Colorado could reverse the color scheme on its state-issued license plates in 2021, reverting to the green-mountain, white-sky look that was phased out about 20 years ago.
On Monday, lawmakers serving on a transportation committee advanced a proposed bill that calls for the swap to begin on Jan. 1, 2021. The bill seeks a “license plate re-issuance process” for any plates that expire on or after that date.
Republican state Sen. Kevin Priola, of Henderson, plans to champion the bill when the legislature reconvenes in nine weeks.
He said he is not motivated by any aesthetic preferences, and by phone Monday night offered a series of reasons why he believes it’s safer and more efficient for Colorado to have green-mountain, white-sky plates. He said he is concerned about green characters fading on the white mountains of today’s plates, making them less readable to law enforcement and to cameras that auto-scan license plates.
“Law enforcement’s ability to locate and identify vehicles during any enforcement operation or crime in progress is hampered (i.e. AMBER Alert),” reads a fact sheet Priola shared with The Denver Post. “Video capture of license plates helps solve crime, as do eyewitnesses that report partial or full license plate numbers.”
Asked if he prefers the look of the green-mountain plates, Priola said: “Switching back to the old green plates isn’t the main purpose. It’s about safety components,”
Under the proposed bill, vehicle owners would retain “a priority interest” in the number and letter combination on their expiring plates. The state would also continue to honor anyone whose vehicle has a specialty plate. There are 180 different license plate styles in Colorado, the state reports.
While the bill calls for the swap to begin at the start of 2021, it requires that the state exhaust its stock of white-mountain plates first.
Colorado had white lettering on green mountains for more than 20 years prior to the redesign that was approved in 1999. Then-Gov. Bill Owens lobbied for green lettering on white mountains, which he said would make plates easier to read. The 1999 redesign also added gray shades and contouring to the mountains.
“I like the gray,” Owens said at the time.
