(1) (a) At any
time that a peace officer, as described in section 16-2.5-101, charges a person with
the commission of any civil infraction, the peace officer may, except when
prohibited by the section describing the charged civil infraction, offer to give a
penalty assessment notice to the person. For all civil infractions, the fine listed on
the penalty assessment notice is one hundred dollars, unless the fine is otherwise
provided in the section describing the civil infraction.
(b) The penalty assessment notice that a peace officer serves upon the
person must be a summons and complaint containing the following:
(I) Identification of the alleged offender;
(II) Specification of the offense, including a citation to the section alleged to
have been violated and a brief description of the civil infraction;
(III) The amount of the fine for the civil infraction and the amount of the
surcharges pursuant to sections 24-4.1-119 (1)(g), 24-4.2-104 (1), and 24-33.5-415.6;
(IV) The date the peace officer serves the penalty assessment notice upon
the person;
(V) Instructions to the person to appear in a specified county court at a
specified time and place if the fine and surcharges are not paid;
(VI) The peace officer's signature;
(VII) A place where the person may execute a signed acknowledgment of
liability and an agreement to pay the fine and surcharges within twenty days; and
(VIII) Other information as may be required by law to constitute the penalty
assessment notice to be a summons and complaint should the fine and surcharges
not be paid within the time allowed in subsection (2) of this section.
(c) A penalty assessment notice issued and served pursuant to subsection
(1)(a) of this section on a minor under eighteen years of age must also contain or be
accompanied by a document containing:
(I) A preprinted declaration stating that the minor's parent or legal guardian
has reviewed the contents of the penalty assessment notice with the minor;
(II) Preprinted signature lines following the declaration on which the
reviewing person described in subsection (1)(c)(I) of this section shall affix the
person's signature and for a notary public to duly acknowledge the reviewing
person's signature; and
(III) An advisement to the minor that:
(A) The minor shall, within seventy-two hours after service of the penalty
assessment notice, inform the minor's parent or legal guardian that the minor has
received a penalty assessment notice;
(B) The parent or legal guardian of the minor is required by law to review and
sign the penalty assessment notice and to have the person's signature duly
acknowledged by a notary public; and
(C) Noncompliance with the requirement set forth in subsection (1)(c)(III)(B)
of this section will result in the minor and the parent or legal guardian of the minor
being required to appear in court pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.
(d) The peace officer must serve one copy of the penalty assessment notice
upon the person and shall send one copy to the clerk of the county court in the
county in which the alleged offense occurred. The copy sent to the clerk of the
county court must be sent immediately after service upon the person.
(e) The time specified in the summons portion of the penalty assessment
notice must be at least thirty days but not more than ninety days after the date the
penalty assessment notice is served.
(f) The place specified in the summons portion of the penalty assessment
notice must be a county court within the county in which the civil infraction is
alleged to have been committed.
(g) If the person refuses to accept service of the penalty assessment notice,
tender of the notice by the peace officer to the person constitutes service upon the
person.
(2) (a) If the person served a penalty assessment notice acknowledges guilt,
the person may pay the specified fine and surcharges in person or by mail at the
place and within the time specified in the notice. If the person does not
acknowledge guilt, the person shall appear as required in the notice. Upon final
hearing, if the person is found guilty, the court shall impose the fine and surcharges
specified in the notice for the offense for which the person was found guilty and the
court may impose court costs against the person in addition to the fine and
surcharges.
(b) The fine specified in the penalty assessment notice for the violation
charged and the surcharges must be paid to the clerk of the court of the jurisdiction
in which the offense is alleged to have occurred, either in person or by postmarking
such payment within twenty days after the date the penalty assessment notice is
served upon the person. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4) of this
section, acceptance of a penalty assessment notice and payment of the fine and
surcharges to the court are complete satisfaction for the violation. The person must
be given a receipt if the person pays the fine and surcharges in currency or other
form of legal tender.
(3) If a person charged with a civil infraction fails to pay the fine and
surcharges within twenty days after the date of the penalty assessment notice, or if
the clerk of the court does not accept payment for the fine and surcharges as
evidenced by receipt, the person is allowed to pay the fine, surcharges, and the
docket fees in the amounts set forth in sections 13-1-204 (1)(b) and 16-2.3-106
(5)(a)(I) to the clerk of the court referred to in the summons portion of the penalty
assessment notice during the two business days prior to the time for appearance,
as specified in the notice. If the fine for a civil infraction and surcharges is not
timely paid, the case is heard in the court of competent jurisdiction prescribed on
the penalty assessment notice in the manner provided for in this article 2.3 for the
prosecution of civil infractions.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, a minor
under eighteen years of age shall appear at a hearing on the date and time
specified in the penalty assessment notice and answer the alleged violation if the
penalty assessment was timely paid but not signed and notarized in the manner
required by subsection (1)(c)(III)(B) of this section.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, if the
offense charged is for the commission of a civil infraction for a parks and wildlife
violation contained in title 33, the penalty assessment procedures contained in
section 33-6-104 or 33-15-102 apply.