Senate Judiciary advances SB 72 after victims, prosecutors urge tougher penalties for negligent driving deaths

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 72 as amended on April 6, sending the measure to the Committee of the Whole and placing it on the consent calendar. Sponsors said the bill fills a gap between the misdemeanor offense of careless driving resulting in death and existing felony charges for vehicular homicide or reckless driving.

The bill’s sponsors, Senator Carson and Senator Snyder, framed SB 72 as a response to rising roadway deaths and the limitations prosecutors face under current law. "Far too many Coloradans are being killed or seriously injured due to careless, reckless, and negligent driving on our roads," Carson said, adding the measure builds on last year's SB 281. Snyder cited state fatality figures, telling the committee that total traffic fatalities had grown "31 percent, 547 to 706," and that bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities rose from "78 in 2015 to 149 in 2025."

Why it matters: Supporters, including elected district attorneys and law-enforcement leaders, told the committee that when a driver’s choices cause a death the available charge often does not reflect the harm. "This bill will help establish an understanding for the general public of the importance and personal responsibility and accountability on our roads," Heidi McCollum, an elected district attorney, said. Prosecutors argued the measure creates a middle option'criminally negligent homicide as a class 5 felony'so district attorneys can select a charge proportionate to conduct that is more serious than a misdemeanor but does not meet the higher reckless-or-impaired standard for existing felonies.

Victims and family members gave emotional testimony. William Boyd described the death of his son and the subsequent trials, urging the committee "on behalf of Kainoa Bear Boyd to move forward with Senate Bill 26,072 as written." Michael White, who testified about his son Magnus, said the criminal process and sentencing left his family "trauma, after trauma, after trauma," and pushed committee members to consider whether the current penalties produce accountability that matches the loss.

Law-enforcement officials also urged passage. Colonel Matthew Packard of the Colorado State Patrol said the state sees dozens of fatal crashes each year and told members, "Help us have the tools in place to prevent this tragedy," arguing the bill better aligns charging options with the harm caused by negligent driving.

Opposition and amendment: The Office of the State Public Defender and defense groups said they opposed some elements of the bill as introduced, primarily the sentencing increases and the proposed designation of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault as crimes of violence. James Karbach of the public defender's office said that, while the office had opposed the introduced bill, it would likely be neutral if the committee adopted the pending amendment.

Sponsors offered amendment L001 to reduce the bill's fiscal impact by removing the "crimes of violence" expansion and related vehicular-assault provisions that drove the fiscal note. Senator Snyder described a one-year fiscal note of roughly $16 million and a four-year projection he said was about $150 million and said the amendment reduces the fiscal impact toward zero. After discussion, the committee adopted L001 by unanimous consent.

Committee action and next steps: Following adoption of L001, Senator Carson moved to approve SB 72 as amended and route it to the Committee of the Whole on the basis of the committee's fiscal memo. The committee approved the motion and agreed to place SB 72 on the consent calendar. The hearing concluded with the chair adjourning the committee.

What the bill does and what remains unsettled: As amended, SB 72 adds motor-vehicle operation to the criminally negligent-homicide statute, creating a class 5 felony charging option in some deaths caused by negligent driving and clarifies that using a handheld electronic device that causes a death may be charged under the expanded statute rather than only as a misdemeanor. The committee removed language that would have classified certain vehicular homicide and vehicular assault offenses as crimes of violence; proponents said they will continue to pursue that change in future legislative work.

The transcript records a broad array of victim-impact testimony, prosecutorial support, law-enforcement endorsements and procedural votes. The committee's adoption of amendment L001 and unanimous routing vote moved the amended SB 72 forward; the legislation will face further consideration in the Committee of the Whole and on the Senate floor.