(1)The attorney general or a district
attorney may bring a civil action on behalf of the state to seek the imposition of civil
penalties as follows:
(a)Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any person
who violates or causes another to violate any provision of this article 1 shall forfeit
and pay to the general fund of this state a civil penalty of not more than twenty
thousand dollars for each violation. For purposes of this subsection (1)(a), a violation
of any provision constitutes a separate violation with respect to each consumer or
transaction involved.
(b)Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any person
who violates or causes another to violate any court order or injunction issued
pursuant to this article 1 shall forfeit
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(1) The attorney general or a district
attorney may bring a civil action on behalf of the state to seek the imposition of civil
penalties as follows:
(a) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any person
who violates or causes another to violate any provision of this article 1 shall forfeit
and pay to the general fund of this state a civil penalty of not more than twenty
thousand dollars for each violation. For purposes of this subsection (1)(a), a violation
of any provision constitutes a separate violation with respect to each consumer or
transaction involved.
(b) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any person
who violates or causes another to violate any court order or injunction issued
pursuant to this article 1 shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of this state a civil
penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation. For the purposes
of this section, the court issuing the order or injunction retains jurisdiction, and the
cause is continued. Upon violation, the attorney general or a district attorney may
petition the court for the recovery of the civil penalty. The civil penalty is in addition
to any other penalty or remedy available for the enforcement of the provisions of
this article 1 and any court order or injunction.
(c) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any person
who violates or causes another to violate any provision of this article 1, in which the
violation was committed against an elderly person, shall forfeit and pay to the
general fund of the state a civil penalty of not more than fifty thousand dollars for
each violation. For purposes of this subsection (1)(c), a violation of any provision of
this article 1 is a separate violation with respect to each elderly person involved.
(d) Any person who violates or causes another to violate the provisions of
section 6-1-105 (1)(fff) by distributing, dispensing, displaying for sale, offering for
sale, attempting to sell, or selling any product that is labeled as a bath salt or any
other trademark if the product contains any amount of any cathinones, as defined in
section 18-18-102 (3.5), C.R.S., shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of the state
a civil penalty of not less than ten thousand dollars and not more than five hundred
thousand dollars for each such violation; except that the person shall forfeit and
pay to the general fund of the state a civil penalty of not less than twenty-five
thousand dollars and not more than five hundred thousand dollars for each such
violation if the person distributes, dispenses, displays for sale, offers for sale,
attempts to sell, or sells the product to a minor under the age of eighteen and the
person is at least eighteen years of age and at least two years older than the minor.
(e) Any person who violates or causes another to violate the provisions of
section 6-1-105 (1)(ggg) by distributing, dispensing, displaying for sale, offering for
sale, attempting to sell, or selling any product that contains any amount of any
synthetic cannabinoid, as defined in section 18-18-102 (34.5), C.R.S., shall forfeit
and pay to the general fund of the state a civil penalty of not less than ten thousand
dollars and not more than five hundred thousand dollars for each violation; except
that the person shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of the state a civil penalty
of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars and not more than five hundred
thousand dollars for each violation if the person distributes, dispenses, displays for
sale, offers for sale, attempts to sell, or sells the product to a minor under the age
of eighteen and the person is at least eighteen years of age and at least two years
older than the minor.
(f) (I) Any person who violates section 6-16-111 (1)(a) to (1)(g) shall forfeit and
pay a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars for each violation, with a cap of
three million dollars for a related series of violations. In determining a civil penalty
under this subsection (1)(f), the court shall adjust the limitations cap for inflation
based on the cumulative annual adjustment for inflation for each full year since
August 10, 2016. The adjustments made under this subsection (1)(f)(I) are rounded
upward or downward to the nearest ten-dollar increment. As used in this subsection
(1)(f)(I), inflation means 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
predecessor or successor index.
(II) Any civil penalty recovered under this paragraph (f) is paid to the attorney
general and held as custodial money. The attorney general shall petition the district
court having jurisdiction over the underlying civil enforcement action for approval
to grant the custodial money to a charity in accordance with the cy pres doctrine
within two years after receipt by the attorney general.
(2) For accounting purposes, a fine or penalty received by the state under
this article 1 is a damage award.
(3) The attorney general or district attorney shall transmit any civil penalty
collected in accordance with this section for a violation described in section 6-1-105
(1)(dddd) to the state treasurer for deposit in the mobile home park water quality
fund created in section 25-8-1006.
(4) The attorney general or district attorney shall transmit any civil penalty
collected in accordance with this section for a violation described in section 6-1-105
(1)(iiii) to the state treasurer for deposit in the Colorado state veterans trust fund
created in section 28-5-709.
Source: L. 69: p. 376, � 9. C.R.S. 1963: � 55-5-9. L. 77: Entire section
amended, p. 351, � 8, effective July 1. L. 87: Entire section amended, p. 359, � 8,
effective July 1. L. 2000: (3) added, p. 1107, � 2, effective August 2. L. 2009: Entire
section amended, (SB 09-054), ch. 138, p. 596, � 1, effective August 5. L. 2012: (1)(d)
added, (HB 12-1310), ch. 268, p. 1406, � 33, effective June 7. L. 2014: (1)(d) amended
and (1)(e) added, (HB 14-1037), ch. 358, p. 1682, � 3, effective August 6. L. 2016: (1)(f) added, (HB 16-1129), ch. 262, p. 1075, � 1, effective August 10. L. 2018: (1)(f)(I)
amended, (HB 18-1375), ch. 274, p. 1694, � 1, effective May 29. L. 2019: (1)(a) and
(1)(c) amended and (2) added, (HB 19-1289), ch. 268, p. 2516, � 3, effective May 23. L. 2023: (1)(a), (1)(b), and (1)(c) amended and (3) added, (HB 23-1257), ch. 376, p.
2256, � 3, effective June 5. L. 2025: (1)(a), (1)(b), and (1)(c) amended and (4) added,
(SB 25-282), ch. 412, p. 2342, � 1, effective August 6.