Colorado § 24-33.5-203 - Duties of executive director and patrol.

§ 24-33.5-203. Duties of executive director and patrol.

(1) (a) The executive director has the power, authority, and responsibility to approve policies governing the activities of the Colorado state patrol so as to secure the proper and efficient enforcement of all laws of the state delegating enforcement, authority, and responsibility to the Colorado state patrol.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in section 40-10.1-108 (1), the executive director has the duty to establish, for motor carriers as defined in section 42-4-235, reasonable requirements to promote safety of operation and, to that end, to prescribe qualifications and maximum hours of service of employees and minimum standards of equipment and for the operation of commercial vehicles as defined in section 42-4-235. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section pertaining to safety, the executive director may enlist the assistance of any agency of the United States or of this state having special knowledge of any matter as may be necessary to promote the safety of operation and equipment of motor vehicles as provided in this section. In adopting such rules, the executive director shall use as general guidelines the standards contained in the current rules of the United States department of transportation relating to explosives and other dangerous articles, safety regulations, qualifications of drivers, driving of motor vehicles, parts and accessories, recording and reporting of crashes, hours of service of drivers, and inspection and maintenance of motor vehicles. The state patrol shall enforce or aid in enforcing all of such rules.

(2) The Colorado state patrol shall enforce or aid in enforcing all state laws pertaining to motor and all other vehicles, their equipment, weight, cargoes, and licenses, vehicle operators, and other operations including checking for brand inspection certificates or official bills of sale or acceptable trucking waybills on livestock or agricultural products upon the highways of Colorado and for the use thereof. The Colorado state patrol shall also aid in the enforcement of the collection of all motor and other vehicle taxes and license fees, motor fuel taxes, and highway compensation taxes (with respect to the transportation of persons and property over public highways) as provided by law and shall otherwise promote safety, protect human life, and preserve the highways of this state by the courteous and strict enforcement of laws of this state which relate to highways and traffic upon such highways, notwithstanding any provisions of law charging any other department or agency in the state with the enforcement of such laws. The Colorado state patrol shall also establish and operate port of entry weigh stations pursuant to article 8 of title 42, C.R.S. The Colorado state patrol shall also aid in the enforcement of other laws of this state as specifically authorized by the provisions of this part 2.

Source: L. 83: Entire article added, p. 921, § 1, effective July 1, 1984. L. 88: (2) amended, p. 919, § 1, effective April 14. L. 2003: (1)(b) amended, p. 2381, § 7, effective August 6. L. 2011: (1)(b) amended, (HB 11-1198), ch. 127, p. 417, § 8, effective August 10. L. 2012: (2) amended, (HB 12-1019), ch. 135, p. 464, § 4, effective July 1. L. 2026: (1)(b) amended, (HB 26-1237), ch. 117, p. 466, § 14, effective August 12.

Cross references: For the duty of the chief of the Colorado state patrol to cooperate with the department of revenue and state officers and agencies regarding port of entry weigh stations, see § 42-8-108.

ANNOTATION

Rotation tow list. Sufficient statutory authority exists for the creation and implementation by the Colorado state patrol of a rotation tow list as a method to remove abandoned, seized, or impounded vehicles. Jam Action, Inc. v. Colo. State Patrol, 890 P.2d 210 (Colo. App. 1994).

Condition that towing carriers must agree to release personal property items inside a towed vehicle to the owner before payment of any accrued charges in order to be on a rotation towing list of the Colorado state patrol does not conflict with the public utilities commission's authority to license and regulate towing carriers, does not supersede the exercise of the constitutional and statutory authority granted to the public utilities commission nor abrogate its action, and does not conflict with the lien authorized by § 38-20-105. Jam Action, Inc. v. Colo. State Patrol, 890 P.2d 210 (Colo. App. 1994).