Colorado civil asset forfeiture overhaul signed, with new conviction requirement taking effect July 1, 2026

Gov. Jared Polis has signed House Bill 26-1250, a Colorado overhaul of civil asset forfeiture that takes effect July 1, 2026, and applies to forfeiture actions started on or after that date.

Under the new law, courts generally may not enter a forfeiture judgment unless an owner is convicted of an eligible offense. The enrolled act also says that if criminal charges arise from the same conduct, courts must stay the forfeiture case until those charges are resolved, though that stay does not continue through appeals or post-conviction proceedings. The act preserves exceptions for cases including owners without standing, defaults, certain nonowner cases, deaths, deferred judgments and negotiated settlements.

The law also creates a new state-funded path to representation for people who cannot afford a lawyer in forfeiture cases. The act creates a Forfeiture Defense Counsel Fund and says indigent forfeiture defendants can use it to access legal representation. The measure requires the state court administrator to enter into a service agreement with a private contractor by Dec. 1, 2026, and appropriates $556,750 to the judicial department for a civil asset forfeiture defense contract plus $55,000 to the Department of Local Affairs for portal administration.

The measure also changes where some forfeiture money goes. Starting July 1, unexpended money in the Law Enforcement Community Services Grant Program fund must be transferred to the new defense fund, the act says. Future forfeiture proceeds that previously sent 25% of the balance to the community-services grant program will instead go to the new forfeiture defense counsel fund, after an administrative allocation of up to $55,000 a year for the Department of Local Affairs.

On the legislature's bill page, HB 26-1250 is listed as "Governor Signed" with a last action date of May 21, 2026. That page also carries a standard notice that bills without a safety clause would take effect Aug. 12 after adjournment, but the enrolled act contains both a July 1 effective-date section and a safety clause, allowing the earlier effective date in the bill text.

What happens next is partly clear in statute and partly unclear in public records. The law sets the July 1 procedural change and the Dec. 1 contracting deadline for the state court administrator, but Badger could not find publicly posted implementation plans from the Judicial Department, district attorneys or defense organizations describing how courts will handle existing workflows, attorney recruitment or notices to defendants before the contractor is in place.

Supporters and local-government opponents have publicly said the law will change how forfeiture works in Colorado. The Institute for Justice said in a post supporting the bill that the measure closes a loophole that allowed property to be forfeited without a conviction, pauses proceedings until a related criminal case produces a conviction and redirects some forfeiture proceeds away from law enforcement. The group called it one of the most significant state-level reforms in years.

Colorado Municipal League said in a position paper opposing the bill that tightening the conviction requirement would delay or block some forfeiture cases, that a right to counsel would increase litigation and case timelines, and that redirecting money from the community-services grant program would reduce support for community policing.

Several practical questions remain before July 1, including how quickly courts will notify defendants about the new right to seek counsel, whether the defense fund will have enough money to sustain appointments after the initial transfer and appropriation, and how much the conviction requirement changes the number of forfeiture cases prosecutors and police pursue.