Because of budget constraints, the 75th Colorado General Assembly did not approve any new interim committees for this year and suspended the meetings of several current interim committees. However, many year-round and interim committees held meetings and proposed legislation this interim. We are taking this opportunity to share some information regarding the ongoing interim work performed by legislative year-round committees in addition to a handful of interim committees that did meet and propose legislation.

Year-round, also known as standing, committees can meet during session and the interim in order to perform their legislative duties. The ones that held meetings this interim were:

The Black Coloradan Racial Equity Study Commission, which includes legislative and non-legislative members. Its stated purpose is to study and make recommendations regarding potential historical and ongoing effects of slavery and subsequent systemic racism on Black Coloradans that may be attributed to the practices, systems, and policies of the state. It is currently working on a report on what it has learned.

The Capitol Building Advisory Committee, which meets regularly throughout the year to review and advise regarding the Capitol building’s historic character, including its art, memorials, furniture, and architectural fixtures. The committee includes legislative and non-legislative members. Topics the committee discussed this interim include the Capitol Annex Renovation Project, the Governor’s Office Rehabilitation project, and Capitol art exhibits.

The Capital Development Committee, which is responsible for reviewing funding requests for capital projects from state agencies and making prioritized recommendations to the Joint Budget Committee. This interim, the committee considered property transactions from several executive agencies and the Art in Public Places program, along with other funding requests. The committee is next scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 16.

The Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws, which is charged with working with the Uniform Law Commission to promote uniformity in state laws where uniformity may be desirable and practicable. Although a year-round committee, the Colorado Commission, which includes legislative and non-legislative members, meets during the interim to take public testimony on uniform laws being considered for introduction in Colorado. Its next meeting is scheduled for 1:30 pm on Friday, December 12.

The Committee on Legal Services, which meets to review legislative staff recommendations regarding executive branch agency rules. Also, as the oversight committee for the Office of Legislative Legal Services, it may be required to meet to consider other legislative or legal actions. Currently, the committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 11 at 8:30 a.m.

The Executive Committee of the Legislative Council, which provides oversight over the legislative service agencies and their directors, establishes policies regarding legislative management and procedures, and introduces the annual legislative appropriation bill. It meets at least twice during the interim, usually following a meeting of the Legislative Council, but can meet more often as legislative needs demand, such as when the Governor calls for a special session.

The Joint Budget Committee, which is responsible for studying the management, operations, programs, and fiscal needs of the agencies and institutions of Colorado state government.  It holds a number of meetings throughout the year, with a significant number in November and December, and considers a range of documents to help prepare budget recommendations for the General Assembly. It is currently monitoring this fiscal year’s emerging budgetary needs and gathering information for the next fiscal year’s budget.

The Joint Technology Committee, which has oversight responsibility for major state technology projects and the Governor’s Office of Information Technology. This interim, it heard technology reports and requests from several executive agencies, including the Colorado Broadband Office, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Personnel and Administration, and Department of Corrections. Currently, it is scheduled to meet next at 9 a.m. on December 16. 

The Legislative Audit Committee, which is responsible for reviewing and releasing audit reports and recommending special studies. It consists of four senators and four representatives with equal representation from the two major political parties. The committee is currently scheduled to meet next at 9 a.m. on Monday, December 8.

The Legislative Council, which is the legislative oversight committee for Legislative Council Staff and is responsible for approving written requests for interim study committees during session, reviewing legislation created by interim committees meeting during the legislative interim, and reviewing the ballot information booklet prepared by Legislative Council Staff. It met on November 14 to review legislation proposals from the Transportation Legislation Review Committee, the Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems, the Water Resources and Agricultural Review Committee, and the Wildlife Matters Review Committee. 

The Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee, which studies the conservation, use, development, and financing of Colorado’s water resources and monitors and addresses Colorado’s agricultural issues. It generally meets several times during the interim and hosts meetings in different areas of the state. This interim, it submitted three bills to the Legislative Council for approval for introduction: Agricultural Property Tax Definitions, Restrict Renewable Energy Projects in Rural Areas, and Protections for Ag Products Grown in Colorado.  

Interim committees that met during this interim:

The Colorado Youth Advisory Council Committee, which reviews the work of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council and recommends legislation regarding issues affecting Colorado youth. It met once this interim to consider the COYAC 2024-25 Policy Recommendations.

The Transportation Legislation Review Committee, which reviews and initiates transportation, traffic, and motor vehicle legislation and consults with experts in the fields of traffic regulation, the licensing of drivers, the registration and titling of motor vehicles, and highway construction and planning. This interim, it considered reports from a number of organizations and submitted two bills to the Legislative Council for introduction approval: Electronic Vehicle Records and Clean Fleet Enter Replace Aging Diesel Trucks. 

The Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems, which is responsible for overseeing the Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal Justice System Task Force and recommending bills to implement the proposals studied by the task force. This interim, the committee submitted three bills to the Legislative Council for introduction approval: Youthful Offender System Updates, Treating People with Behavioral Health Disorder, and Modifications to Defense of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.

The Wildfire Matters Review Committee, which studies wildfire prevention and mitigation. The committee submitted two bills to the Legislative Council for introduction approval: Recreate Wildfire Matters Interim Committee and CO State Forest Service Good Neighbor Authority. Note that the committee repealed on September 1 of this year.

Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Patti Dahlberg and Thomas Morris and posted on November 5, 2015. This version has been edited and updated for this publication.

They come from every state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands and they are the “C” in the ULC – the Commissioners! Uniform Law Commission (ULC) commissioners must be attorneys and currently qualified to practice law. They are practicing lawyers, judges, law professors, legislators, and legislative staff. They are appointed by their state or territory to “research, draft, and promote” the enactment of uniform state laws. Commissioners typically serve for specific terms and receive no salaries or fees for their time or work with the ULC, thus donating literally thousands of hours of their time and expertise each year as a public service.

Each ULC state or territorial jurisdiction determines the number of its commissioners and how they are appointed; most jurisdictions specify in statute how its commissioners are appointed. In most states, the governor appoints the state’s commissioners to serve a specified term. In a few states, ULC commissioners serve at the will of the appointing authority and have no specific term.

The Colorado connection

In Colorado, section 2-3-601 of the Colorado Revised Statutes creates the Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws (CCUSL). The statute directs the General Assembly to appoint or reappoint six commissioners by joint resolution in odd-numbered years. Commissioners are appointed for two-year terms and must be currently licensed to practice law in Colorado. At least two of Colorado’s commissioners must be members of  the General Assembly and at least two of the six must be from the public at large. The director of each state’s legislative legal service office, or the director’s designee, is ex officio a member of that state’s commission. In Colorado, the director of the General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Legal Services, Ed DeCecco, appointed Yelana Love to serve in his stead. The six commissioners appointed or reappointed every other year serve on the CCUSL and with the ULC along with any Colorado citizen who is elected as a life member of the ULC (after 20 years of service). Currently, Colorado has one commissioner who has been elected as a life member: Charles Pike. You can find a list of past and current members of the CCUSL here.

Commission work at the national level

State uniform law commissioners come together as the ULC for one purpose—to study and review state laws to determine which areas of law should become more uniform. For more than a century, commissioners have, through various committees, prepared uniform law drafts and redrafts for review and approval at their annual meetings. Since its inception, the ULC has approved more than 200 uniform or model acts, of which more than 100 have been adopted by at least one state. Some have been widely adopted, including the Uniform Commercial Code, which every state has enacted. You can find a list of uniform acts that have been adopted by the Colorado General Assembly here.

The ULC considers its major asset to be its commissioners. As a working organization, the approximately 350 commissioners participate in drafting specific acts; they discuss, consider, and amend drafts of other commissioners; they decide whether to recommend an act as a uniform or a model act; and they work toward enactment of ULC acts in their home jurisdictions. The procedures of the ULC are meant to promote the meticulous consideration of each uniform and model act, and generally, a minimum of four years is spent during the study, drafting, and adoption phases on each proposed act.

The ULC can only propose uniform laws; no uniform law is effective until a state legislature enacts it. Thus, the approval of a uniform act at the annual meeting constitutes the start of the commissioners’ duties of advocating for the adoption of uniform and model acts in their home jurisdictions. Uniform laws, just like any other legislative proposal, can meet resistance, but this type of debate is considered normal and reasonable. The ULC wants to foster open discussions about the proposal on a state level.

Information about uniform acts, drafting projects, committees, meetings, and legislation is available on the ULC’s website.

For information on Colorado’s ULC connection, visit the CCUSL website.  

The CCUSL is scheduled to meet on November 12, 2025, to discuss potential legislation for the 2026 session.  CCUSL meeting schedules and agendas are available on the CCUSL website.