Colorado LegiSource

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

Author: olls

  • Let’s Get to Know: Senate Secretary Esther van Mourik

    Let’s Get to Know: Senate Secretary Esther van Mourik

    by Faith Marcovecchio 

    Esther van Mourik, the new Secretary of the Senate of the Colorado General Assembly, was sworn in on January 8, 2025.  No stranger to the Colorado Capitol, van Mourik has worked in various roles in the legislative and executive branches for over two decades, and she is delighted that former Secretary Cindi Markwell is passing her the torch. The nonpartisan Senate Secretary oversees all the operations on the Senate floor, working closely with Colorado’s 35 senators and the numerous staff who support their work. LegiSource spoke to van Mourik as the 75th General Assembly prepared to convene for the upcoming legislative session.

    This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

    Tell us about your background with the legislature.

    I started with the Office of Legislative Legal Services as an attorney in 2004 with the Government Team. I stayed with the office for almost 17 years. My drafting expertise was focused mostly on tax legislation. So that’s why it was a natural transition for me to take on the role of Deputy Director of Tax Policy at the Department of Revenue in 2021. I rejoined the legislature, after realizing how much I missed it, in 2024, as Assistant Secretary of the Senate. I’ve had a long career in this building.

    Where are you from?

    That’s a long story for me. I was born in Deventer, the Netherlands. My parents immigrated from the Netherlands to Sao Paulo, Brazil, when I was about five. We lived there for two years, and from Sao Paulo we immigrated to Colorado. I spoke Dutch as a child, and when we lived in Sao Paulo, I spoke Portuguese. When my dad was anticipating moving us to the United States, my parents enrolled me in a British English school so I could start to learn to speak English. 

    What are your hobbies?

    First and foremost is spending time with my kids, my husband, and my family—my parents are also nearby.

    I snowboard. I learned when I met my husband because it was a big passion for him. I also hike. We love to be up in the mountains to spend as much time as we can in the great outdoors. That’s my happy place.

    Where is your favorite place in Colorado?

    Anywhere in the mountains, but particularly Copper Mountain. 

    What is a typical work day like for you?

    Really, there is no typical day. I’m amazed at the sheer number of matters the Secretary handles for the Senate—it is nonstop. From managing Senate spaces, to taking care of employees, to working with IT folks, to answering any questions the senators or their staff might have—the days are filled with constant interactions and work.

    What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from Cindi Markwell, former Secretary of the Senate?

    She is such a wealth of knowledge. I cannot begin to explain how grateful I am for the time I’ve been able to spend with her. I am also very thankful that she’s not going away. Cindi will continue on as Senior Advisor to the Secretary and will oversee the construction project to bring all the members back to the Capitol. I’m really pleased that she’s going to stick around, because that means that I have her close by as a resource and mentor. 

    Getting back to your question, Cindi’s really given me so much valuable advice that if I were to give you all of it, this article would be as long as a book. But there are two things that I think stand out for me. One is that she has made it clear that being Secretary is a big job, but she has reminded me to make sure I also prioritize my family. That is very valuable advice. 

    And the other piece of advice that has really resonated with me is to continue to be mindful of the details that go into making the Senate a great place to work and to visit. It’s the little things, like making sure the eagles on the top of the flagpoles are facing the right direction, the chairs are lined up correctly, and the wall hangings are straight; and it’s also the parliamentary-type details such as making sure that the rules of decorum are applied continually and consistently. All of the details contribute to the experience of being in the Senate, whether you’re a senator, a staff person, or a visitor.

    What advice do you have for new members?

    I can’t stop myself from giving my old office a shout-out: Pay attention to your bill draft deadlines!

    What is the biggest change you’ve seen in your time with the legislature?

    I think the best changes I’ve seen in the past 20 years are all the magnificent renovations. The Capitol is so beautiful, and I hope that every visitor really appreciates it. The care that has gone into all of the spaces is wonderful. I forget that I worked in both chambers when those old acoustic tiles were on the walls! 

    What part of the job are you looking forward to most?

    Honestly, all of it. I feel very honored to have this opportunity. I’m happy that Cindi feels she’s leaving the Senate in good hands and that she can retire. I’m looking forward to working with the legislators and staff in this capacity for years to come!

  • Let’s Get to Know: House Chief Clerk Vanessa Reilly

    Let’s Get to Know: House Chief Clerk Vanessa Reilly

    by Jessica Chapman

    Vanessa Reilly is the new Chief Clerk of the Colorado House of Representatives. She started the job on November 1, 2024, filling the large shoes of Robin Jones, who retired last year after decades of service to the state. As Chief Clerk, Reilly oversees operations on the House floor and serves as one of the first points of contact for legislators seeking procedural or logistical information. She is also responsible for overseeing a number of House staff, including House sergeants, front desk staff, assignables, and the House enrolling room. LegiSource spoke with Reilly in mid-September.

    This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

    Tell us about your background.

    I was born and raised in Fort Collins. I went to CSU for undergrad and did a double major in political science and French. As you can imagine, the French job opportunities are sparse in Fort Collins, so I moved down to Denver in 2008 to go to law school at DU. After law school, I moved to Seattle for a couple years, then came back to Denver in 2013 and started working at the Secretary of State’s office. That was my first state government job. I came to LCS in 2015 and staffed a variety of different committees in both the House and Senate. I really enjoyed working at LCS. It’s such a great team. I staffed the Capital Development Committee for a few years, which is what eventually took me to the Office of State Planning and Budgeting in 2021. Then I went to the Department of Revenue for a short stint before coming back to LCS in the fall of 2022. I staffed House Education for a year and then last year around this time came upstairs to be the Assistant Chief Clerk.

    What are your hobbies?

    I’m a huge hobby person. I’m currently learning to play tennis and golf. I do some woodworking, painting, and knitting. I’m a huge gardener. I love to cook and bake. I like to travel. I’m a person who ends up overscheduling myself in my off time because I think, “Oh, that sounds like a fun thing to sign up for!” I just like to make stuff with my hands.

    Where is your favorite place in Colorado?

    For all of my hobbies, I don’t ski, I’m not a big hiker. I love to go up to the mountains, but I’ve had major back surgery, so that limits me. I certainly love to go up to the mountains in the summer but I don’t know that I have a particular favorite place in Colorado. My absolute favorite place is Amsterdam. For me, there’s a sense of ease there. It’s very comfortable. People are friendly and very straightforward. It’s a really easy city to get around on foot, on bike, or on public transportation. I really like the architecture, and being around water. 

    Where is your favorite place to eat around the Capitol?

    I pack my lunch a lot, which I know is not very exciting. I packed my lunch every day of last session. The interim is a little more hit or miss. I like to get ramen and dumplings. There aren’t a ton of great dumpling options near the Capitol.  During the interim I’ve gone to a spot called Dumpling Kitchen, which is on Colfax just a little bit east of Colorado. If you have a car, it’s a pretty quick trip for an interim lunch. I also really like the dumplings at ChoLon. 

    What part of your new job are you looking forward to the most? 

    I’m really excited to meet the new group of legislators this fall. I really enjoy working with the legislators, and I am excited to be leading the team this year with the new group.

    What is a typical work day like for you? 

    During session, if we’re doing floor work, that sets the tone, but otherwise there are some similarities — a typical day is some amount of meetings, some amount of working with staff on the projects they’re working on or questions they have, and then a lot of it is just responding to legislator requests —  anything from procedural questions to logistics questions to parking issues to legislative aide questions. It’s certainly less urgent in the interim and there are fewer procedural questions, but it’s not that much different than during the session.

    For lots of questions, legislators come to us first. We may not be the people who have the answer, but it’s really important to me that the House nonpartisan staff never say “That’s not my job” – that no matter what we’re asked, we get folks closer to the answer. Often that means connecting members with the Office of Legislative Legal Services, Legislative Council Staff, Joint Budget Committee staff, the state auditor’s office, or legislative liaisons. It’s part of what I love about working at the Capitol and working with all of the nonpartisan service agencies. The atmosphere in all of the agencies is very similar. We want to help. That’s really important to the mission overall, but it’s also important to the feeling of teamwork across agencies. I feel like I can call folks up from OLLS and I can say “I don’t know, but I feel like you’re the people who do this,” and you’ll be helpful to me, and that builds those relationships and makes us feel like a team with a shared goal. 

    What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from Robin?

    I think the best advice that I’ve gotten from Robin is to not take things personally. Things will happen in the political landscape, with the caucuses, in between the legislators, with the schedule, and really none of it has anything to do with us. It’s hard to not take it personally because I care deeply about my work and about whether I’m doing a good job at it, but so much of what we have to deal with just isn’t personal.

    What advice do you have for new legislators?

    Listen more than you speak. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I used to tell committee staff that I trained that it’s better to say you don’t know and follow up with an answer later, and build credibility that way, than to be overconfident and wrong up front. If you listen to the most seasoned people at the Capitol, they are very comfortable saying “I don’t know” and that’s the best example that they can provide. The legislator version of that approach is it’s ok to not know, it’s ok to ask questions, even if you feel like it’s a silly question.

    Anything else you’d like to share?

    I’m so excited to have this opportunity. I love working for the legislature and my door is always open if anyone has questions or concerns or anything they’d like to address.

  • Welcome, Members of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly. The Office of Legislative Legal Services is here to help!

    by Ed DeCecco

    For the seventy-fifth time, the Colorado House of Representatives and Senate will convene for two regular sessions and, if recent history is any indication, a special session or two. (Being the seventy-fifth makes it seem like the General Assembly has reached a milestone age or is celebrating its diamond jubilee, doesn’t it?)

    Like your predecessors, you, the members of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly, will converge on our magnificent State Capitol from all parts of this amazing state. You will elect your leadership, adopt and follow rules of legislative procedure, and debate and decide the important issues of your time. You will have late nights in committee and lengthy debates on the House or Senate floor. Many of you will feel like you have achieved great success, but, alas, some of you will also feel the sting of failure. But whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, over the course of the 120 days of session, you will all do your very best to represent the Coloradans who elected you.

    And through it all, the Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS) will do our very best to help you! Created by statute and with the oversight of the Committee on Legal Services, the OLLS is your nonpartisan legal staff agency. Our primary function aligns with your primary purpose for being here—we draft bills, resolutions, and amendments. But we can also provide you with ancillary materials related to those bills, resolutions, and amendments, such as:

    • Unbiased talking points explaining bills or amendments;
    • Summaries of changes made to a bill in committee or in either chamber;
    • Legislative histories;
    • Comparisons of Colorado law with the law of other states on particular issues; and
    • Written legal memoranda and opinions on issues relating to pending legislation. (We can provide these resources on other topics related to your legislative work, too.)

    The attorney who drafts legislation stays with it throughout the entire legislative process. So if you have any questions about a bill or resolution, ask the attorney whose name and number are listed on the first page of each bill or resolution. Whether during a private conversation on the side of the House or Senate chamber or at the witness table during a committee hearing, OLLS attorneys are happy to answer your questions.

    Beyond all of these listed services, if you need anything, please ask us. If it is something that we can provide, we will do it. Of course, we cannot do anything that compromises our nonpartisan status, such as soliciting legislators as sponsors, disclosing confidential information related to a bill, helping you count votes, or advocating for the passage or defeat of legislation. Nonpartisanship is so deeply engrained in our office’s culture that we would probably be terrible at doing these tasks anyway!

    But where our office excels is providing the nonpartisan legal services and support that you need to have a productive and successful legislative session in 2025. So whether by phone, text, Zoom, or an in-person visit to our current location in Room 091 on the ground floor of the Capitol,[1] we encourage you to reach out to the staff of the OLLS whenever you need legal assistance. We look forward to helping you, which in turn will help the Seventy-fifth General Assembly make its mark on our great state.

    [1] The OLLS is moving to the State Annex Building in the Fall of 2025.

  • Happy New Year!

    Happy New Year!

    We wish you a happy and healthy 2025.

    The First Regular Session of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly will convene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 8.

  • A Holiday Message

    Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season!

    (Denver Mile High Tree, inside)

  • Plans Continue for Sand Creek Memorial Near Capitol West Steps

    by Richard Sweetman

    On June 25, 2020, protesters pulled down the statue of the civil war soldier that stood atop the pedestal monument near the west steps of the Colorado capitol. Since that day, legislators and members of the American Indian community have discussed a replacement monument. But, to this day, the space where the civil war soldier statue once stood remains empty.

    The original plan to replace the civil war soldier with a statue of an American Indian woman mourning the events of the Sand Creek massacre was approved by the Capitol Building Advisory Committee in November 2020. The Committee based its decision on a seven-inch prototype of a statue by the artist Harvey Pratt.

    In March 2022, however, more than a year after the Capitol Building Advisory Committee sent its recommendation to Capital Development Committee, Mr. Pratt withdrew his statue from consideration. Representatives of the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapahoe tribes asked Mr. Pratt to make modifications to his design, and the artist declined their request. This development sent the proponents of the new monument back to the drawing board.

    On May 17, 2024, the Capitol Building Advisory Committee met again and heard testimony from the tribes’ representatives regarding the status of the memorial. During the meeting, the representatives announced that they had agreed upon a new design. A team of four individuals, including a representative from each of the two tribes, a Denver sculptor, and a project architect from the University of Denver collaborated to develop a new concept and enlist a new sculptor to execute it.

    The supporters of the new design described the proposed new sculpture as a bronze structure in the likeness of a tepee, with visible poles, to be placed on the ground rather than upon a pedestal. The new monument would be placed on a circular pad on the site of the former monument.

    The proponents estimated the cost of the new monument at somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000. They expressed their hope that the One Earth Foundation would pay the bulk of this amount, but they also indicated their hope that the Capital Development Committee and the legislature will chip in some portion of the costs to pay for site preparation.

    On November 15, 2024, the proponents appeared again before the Capitol Building Advisory Committee to share a miniature prototype of the new monument. Sculptor Gerald Shippen presented a slide show that displayed the prototype from various angles and perspectives. The planned monument will depict three Native American figures standing before a tepee without any walls — only poles. The figures will be larger than life — about seven feet tall — and the poles of the skeletal tepee will be approximately 23 feet high.

    The prototype of the monument depicts an American flag hanging from the highest tepee pole, but according to Mr. Shippen, the plan is to incorporate this design element only on special occasions. For example, when the tribes hold the annual Sand Creek Massacre Spiritual Healing Run, the tribal runners will approach the west steps of the capitol and lay a ceremonial lodge pole on the tepee. The lodge pole will display a United States flag and a white flag of peace, which were the flags that Chief Black Kettle of the Southern Cheyenne had displayed on his tent on the day of the Massacre.

    The Committee voted unanimously to approve the design and recommend it to the Capitol Development Committee.

  • Back to the Basics: Bill Sponsorship Overview

    Editor’s Note: This article was originally written by Jennifer Gilroy, Michael Dohr, and Jessica Chapman and published on December 15, 2022. The article has been edited and updated.

    by Alana Rosen

    Bill drafting season is well underway at the Office of Legislative Legal Services, which means now is probably a good time to review some of the basics of bill sponsorship.

    Prime Sponsorship Basics

    Prime Sponsorship – First Chamber. The legislator who introduces and carries a bill is called the prime sponsor of the bill. Bills cannot be introduced without a prime sponsor. In both the House and the Senate, the prime sponsor (and joint prime sponsor if there is one) is responsible for explaining the bill in committee and in debate on the House or Senate floor. A prime sponsor also typically arranges for witnesses to testify in favor of the bill in committee.

    A legislator can be the first prime sponsor or joint prime sponsor for only five bills, unless the legislator has special permission from the Committee on Delayed Bills (also known as leadership) to carry more. But a legislator can agree to be the prime sponsor or joint prime sponsor of a bill in the second chamber on as many bills as the legislator wants.

    Prime Sponsorship – Second Chamber. The prime sponsor in the first chamber (also known as the house of introduction) is responsible for asking a legislator in the second (or opposite) chamber to carry the bill in the second chamber. The prime sponsor in the first chamber does not have to identify a prime sponsor in the second chamber before the bill is introduced in the first chamber, but the bill must have a prime sponsor in the second chamber before the bill can be heard on third reading in the first chamber.

    Before a bill can move to the second chamber, the prime sponsor in the second chamber must inform the House Chief Clerk or the Secretary of the Senate of that legislator’s intent to serve as the prime sponsor in the second chamber. Prime sponsors’ names in both chambers are listed on the bill in bold text.

    Joint Prime Sponsorship Basics

    Joint Prime Sponsorship. When two legislators in one chamber want to carry a bill together, they are referred to as joint prime sponsors. A bill that has joint prime sponsors in one chamber may or may not have joint prime sponsors in the other chamber. The rules for joint prime sponsorship are similar for the House (House Rule 27A(b)) and the Senate (Senate Rule 24A(b)).

    For legislators who joint prime sponsor a bill in the first chamber, the joint prime sponsorship counts against both legislators’ five-bill limit. Both joint prime sponsors must verify their desire to be joint prime sponsors. A legislator cannot be added as a joint prime sponsor in the first chamber if that legislator has already submitted five bill requests, unless that legislator has received permission from leadership. The prime sponsor in the first chamber must notify the House Chief Clerk or the Secretary of the Senate, as appropriate, of any changes in bill sponsorship so that the changes are reflected in subsequent versions of the bill.

    Joint prime sponsorship does not count against the five-bill limit for either legislator in the second chamber. Again, both joint prime sponsors must verify their desire to be joint prime sponsors.

    Joint prime sponsors are typically determined prior to the bill’s introduction. However, in limited circumstances, joint prime sponsors may be added or changed after introduction immediately after second reading but prior to adoption of the bill on third reading. The House and Senate front desk staff can help with this process.

    Sponsorship and Co-sponsorship Basics

    Sponsorship and Co-sponsorship. When legislators want to show support for a bill, but not take on the responsibility of actually carrying the bill, they may sign on as sponsors or co-sponsors of the bill. If a legislator adds their name to a bill before it is introduced, the legislator is a sponsor of the bill. If a legislator adds their name to a bill after it is introduced, the legislator is referred to as a co-sponsor. Co-sponsors are added immediately following adoption of a bill on third reading. Sponsorship or co-sponsorship does not count against the legislator’s five-bill limit.

    Bill Sponsor FAQs:

    1. How do I add sponsors to my bill before it is introduced?

          You may add prime sponsors, joint prime sponsors, and sponsors in two ways if the bill is still in the Office’s possession:

          • Before your bill is introduced, you, the bill sponsor, may notify the drafter in person, by phone, or by email that you would like to add a legislator as a prime sponsor, joint prime sponsor, or sponsor to your bill. To add a prime sponsor or joint prime sponsor, the drafter will need permission from both you and the legislator who will be added as the prime sponsor or joint prime sponsor. This process is referred to as “sponsorship verification”. Please remember that if the joint prime sponsor in the first chamber has already requested or introduced five bills, that joint prime sponsor must obtain delayed bill permission from the appropriate Committee on Delayed Bills. To add a sponsor, the drafter will need permission only from the legislator being added as a sponsor. Please give your drafter ample time to verify prime sponsorship, joint prime sponsorship, or sponsorship before the bill is scheduled to be filed for introduction.
          • Before your bill is introduced, you can also invite other legislators to sponsor your bill via the Electronic Sponsorship feature in iLegislate. Electronic Sponsorship operates similarly to an Evite: You may invite legislators to sponsor your bills and you may share draft files with them. Those legislators may choose whether they want to be a sponsor on your bill.

          Once your bill is delivered by the Office to your chamber’s front desk, the Office cannot add any more sponsors. In special circumstances, the House or Senate front desk staff may be able to add sponsors before a bill is printed, but you must contact your chamber’s front desk staff to see if this special circumstance exists.

          The Office will deliver your prefile bill (your first bill to be introduced) directly to the House or Senate front desk because that bill must be ready for introduction on the first day of session. The Office will deliver your other bills to the front desk or to you, as you direct. Do not contact the Office to add sponsors after your bill has been delivered to the front desk or to you. Once a bill is delivered, all sponsor additions or changes must go through House or Senate staff.

          2. How do I add sponsors to my bill after it is delivered for introduction?

          If you direct the drafter to deliver your bill (other than your prefile bill) to you personally and not your chamber’s front desk, Office staff will give the bill to the sergeants who will then deliver it to you. If the bill is delivered to you prior to its introduction deadline you can show it to other legislators and have them sign the sponsor form attached to the bill or go through iLegislate. The bill delivered to you will include a sponsor form stapled to a heavier sheet of green paper (if you’re a Representative) or cream-colored paper (if you’re a Senator). This is called a bill back. Please do not separate the bill from the bill back and sponsor form.

          After you give the bill back (and attachments) to the House or Senate front desk staff, the House or Senate front desk staff will review the sponsor form and add the names of those legislators who have signed the form indicating their desire to be sponsors of your bill. These sponsor names will appear on the introduced version of the bill. Sponsors cannot be added to your bill after the House or Senate front desk staff have submitted it for printing. After your bill has been introduced, however, other legislators may add their names as co-sponsors following passage of your bill on third reading.

          Feel free to contact the Office staff, your drafters, or the House and Senate front desks with any questions regarding bill sponsorship. You may contact Office staff to inquire about sponsorship prior to the delivery of your bill to the House or Senate for introduction, at (303) 866-2045 or olls.ga@coleg.gov. Once your bill has been delivered for introduction, you may contact the House or Senate front desk staff with your sponsorship questions.

        1. Happy Thanksgiving!

           

           

          Happy Thanksgiving from the Office of Legislative Legal Services 

        2. OLLS’s Resident Birder Takes Flight as New Revisor

          Would becoming only the third Revisor of Statutes in the history of the Office of Legislative Legal Services be better than, for instance, spotting the “striking and unmistakable” Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and hearing its Morse-code-like drumming? You’d have to ask Yelana Love, who, on October 14, 2024, succeeded Jennifer Gilroy in the position.

          In her decade as an attorney with the office, Yelana has developed extensive expertise in areas of the law that include labor and employment, health care, professions and occupations, and alcohol beverage regulation. As members of the General Assembly and her coworkers will tell you, she is known for her competence, grace, confidence, and kindness. Very little ruffles her: she is detail-oriented, methodical, and organized—traits that have served her well as she’s watched for White-tailed Ptarmigans and will continue to serve her well as the Revisor of Statutes.

          As an ambassador of the office, Yelana has also served on the Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws, and she is currently a member of the Uniform Law Commission’s Drafting Committee on Occupational Licenses of Servicemembers and Military Spouses.

          Beyond her important drafting work, Yelana has helped members, leadership staff, and office attorneys navigate the sunset process and has worked with members and their aides to respond to Colorado Open Records Act requests. She always has her binoculars on and her “Field Guide to Legislative Drafting Offices of North America” open as she plans for the office’s future, contributes to the professional development programming that benefits attorneys and other staff, and listens to and supports her coworkers.

          Whether she’s working with leadership on the floor of the Senate, scoping orchestras of Avocets or exaltations of Larks on her travels, or offering to help a coworker recodify an article of the Colorado Revised Statutes, Yelana’s dedication and intelligence sing (whether like a Hermit Thrush or Winter Wren, she would know best).

          The work of the Revisor of Statutes greatly aids the office’s prime directive: to serve the General Assembly and the citizens of this state and to forward the cause of effective self-government. And the feather in the Revisor’s cap is the Colorado Revised Statutes. Under the guidance of the Committee on Legal Services and with the help of the office’s capable staff, the Revisor prepares for publication:

          • The Colorado Revised Statutes and the history of those laws so that the public can understand how they’ve been changed;
          • Annotations, or helpful explanations, of state and federal court decisions relating to the law;
          • The rules of civil and criminal procedure; and
          • Many more important documents, as outlined in article 5 of title 2 of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

          Life is a balance of holding on to the branch and letting it go. As Yelana Love does both this fall, please join us in congratulating her on her appointment as Revisor of Statutes. We have no doubt she will take to the role like a Northern Shoveler does to water.

        3. Session Deadlines Reminder: They Have Changed

          Session Deadlines Reminder: They Have Changed

          by Michael Dohr

          For a casual observer of the Colorado General Assembly, the process may seem chaotic and disorganized, and seasoned veterans of the General Assembly can attest to the chaos and uncertainty. But behind the constant hive of activity, there are rules intended to keep the General Assembly on track to sine die. Those rules include deadlines that determine when bills must be requested, introduced, heard in committee, considered on the floor, and ultimately passed. Did you know those deadlines changed in the 2024 session?

          During the 2024 session, the General Assembly adopted SJR 24-001, Changes to the Deadline Schedule. Prior to 2024, the deadlines had not changed for decades, but the way the General Assembly operates has changed, and the former deadlines became a mismatch for the current General Assembly. One of the most notable changes in the General Assembly’s operation was the introduction of SMART act hearings at which the committees of reference hear presentations from the departments and agencies that each committee oversees and from stakeholders that frequently appear before the committee.

          From 2014 to 2019, the SMART act hearings were held in December before a new session would begin. Since 2020, the SMART act hearings have been held during the first two weeks of session. The result was the General Assembly was usually not hearing bills when SMART act hearings were conducted. But according to the old deadlines, three-fifths of the bills were supposed to be introduced by the seventh day of session. That meant there were a lot of introduced bills, but no committees to hear them. It also meant that a lot of bills received introduction deadline extensions. SJR 24-001 aimed to change that.

          SJR 24-001 changed the deadlines for when bills needed to be introduced. Each session, each member may introduce five bills unless granted additional bills. The five bills are designated as 1 prefile bill, 2 early bills, and 2 regular bills. This chart shows how the introduction deadlines changed.

           Old DeadlineNew Deadline
          Prefile BillDay 1Day 1
          Senate 2 Early BillsDay 3Day 10
          House 2 Early BillsDay 7Day 17
          Senate 2 Regular BillsDay 17Day 24
          House 2 Regular BillsDay 22Day 31

          The changes resulted in spreading out the introduction of early and regular bills to four consecutive Fridays with all the bills introduced within the first month of session. The previous deadline schedule was more compact with all the bills introduced within almost the first three weeks and had some deadlines within the same week. The change in the deadlines in 2024 gave members and Office of Legislative Legal Service attorneys more time to work on the bills before introduction, which resulted in more bills being introduced within the deadlines and fewer deadline extensions being granted.

          With later introduction deadlines, the deadlines for committees to hear bills and for bills to be considered on the floor had to change as well. For example, the deadline for committees to hear bills in the first house, other than the appropriations committee, was extended 15 days. Correspondingly, the time for each house to pass its bills on the floor was extended by 16 days.

          With all the changes, you may wonder if any of the deadlines stayed the same. Some did. The deadlines for submitting bill requests and the deadlines related to the introduction, consideration, and passage of the long bill did not change. The deadline to request and introduce resolutions and memorials also remained the same. The bill to fund public schools also still must be passed by the 101st legislative day.

          With fewer individual deadline extensions needed in 2024, it appears SJR 24-001 resulted in a bit of a smoother session. We will see in the coming sessions whether the deadline changes result in a more serene 120 days of legislative activity.

          Click here for the deadline schedule for the 2025 Colorado General Assembly.