Spicy news: Colorado to get chile license plates in 2018

Colorado Gov. Johnn Hickenlooper signed House Bill 1012 on Tuesday paving the way for the state to start issuing chile license plates in September 2018.
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A mockup of the proposed Colorado license plate with Pueblo Chile on it. (Courtesy of the Pueblo Chile Growers Association)

A mockup of the proposed Colorado license plate with Pueblo Chile on it. (Courtesy of the Pueblo Chile Growers Association)

Colorado legislators have yet to come up with solutions for funding transportation needs throughout the state or what to do about construction defects reform.

But by golly, they've given us "Pueblo chile" license plates.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed House Bill 1012 on Tuesday, paving the way for the state to start issuing chile license plates in September 2018. The bill, brought by Rep. Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, made it out of the General Assembly on Wednesday.

“This is a proud day for all of Colorado, not just for Pueblo and the Lower Arkansas Valley, where the Pueblo chiles are grown,” Esgar said in a statement. “Our local growers deserve recognition of their outstanding chiles.”

Chile plates will cost drivers $50 in fees and perhaps an awkward situation if they happen to pull up to a New Mexico driver with "Chile Capital of the World" plates.

Yes, after hearing about Esgar's bill, New Mexico legislators rushed to approve chile plates of their own. They won what some news organizations called the great "chile license plate race" of 2017.

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