by Jery Payne
The 14th amendment to the United States constitution forbids states from denying “to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” That seems simple enough. Right? (more…)
Author: olls
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What is all that stuff after a statutory section in Colorado Revised Statutes, Annotated?
by Kathy Zambrano
You’re flipping through the 2013 C.R.S. book looking for that amended section that was key to getting a bill passed last session, and there it is, in black and ecru, but you also find stuff following the section. What is that stuff and why is it there? (more…)
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Can’t You Fix That in the Revisor’s Bill?
by Jennifer Gilroy, Revisor of Statutes
It seems that most people who are involved in the legislative process in any way whatsoever have heard about the revisor’s bill — a bill viewed as a legislative means of “fixing” problems in the statutes or in legislation. But very few people really seem to have a clear understanding of what the annual revisor’s bill can and, more importantly, cannot include. To some, it seems to be a mystical piece of legislation over which a solitary individual (the Revisor of Statutes) randomly (or so it seems) grants (or not) inclusion of a provision they need “fixed”. To others it’s simply a boring, technical bill that shows up on the calendar late in the legislative session and is only important to legislative drafters. Well, it’s really both of these things and neither of these things…at the same time. The following are a few facts about the often misunderstood revisor’s bill. (more…)
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Legislative Interim Committees Finalize Bills for Introduction in 2014 – Part II
by OLLS Staff
The 2013 legislative interim has kept several interim committees busy considering myriad issues ranging from wildfires to the legal representation of juveniles to the treatment of mentally ill offenders to transportation to water to early childhood education. Colorado LegiSource will be summarizing the activities and bills of each committee that is recommending bills. The Legislative Council met November 14, 2013, to approve the interim committee bills that will be introduced during the 2014 legislative session. All bills presented at the meeting were approved. (more…)
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“Fate of the States: The New Geography of American Prosperity” by Meredith Whitney
A Book Review by Chuck Brackney
The primary draw for citizens of Colorado in this recent book by financial analyst Meredith Whitney is her contention that the future of financial prosperity in the United States has shifted from the coastal areas like the northeast and California to a “central corridor” of states, running from Texas northward to North Dakota, including Colorado.
Whitney, a former senior analyst with Oppenheimer & Company, is credited by a number of financial industry observers with being among the first to predict that trouble in the housing and mortgage markets would lead to problems in the wider economy. She was named by Time magazine as one the 100 most influential people in the world in 2009. (more…)
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2014 Bill Request Deadlines — Just Around the Corner
by Patti Dahlberg
It’s November — which means the first bill request deadline is coming up fast! Somehow each year time seems to slip away until this first bill request deadline rudely rears its head amidst holidays and about a million other things that need to be taken care of before session starts. Requesting bills now and working with drafters on rough drafts before session starts can only make a legislator’s life easier as the first day of session (Wednesday, January 8, 2014) creeps closer and closer! (more…)
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Legislative Interim Committees Finalize Bills for Introduction in 2014 – Part I
by OLLS Staff
The 2013 legislative interim has kept several interim committees busy considering myriad issues ranging from wildfires to the legal representation of juveniles to the treatment of mentally ill offenders to transportation to water to early childhood education. Colorado LegiSource will be summarizing the activities and bills of each committee that is recommending bills. The Legislative Council will meet November 14, 2013, to approve the interim committee bills that will be introduced during the 2014 legislative session.
This week’s article discusses four of the eight committees that are recommending bills. In two weeks, Colorado LegiSource will summarize the bill output of the other four committees. (more…)
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So you think you’re so SMART?
By Esther van Mourik
Did you know that the General Assembly is now SMARTer? It is! Last session the General Assembly passed House Bill 13-1299, which repealed and reenacted the “State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act”. (more…)
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The Land Where the Columbines Grow
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…)
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Colorado State Government Spotlight: Department of Higher Education
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…)