Colorado LegiSource

An informational and educational resource for the Colorado General Assembly by the Office of Legislative Legal Services.

Month: October 2013

  • Legislative Interim Committees Finalize Bills for Introduction in 2014 – Part I

    by OLLS Staff

    The 2013 legislative interim has kept several interim committees busy considering myriad issues ranging from wildfires to the legal representation of juveniles to the treatment of mentally ill offenders to transportation to water to early childhood education. Colorado LegiSource will be summarizing the activities and bills of each committee that is recommending bills. The Legislative Council will meet November 14, 2013, to approve the interim committee bills that will be introduced during the 2014 legislative session.

    This week’s article discusses four of the eight committees that are recommending bills. In two weeks, Colorado LegiSource will summarize the bill output of the other four committees. (more…)

  • So you think you’re so SMART?

    By Esther van Mourik

    Did you know that the General Assembly is now SMARTer? It is! Last session the General Assembly passed House Bill 13-1299, which repealed and reenacted the “State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act”.  (more…)

  • The Land Where the Columbines Grow

    by Ashley Zimmerman

    It’s a common sight in the capitol every year or so – school kids gleefully working with legislators to learn how a bill becomes a law and to make their own impact on the state by presenting a bill to designate a state symbol. This tradition goes back more than 100 years, to when the white and lavender Columbine flower became the state flower of Colorado. (more…)

  • Colorado State Government Spotlight: Department of Higher Education

    by Julie Pelegrin

    Fifth in a series focusing on the organization of state government. Click here for DORA – Part 1, Secretary of State – Part 2, Education – Part 3, and Revenue – Part 4.

    In accordance with their mission, the Colorado Department of Higher Education (Department) and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, known as CCHE, work with  more than 450 Colorado public and private institutions of higher education in the state to provide access to high-quality, affordable education for all Colorado residents that is student-centered, quality-driven, and performance-based. To fully accomplish this mission, the Department not only works with the higher education institutions (enrolling more than 430,000 students), but also works with middle and high schools, students and their families, and, unexpectedly, the state historical society. (more…)