City Attorney's Office
Reference: AMENDING SECTION 1-24-10 OF THE BRIGHTON MUNICIPAL CODE RELATED TO GENERAL PENALTIES AND ARTICLE 9 OF THE BRIGHTON MUNICIPAL CODE RELATED TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: James Gallagher and Michael Davis, Assistant City Attorneys
Date Prepared: February 19, 2026
PURPOSE
To amend the Brighton Municipal Code ("BMC") general penalty section and clarify or remove sections of the BMC that no longer reflect current law or that are outdated or incorrect. The City Council will consider amending Section 1-24-10 and Article 9 of the BMC related to criminal offenses and penalties.
BACKGROUND
On December 22, 2025, In re People v. Camp, 2025 CO 64 (Colo. 2025), the Colorado Supreme Court held that while offenders may be prosecuted in municipal court for offenses that have comparable state offenses, municipalities may not impose penalties that exceed the maximum penalties authorized under state law for the comparable state offenses. The Court's decision establishes a limitation on the exercise of home rule municipal authority.
The City has a general penalty for municipal crimes that allowed for incarceration up to 364 days and/or a fine of $2,650 dollars, BMC Section 1-24-10. For certain state crimes where the elements of the crime match the elements of the same crime in the Brighton Municipal Code, the City penalty exceeds what the same defendant for the same crime if charged in a State Court could receive. So, for example, a Defendant who commits a petty offense and is charged in County Court, they can receive a maximum sentence of 10 days in jail and/or a $300 dollar fine. The same person committing the same crime can be charged in Brighton Municipal Court under our general penalty and could be sentenced to 364 days in jail and fined up to $2,650 dollars. While the City Attorney's Office would never seek 364 days of inca...
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