(1) The director may designate sole proprietors, partnerships, or corporations having permanent business locations in this state as pass and registration agents to sell, at their permanent business locations, passes and registrations. Pass and registration agents shall be paid a commission on all moneys collected for passes and registrations sold by such agents in an amount determined by the commission by rule. All agents authorized to sell passes and registrations shall keep accurate records of all sales of passes and registrations and shall make such reports to the division regarding pass and registration sales as may be required. Such agents shall be required to give evidence of financial responsibility, in the form of a savings account, deposit, or certificate of deposit meeting the requirements of section 11-35-101, C.R.S., or an irrevocable letter of credit meeting the requirements of section 11-35-101.5, C.R.S., or a bond, in such amount as may be fixed by the division to insure the remittance of all moneys collected from such pass and registration sales, less amounts allowed as commissions, and the making of reports required by the division. The commission may promulgate rules for the establishment and cancellation of pass and registration agencies. All pass and registration moneys received shall be kept separate and apart from any other moneys of the agent authorized to sell passes and registrations and shall at all times belong to the state. All moneys due from the sale of passes and registrations belong to the state and shall draw interest at the rate of one and one-half percent per month from the time that the agency is canceled by the division until paid. (2) The executive director, state auditor, and attorney general, or their duly designated representatives, shall constitute a board of claims for the hearing of all claims for relief when any agent is unable to account for passes and registrations and claims that the same have been destroyed, lost, or stolen. The findings of the board of claims are subject to review pursuant to section 24-4-106, C.R.S. Claims for relief in an amount totaling one hundred dollars or less shall not be determined by the board of claims, except as otherwise provided in this section, but shall be settled by the division. If the division offers to make settlement and such settlement is not accepted by the claimant, the claimant may submit his claim to the board of claims. (3) Every agent authorized to sell passes and registrations shall account for all passes and registrations delivered to such agent. If any agent is not able to account for any pass or registration, such agent shall be responsible for the maximum amount for which each unaccounted-for pass or registration could have been issued, except as provided in subsections (4) to (8) of this section. (4) Any agent authorized to sell passes and registrations may make a claim under oath for relief from responsibility for passes and registrations which have been lost, stolen, or destroyed and for which such agent is unable to account, but no claim for relief shall be considered unless the agent making the claim informs the division of such loss, theft, or destruction within thirty days after such loss, theft, or destruction is discovered, said notice to set forth in detail all pertinent information then known to the agent. Upon receipt of any claim for relief, it is the duty of the division to make an investigation of the claim as soon as practicable, and for that purpose the claimant shall make available such records, information, or other pertinent data as may be in his possession or under his control. A written report of such investigation shall be filed with the board of claims. (5) As soon as practicable after receipt of the investigator's report and in no event later than one hundred twenty days after receipt of notice of a claim for relief, the board of claims shall set a date for the hearing on such claim for relief, and the claimant may appear at the hearing if he so desires. The claimant shall be given not less than ten days' written notice of the date of the hearing, such notice to be mailed to his last-known address. (6) The board of claims may give relief to any claimant in the following circumstances and subject to the following limitations: (a) If the board of claims is satisfied that any passes or registrations were destroyed due to fire, flood, act of God, or any other cause beyond the control of the claimant and that destruction was not due in part to his negligence, then the board of claims may entirely relieve the claimant of the responsibility to account for such passes and registrations or make such lesser adjustment as the board of claims may deem proper. (b) If the board of claims is satisfied that any passes or registrations were either lost, stolen, or destroyed under circumstances other than those set forth in paragraph (a) of this subsection (6), the board of claims may, in its discretion, make an adjustment of the amount due for any such passes or registrations. The board of claims, in determining what adjustment, if any, shall be allowed for any lost, stolen, or destroyed passes and registrations, may consider the following: (I) Whether or not, or the extent to which, the loss was due to the negligence or carelessness of the claimant in the handling of passes and registrations, but no adjustment shall be made in the case of gross negligence or gross carelessness upon his part; (II) Such other evidence as the board of claims may consider pertinent. (7) The board of claims, in the event that it makes any adjustment upon a claim, may, in its discretion, require the use of such protection against the possibility of lost, stolen, or destroyed passes and registrations as it may deem proper, including, but not limited to, the posting of corporate or personal surety bonds. (8) It is the legislative intent of subsections (2) to (7) of this section to provide in proper cases for the relief of agents where passes or registrations have been lost, stolen, or destroyed, which relief, however, shall be strictly construed, it being the further intent of such subsections to encourage the proper and careful handling of such documents by pass and registration agents. (9) The commission may promulgate rules for the cash sale of passes and registrations to pass and registration agents of the division for resale to the public. Only agents of the division in good standing may qualify to purchase and sell under this subsection (9); except that no evidence of financial responsibility shall be required to qualify under this subsection (9). A post or base exchange of the United States government located in Colorado may qualify as an agent for the purpose of this subsection (9). Failure to comply with all applicable rules of the commission and lawful directives of the division regarding pass and registration agents constitutes grounds for the suspension or termination of such an agent, and, upon suspension or termination, all unsold passes and registrations shall be returned immediately to the division for return of cash in the amount paid by the agent for the passes and registrations. The commission, in connection with a program that it may adopt under this subsection (9), shall provide for redemption by the division, at least annually, of any unsold passes and registrations in the amount paid by the agent for such unsold passes and registrations. Subsections (1) to (8) of this section, except the provisions of subsection (1) regarding the designation of pass and registration agents, do not apply to passes and registrations sold under this subsection (9). (10) The commission may authorize certain employees to sell passes and registrations at the headquarters and regional offices of the division. Such employees are not entitled to a discount off of the face value of the passes and registrations and are not required to give evidence of financial responsibility. Such employees may make claims under oath for relief from responsibility for passes and registrations or moneys that have been lost, stolen, or destroyed and for which the employees are unable to account in accordance with subsections (4) to (8) of this section. (11) Any pass or registration agent who fails, upon demand of the division or its authorized representative, to account for passes and registrations or who fails to pay over to the division or its authorized representative money received from the sale of passes and registrations commits: (a) A petty offense if the amount is less than three hundred dollars; (b) A class 2 misdemeanor if the amount is three hundred dollars or more but less than one thousand dollars; (c) A class 1 misdemeanor if the amount is one thousand dollars or more but less than two thousand dollars; (d) A class 6 felony if the amount is more than two thousand dollars but less than five thousand dollars; (e) A class 5 felony if the amount is five thousand dollars or more but less than twenty thousand dollars; (f) A class 4 felony if the amount is twenty thousand dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand dollars; (g) A class 3 felony if the amount is one hundred thousand dollars or more but less than one million dollars; and (h) A class 2 felony if the amount is one million dollars or more.
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