Want one of those spiffy Colorado pioneer license plates but don’t have any state pioneers in your family tree? Not to worry; just fork over $50 and you too can be a pioneer.
Officials at Colorado’s Department of Revenue said they stopped requiring proof of 100-year state ancestry from pioneer descendants two years ago after they learned they didn’t have the legal right to demand it.
“The department discontinued the background verification process for the pioneer plates in December 2007 after it was brought to staff’s attention that the state didn’t have the legal authority to require special qualifications for that plate,” department spokesman Mark Couch said.
Couch said other plates authorized under the same law include the 10th Mountain Division, Columbine, Adopt a Greyhound, Breast Cancer, Italian American, Air Force Commemorative, Denver Firefighter, Raptor Education and Elks. Of those, only the Denver Firefighter, Raptor Education and Elks plates had qualifications written in law.
As of June 30, the DMV said 33,983 drivers had pioneer plates on their cars. The Associated Press
