Committee backs 'Magnus's law' to require officers to offer voluntary breath-screening at fatal crash scenes

The Senate Judiciary Committee on March 9 advanced SB132, known in committee as "Magnus's law," by a unanimous 7–0 vote after adopting stakeholder-driven amendments.

Vice Chair (speaker 8), sponsor of the bill with Senator Carson (speaker 11), said the measure would "require that when law enforcement responds to a crash involving death or suspected serious bodily injury, the officer offers the driver a voluntary preliminary breath test." He emphasized the word "offer," saying drivers retain their constitutional right to refuse the test.

Sponsors described the proposal as narrow and procedural: PBTs are screening tools not admissible at trial, and the bill is designed to ensure investigators consider possible impairment early in the inquiry. The bill’s language was developed over more than a year with law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders and victim advocates, sponsors said; the committee adopted L1 (technical fixes) and L3 (clarifications and a two‑hour window for the offer and documentation requirements) to reflect that stakeholder input.

Victims’ family members and bicycling-safety advocates, including Magnus White’s parents (speakers 16 and 18), gave emotional testimony about cases where testing was not conducted at the scene and evidence later suggested impairment. Defense and criminal-bar witnesses asked for statutory clarity on remedies if required advisements are not provided; the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar asked that the bill include a remedy if required advisements are omitted so that PBTs are not used improperly as a basis for further testing without appropriate notice.

The committee voted 7–0 to send SB132, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The bill will now go to the full Senate calendar for further consideration.