Senate Judiciary

Monday, April 6, 2026·1h 47m·▶ Watch / Listen

An emotional, testimony-heavy hearing on Senate Bill 72 drew district attorneys, police brass and a long line of grieving families to press for tougher penalties when a driver kills, before the Judiciary Committee advanced a scaled-back version to the floor's consent calendar after an amendment stripped its costliest provisions.

Key Actions

·Increased Penalty for Vehicular Homicide & AssaultPassed

Notable Quotes

“People are genuinely shocked, as I was, to learn that a person can drive in a careless manner, even a reckless man, are not paying attention, exceeding the speed or ignoring conditions on the road, and kill a child and face only a misdemeanor.”
John Carson — The sponsor's core case: current law leaves a misdemeanor as the only charge for many fatal-crash cases.

+ 5 more quotes

Votes

Referred to Committee of the Whole and with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendarAction

Yes (7)John Carson, Lindsey Daugherty, Nick Hinrichsen, Larry Liston, Katie Wallace, Dylan Roberts, Mike Weissman

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TranscriptPreview

Good afternoon. The Senate Judiciary Committee will come to order on Monday 6th April. Ms. Jensen, please start us off with a roll call. Senators Carson, Doherty. Can we maybe double check for Senator Dougherty on the zoom? Excused for now. Hendrickson. Here. Wallace. Present. Liston. Here. Roberts. Excused. Mr. Chair. Here. Okay. We have a quorum. Senator Roberts notified me he is presenting a bill in another committee. He'll join us shortly. And, Senator Snyder, appreciate your noting. You also have duties in another committee. This kind of stacking is unavoidable at this point in the session. But given that we'll proceed to business, which is Senate Bill 72 sponsors. Whoever would like to make the opening comments first. Senator Carson. Okay. And record can reflect. We are joined by Senator Dougherty on zoom. Senator. Sorry for any tech issues today. Senator Carson, Please go ahead. Thank you. Good afternoon, Chairman Weissman, Vice Chairman Roberts, and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. I'm pleased to join Senator Snyder in presenting this important legislation before you today. Senate Bill 72. Far too many Coloradans are being killed or seriously injured due to careless, reckless and negligent driving on our roads.…

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