'Legislative Plates' Bill Advances After CBS4 Investigation

DENVER (CBS4) - A bill to make sure state lawmakers get the same tickets as everyone else advanced in the legislature on Thursday.

The proposed bill was prompted by a report by CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass that found special license plates for state lawmakers were effectively exempting them from getting photo radar, red light and even parking tickets in some cities.

CBS4 found there was a glitch in the state Department of Motor Vehicles database. Politicians and the DMV say it was unintentional.

The 100 legislative plates couldn't be found in the state DMV database. So when the plates were caught on red light or photo radar cameras in some cities, there was nowhere to send the citations.

At the state Capitol on Thursday a bill passed out of the House Transportation Committee that would close the loophole.

An earlier bill to abolish the plates died, but this measure seems to have support from both House Republicans and Democrats.

"So we fix some of the glitches on this, we make sure the plates are registered to a user, and we make sure that it's readable for photo radar, for toll tickets, and all of those things," said Rep. Max Tyler, D-Lakewood.

Some lawmakers say they were not willing to abolish the plates completely because they believe the plates make them easily identifiable and approachable for constituents.

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