An informational and educational resource for the Colorado General Assembly by the Office of Legislative Legal Services.
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…)
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…)
by Chuck Brackney
Fourth in a series focusing on the organization of state government. Click here for DORA – Part 1, Secretary of State – Part 2, and Education – Part 3.
The Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) is among those agencies that have responsibilities for a wide-ranging number of programs. While it’s not surprising that they are in charge of collecting taxes, they also have several less-obvious areas of expertise, from motor vehicles and driver’s licenses to liquor regulation and the state lottery. DOR also has the authority to regulate medical marijuana and will take over a similar task for retail marijuana when its sale and use becomes legal in 2014. (more…)
by Esther van Mourik
A panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver recently ruled on the so-called “Amazon tax” in the DMA v. Barbara Brohl case. The ruling was a blow to out-of-state retailers seeking to avoid meeting certain reporting requirements or having to collect state sales tax from its Colorado customers on their purchases. (more…)
by Julie Pelegrin
You’ve worked hard to get your bill through both houses and onto the Governor’s desk. You worked with your colleagues on amendments to be sure the bill language clearly and explicitly said just what you intended. Now, the act is signed and on its way to implementation and you can rest easy. Right? Hopefully right. But there may be some people who don’t agree on what this new statute means or on what your carefully crafted language says. Some of these disagreements may be so serious that someone files a lawsuit asking the court to interpret the precise meaning of this new statute. How is the court going to interpret your bill and decide what it means? (more…)
by Kate Meyer
At this point in the summer, the 2013 legislative interim committees are well underway. So far, the committees have spent much of their time getting organized and gathering information through meetings and tours that they have conducted both in the Capitol and around the state. (more…)
by Jason Gelender
As of August 29, 2013, eleven Northeastern and Eastern Colorado counties (Cheyenne, Elbert, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld, and Yuma) and Moffat County in the Northwestern corner of Colorado have expressed interest in seceding from Colorado and forming the new state of North Colorado. Ten of the counties will submit the following ballot question to their voters at the November, 2013 election: (more…)
by Julie Pelegrin
The Department of Education stands out as an anomaly among the 19 executive branch agencies: it is the only executive branch agency that is not under the direct control of the Governor or another single, statewide-elected officer. The Department of Education is led by the State Board of Education, whose seven members are elected from around the state, and the Commissioner of Education, who is appointed by the State Board. Because both the State Board and the Commissioner are established in the state constitution, the Department of Education is as indispensable as the executive branch agencies that are led by elected state officers. (more…)
by Kate Meyer
Second in a series focusing on state government organization. For Part 1 (DORA), click here
Introduction
Although the Department of State is officially contained within the statutory “Administrative Organization Act of 1968”, the organization is fundamentally related to the state constitution through its leader: the Secretary of State. This position is one of five “absolutely indispensable” executive branch officers specifically enumerated under Article IV, Section 1 of the Colorado constitution. (more…)
by Chuck Brackney
This post inaugurates a LegiSource series focusing on the workings of state government. Our goal is to bring to legislators’ attention the many and varied functions of state government in Colorado. We begin with a look at the state Department of Regulatory Agencies.
