"
description: "The act reforms the sentencing provisions related to misdemeanors and petty offenses. Under current law, there are 3 classifications for misdemeanors and 2 classifications for petty offenses. The act reduces the misdemeanor classifications to 2 and reduces the petty offenses to one classification and adds a new classification of civil infraction. A class 1 misdemeanor is punishable by up to 364 days in jail or a fine of up to $1,000 or both, and a class 2 misdemeanor is punishable by up to 120 days in jail or a fine of up to $750 or both. A petty offense is punishable by up to 10 days in jail or a fine of up to $300 or both. A civil infraction is punishable by a fine of up to $100.The act reclassifies various criminal offenses within the new classification system for misdemeanors, petty offenses, and civil infractions. The act changes the elements of some crimes to align with the new sentencing classifications. The act creates procedural rules for prosecution of the new civil infractions. The act updates the alternate sentencing options for misdemeanors and petty offenses. The act creates standard time credits for jail sentences.The act appropriates $95,340 to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles. $35,940 of the appropriation is from the general fund and $59,400 of the appropriation is from the licensing services cash fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/co"
legislature: "Colorado General Assembly"
session: "2021A"
identifier: "SB 21-271"
citation: "Colorado SB 21-271 (2021A)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bob Gardner", "Dylan Roberts", "Julie Gonzales", "Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez"]
version_count: 10
action_count: 15
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2021-05-13T06:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2021-07-06T06:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/8971b926-10d0-42c6-ad19-701d4678572a"
source_url: "http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-271"
source_hash: "055974095a158efde1fa05c58492862f0841d6f0c7c4da65cda45c605aa1e6fd"
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 21-271 (2021A) — Misdemeanor Reform

The act reforms the sentencing provisions related to misdemeanors and petty offenses. Under current law, there are 3 classifications for misdemeanors and 2 classifications for petty offenses. The act reduces the misdemeanor classifications to 2 and reduces the petty offenses to one classification and adds a new classification of civil infraction. A class 1 misdemeanor is punishable by up to 364 days in jail or a fine of up to $1,000 or both, and a class 2 misdemeanor is punishable by up to 120 days in jail or a fine of up to $750 or both. A petty offense is punishable by up to 10 days in jail or a fine of up to $300 or both. A civil infraction is punishable by a fine of up to $100.The act reclassifies various criminal offenses within the new classification system for misdemeanors, petty offenses, and civil infractions. The act changes the elements of some crimes to align with the new sentencing classifications. The act creates procedural rules for prosecution of the new civil infractions. The act updates the alternate sentencing options for misdemeanors and petty offenses. The act creates standard time credits for jail sentences.The act appropriates $95,340 to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles. $35,940 of the appropriation is from the general fund and $59,400 of the appropriation is from the licensing services cash fund.(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. **Committee Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2021a_sb271_h_app_002.pdf)
2. **Engrossed (05/26/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_271_eng.pdf)
3. **Final Act (06/25/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_271_enr.pdf)
4. **Introduced (05/13/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_271_01.pdf)
5. **PA1 (05/20/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_271sjud_01.pdf)
6. **PA2 (05/26/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_271sjudsapp.pdf)
7. **Reengrossed (05/27/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_271_ren.pdf)
8. **Rerevised (06/08/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_271_rr2.pdf)
9. **Revised (06/07/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_271_rev.pdf)
10. **Signed Act (07/06/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2021a_271_signed.pdf)

## Votes

- 2021-06-08 09:13:38 — **38–24** (pass) · lower
- BILL — **35–0** (pass) · upper
- AMEND — **35–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bob Gardner — primary (person)
- Dylan Roberts — primary (person)
- Julie Gonzales — primary (person)
- Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-07-06T06:00:00+00:00** Governor Signed `executive-signature`
- **2021-06-25T06:00:00+00:00** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-06-25T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the Speaker of the House
- **2021-06-25T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2021-06-08T06:00:00+00:00** House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-06-07T06:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments
- **2021-06-04T06:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Special Order - Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
- **2021-06-04T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2021-06-03T06:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Judiciary Refer Unamended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-28T06:00:00+00:00** Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary `introduction`
- **2021-05-27T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Third Reading Passed with Amendments - Floor `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-05-26T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor
- **2021-05-26T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended to Senate Committee of the Whole `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2021-05-19T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-13T06:00:00+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/8971b926-10d0-42c6-ad19-701d4678572a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).