An informational and educational resource for the Colorado General Assembly by the Office of Legislative Legal Services.
by Julie Pelegrin
You hear it all the time, “The General Assembly has plenary power.” But what does that mean? Can the General Assembly really enact any law that it thinks is necessary? Are there limits on what the General Assembly can do? And, if there are, what are those limits and who decides when they’ve been violated? (more…)
by Brita Darling
On June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court ruled on objections to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (567 U.S. ___ (2012)), or NFIB v. Sebelius. The majority opinion upheld the ACA, including the provisions relating to the creation of health insurance exchanges and the individual mandate to obtain insurance coverage, as well as the Medicaid expansion provisions. (more…)
by Julie Pelegrin
During the legislative session, legislators and legislative staff are so busy working with bills and amendments that we sometimes lack the opportunity to step back and see the operations of the legislature in context with the other departments of state government. The specific constitutional authority given to and requirements imposed on each of the departments of state government often get confused and even overlooked in the rush of the legislative session. (more…)
by Kate Meyer
Most people associate the Office of Legislative Legal Services with its most visible, and most important, function: serving as the bill drafting office for the Colorado General Assembly. The OLLS is open year-round, though, which causes many people to wonder what staff does to keep busy when the legislature is not in session. (more…)
by Julie Pelegrin
If you’re starting work on legislation for next year or you just have some questions and are interested in information on specific policy areas, there are several resources available to you during the legislative interim. (more…)
by Chuck Brackney
The press often covers stories that involve the executive branch agencies and what they do, and, during the legislative session, the legislative branch is often in the news. Seldom, however, do we hear much about the judicial branch. We get reports of controversial or high-profile Supreme Court decisions, and we watch the progress of sensational trials, but there’s much more to the judicial branch than messy divorces, gory murder trials, and appeals to the Supreme Court. (more…)
by Rebecca Hausmann
If you’re anything like me, you might find type 1, type 2, and type 3 transfers a little confusing. First of all, what are they for? What’s the difference between the three types of transfers? And just why, exactly, are they called “transfers”, even when a new agency is created? (more…)
by: Peggy Lewis and Matt Dawkins
Imagine it’s six months from now, the leaves are just starting to turn, there’s a hint of fall in the air, and you get a call from a constituent who wants to know, “What was the intent of the legislature in passing that bill?” That’s actually a much more difficult question to answer than it might seem at first blush. (more…)
by Nate Carr
You’re feeling great! The bill you’ve been working on for months has just cleared third reading on the floor. A few amendments were added before it passed, but that’s okay. Leadership dismisses everyone for the day, and you leave the chambers. The next morning you return to your desk to find a letter from the Publications Coordinator and the Revisor of Statutes titled “Revisor’s Comment”. Both work in the Office of Legislative Legal Services. You open the letter to discover that they are alerting you to a conflict that your bill has with one or more other bills circulating through the process. You may experience a touch of anxiety, but don’t worry, the OLLS staff is ready and willing to work with you to resolve the conflict. (more…)
by Ashley Zimmerman
His face appears on a stained glass window in the dome of the Colorado capitol. He arrived in Colorado in the summer of 1861, delivered mail on snowshoes throughout the mountain range, and delivered nearly daily sermons in gold rush towns. In 1885, the Colorado Senate welcomed him as the first Senate Chaplain. His name was John L. Dyer. (more…)