Colorado § 18-4-511 - Littering of public or private property - repeal.

§ 18-4-511. Littering of public or private property - repeal.

(1) Any person who deposits, throws, or leaves any litter on any public or private property or in any waters commits littering.

(2) It shall be an affirmative defense that:

(a) Such property is an area designated by law for the disposal of such material and the person is authorized by the proper public authority to so use the property; or

(b) The litter is placed in a receptacle or container installed on such property for that purpose; or

(c) Such person is the owner or tenant in lawful possession of such property, or he has first obtained written consent of the owner or tenant in lawful possession, or the act is done under the personal direction of said owner or tenant.

(3) (a) The term "litter" as used in this section means all rubbish, waste material, refuse, garbage, trash, debris, or other foreign substances, solid or liquid, of every form, size, kind, and description.

(b) The phrase "public or private property" as used in this section includes, but is not limited to, the right-of-way of any road or highway, any body of water or watercourse, including frozen areas or the shores or beaches thereof, any park, playground, or building, any refuge, conservation, or recreation area, and any residential, farm, or ranch properties or timberlands.

(4) (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4)(b)(I) of this section and sections 33-15-108 (2) and 42-4-1406, littering is a civil infraction punishable, upon conviction, notwithstanding the provisions of section 18-1.3-503, by a mandatory fine of not less than twenty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars upon a first conviction, by a mandatory fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars upon a second conviction, and by a mandatory fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars upon a third or subsequent conviction.

(b) (I) On and after January 1, 2020, the mandatory fines specified in subsection (4)(a) of this section are adjusted annually by the annual percentage change in the United States department of labor's bureau of labor statistics consumer price index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all items paid by all urban consumers, or its applicable successor index. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the clerk of the court shall transmit the amount of the fine attributable to the adjustment specified in this subsection (4)(b)(I) to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the Colorado circular communities cash fund created in section 25-16.5-109 (4).

(II) This subsection (4)(b) is repealed, effective September 1, 2032.

(5) It is in the discretion of the court, upon the conviction of any person and the imposition of a fine under this section, to suspend any or all of the fine in excess of the mandatory minimum fine upon the condition that the convicted person gather and remove from specified public property or specified private property, with prior permission of the owner or tenant in lawful possession thereof, any litter found thereon, or upon the condition that the convicted person pick up litter at a time prescribed by and a place within the jurisdiction of the court for not less than eight hours upon a first conviction or for not less than sixteen hours upon a second or subsequent conviction.

(6) Whenever litter is thrown, deposited, dropped, or dumped from any motor vehicle in violation of this section, the operator of said motor vehicle is presumed to have caused or permitted the litter to be so thrown, deposited, dropped, or dumped therefrom.

(7) In addition to those law enforcement officers and agencies of this state and the political subdivisions thereof authorized to enforce this section, the officers of the Colorado state patrol and the district wildlife managers and other commissioned officers of the division of parks and wildlife are expressly authorized, empowered, and directed to enforce the provisions of this section.

(8) Any time a person is charged with committing littering, the peace officer shall issue a summons and complaint for the person's appearance in court. Notwithstanding section 16-2.3-102, a peace officer shall not issue a penalty assessment for littering.

Source: L. 71: R&RE, p. 432, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 40-4-511. L. 73: p. 537, § 1. L. 77: (4) amended, p. 1195, § 2, effective July 1. L. 79: (7) amended, p. 1212, § 2, effective June 21. L. 81: (4) amended, p. 2025, § 18, effective July 14. L. 85: (4) R&RE and (5) amended, p. 670, §§1, 2, effective July 1. L. 2002, 3rd Ex. Sess.: (4) amended, p. 53, § 3, effective July 18. L. 2019: (4) amended, (SB 19-192), ch. 362, p. 3353, § 3, effective August 2. L. 2021: (4)(a) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3180, § 218, effective March 1, 2022. L. 2022: (8) added, (HB 22-1229), ch. 68, p. 345, § 25, effective March 1. L. 2024: (4)(b) amended, (HB 24-1449), ch. 192, p. 1129, § 3, effective July 1.

Editor's note: Section 47 of chapter 68 (HB 22-1229), Session Laws of Colorado 2022, provides that the act adding subsection (8) is effective March 1, 2022, but the governor did not approve the act until April 7, 2022.

Cross references: For the power and duty of the executive director of the department of natural resources to establish programs to control litter in Colorado, see § 24-33-102 (5); for prohibitions against putting foreign matters on highways, see § 42-4-1406; for littering lands or waters under the control of the division of wildlife in the department of natural resources, see §§ 33-10-102 (10) and 33-15-108; for affirmative defenses generally, see §§ 18-1-407, 18-1-710, and 18-1-805.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For note, "Water Pollution Control in Colorado", see 36 U. Colo. L. Rev. 413 (1964).

Annotator's note. Since § 18-4-511 is similar to former § R.S. 08, § 1817, relevant cases construing that provision have been included in the annotations to this section.

Littering is not a lesser included offense of throwing a missile at a vehicle. A throwing a missile offense is completed once a person knowingly projects a missile, regardless of where it lands. A littering offense is completed only if the object later lands on property. The two offenses occur sequentially and not simultaneously. People v. Kern, 2020 COA 96, 474 P.3d 197.

Purpose of section. This section plainly shows a design to protect from pollution the waters of creeks used as the feeders for reservoirs for public use, without any reference to whether such pollution in fact appreciably affects the waters when arrived at the reservoir. Nor does such construction render this act objectionable. The design of the act is not to take property for public use, nor does it do so within the meaning of the constitution. It is intended to restrain and regulate the use of private property so as to protect the common right of all the citizens of the state. People v. Hupp, 53 Colo. 80, 123 P. 651 (1912).

Scope of police power. Former section prohibiting pollution of streams held within the police power of the state, and it is the duty of the courts to enforce it. People v. Hupp, 53 Colo. 80, 123 P. 651 (1912).

Health being the sine qua non of all personal enjoyment, it is not only the right but the duty of a state or of a municipality possessing the police power to pass such laws or ordinances as may be necessary for the preservation of the health of the people. People v. Hupp, 53 Colo. 80, 123 P. 651 (1912).

Section applies to municipalities. On the question as to whether municipalities have a right to pollute state public streams this section controls. There is nothing inherent in a municipality which gives it any greater right to so do than that which a natural person has. Mack v. Craig, 68 Colo. 337, 191 P. 101 (1920).

And it applies to hotel discharging waste in running stream. The manager of a hotel or eating house who discharges into a running stream the waste from his premises, or other offensive matter, is within this section, and liable to the penalty thereby imposed. People v. Hupp, 53 Colo. 80, 123 P. 651 (1912).