DENVER -- Gov. Bill Owens signed "Lacy's Law" Tuesday, stiffening the penalty for impersonating a police officer and criminalizing the use or possession of red and blue lights.

"Those who impersonate law-enforcement officers undermine the public's trust in the men and women charged with protecting us. Impersonating a police officer is an inexcusable act," said Owens. "Today, we are stiffening the penalties for violating the public trust in this way, and ensuring that criminals who misuse law-enforcement symbols are stopped before they act."

The bill was prompted by the 2003 abduction and murder of Lacy Miller, a 20-year-old student at the University of Northern Colorado, by a man impersonating a police officer. The man used flashing red and blue lights to pull Miller over.

A 2003 law passed after the murder made police impersonation a class 1 misdemeanor. The law signed Tuesday makes impersonating a police officer a class 6 felony, resulting in higher fines and increased jail time for habitual offenders.

Also included in the bill is a ban on the possession and use of red or blue police lights by persons not involved in law enforcement. Illegal possession or use of blue or red lights is a class 1 misdemeanor.

Joining Gov. Owens for the bill signing was Wendy Cohen, the mother of Lacy Miller, Rep. Bob McCluskey, Fort Collins policy chief Dennis Harrison, Larimer County sheriff Jim Alderden, and Maj. Jim Wolfinbarger of the Colorado State Patrol.