An informational and educational resource for the Colorado General Assembly by the Office of Legislative Legal Services.
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.
by Julie Pelegrin
Using public moneys to pay the tuition at a religious school does not violate Colorado’s constitutional requirements for separation of church and state. At least that’s what the Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled. The Court recently reversed a district court opinion and held that the Douglas County School District’s choice scholarship program is constitutional. In addition to providing guidance for interpreting several sections of the constitution, the opinion also provides interesting rulings concerning the ability of a taxpayer to enforce state law and the standard for interpreting school district policies. (more…)
by Chuck Brackney
Can the U.S. Congress strip immigrants of the ability to challenge the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s interpretation of a law that barred the ability of legal permanent residents to apply for a waiver of deportation? Can a city seize, by eminent domain, private homes and transfer them to a private property developer for a local economic development project? (more…)
by Jennifer Gilroy
While you were watching the political sparring on topics as newsworthy and controversial as voter registration, school finance, and renewable energy, another matter with noteworthy implications slipped quietly through the legislative process: workplace harassment. (more…)
by Julie Pelegrin
On May 23, 2013, the Colorado Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case of State v. Lobato (Lobato II), finding that the Public School Finance Act of 1994 is constitutional. The opinion holds that the statutory school funding system is rationally related to the General Assembly’s constitutional duty to establish and maintain a “thorough and uniform” statewide system of free public education. But the opinion actually does much more. The opinion defines the phrase “thorough and uniform”, implies that the constitution does not require a minimum level of funding for education, and further clarifies school districts’ local control authority. Most importantly, Lobato II demonstrates that a majority of the Court strongly supports the separation of powers and will not interfere with the General Assembly’s plenary authority to set education policy. (more…)
by Julie Pelegrin
The General Assembly closed out one hundred twenty days of legislative activity yesterday, May 8, by adjourning sine die at 3:40 p.m. in the Senate and 3:44 p.m. in the House. The first regular session of the Sixty-ninth General Assembly was one of the busiest in recent memory. The legislators introduced bills on many difficult, complicated, and contentious issues which led to more late-night sessions and early-morning committee hearings than the General Assembly has experienced in recent years. (more…)
