Colorado LegiSource

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

Recent Posts

  • Why can’t this all happen sooner?

    by Greg Sobetski, Chief Economist, Legislative Council Staff Well, it’s April again. All of your bills are either dead or awaiting their fate among a logjam in one of the Appropriations committees. You’re bracing for the long nights ahead and scrambling for a small pool of money available for your bill and too many others.…

  • Where to Turn When You Are Faced with an Ethics Dilemma

    Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Jennifer Gilroy and posted on January 17, 2013.  This version has been edited and updated for this publication. Bravo!! You’ve just realized that the invitation you received today to participate in a legislative conference in Las Vegas, or a business luncheon in your district, or a tour…

  • 1876

    by Jery Payne On August 2, 1876, Jack McCall entered the No. 10 Saloon in the town of Deadwood in what is now South Dakota, walked up behind “Wild Bill” Hickok, shouted a curse and “Take that!”, and shot Wild Bill in the back of the head. Wild Bill was holding two black eights and…

  • 150 Years for Colorado, 250 for the Nation

    by Amanda Clapham, Legislative Council Staff Visitor Services Deputy Manager, Education and Curation If you are a regular at the Capitol, you have walked by the “Women’s Gold” tapestry on the first floor innumerable times, and you’ve probably marveled at the brilliant colors of the stained-glass Heritage Windows in the Old Supreme Court, the Emily…

  • CCUSL Approves Three Commission Bills for Introduction

    by Patti Dahlberg and Yelana Love The Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws (CCUSL) is Colorado’s delegation to the national Uniform Law Commission (ULC). The ULC is composed of more than 300 commissioners, who are appointed by each state, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The CCUSL meets each year…

  • Everything Under One Roof: The Original Colorado State Capitol

    by Faith Marcovecchio In February 1861, with Abraham Lincoln about to take office and the Civil War just weeks from breaking out, President James Buchanan signed legislation establishing the Colorado Territory. Immediately, the territory’s first governor, William Gilpin, began thinking about where the capital of the new territory would be. Towns up and down the…

  • Let’s Get to Know: House Assistant Chief Clerk Darren Thornberry

    by Jack Neirynck Darren Thornberry is the new Assistant Chief Clerk of the Colorado House of Representatives. He began the position during the 2025 interim, taking over for Connor Randall, who held the job during the 2025 regular legislative session. As Assistant Chief Clerk, Thornberry is responsible for assisting the Chief Clerk, Vanessa Reilly, in…

  • Making Sense of Committee Rules – A Brief Overview

    Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Julie Pelegrin and posted on February 6, 2014.  This version has been edited and updated for this publication. With the 2026 legislative session rapidly approaching, it seems like a good time for a short overview of the more important committee procedural rules to help guide you through…

  • Legislative Human Resources Division: New name, new location, expanded services

    by Ben FitzSimons In June of 2025, the Governor signed H.B. 25-1333, and the Office of Legislative Workplace Relations was renamed the Legislative Human Resources Division. With the passage of that bill, the division’s scope was also expanded, allowing the division to provide full human resources support to the Colorado General Assembly. Located in Room…

  • Bill Requests Submitted? Next Step is the Bill Order

    According to Joint Rule 24 (b)(1)(A), every legislator is allowed to submit five bill requests each session. These five bill requests are in addition to any appropriation, committee-approved, or sunset bills that a legislator may choose to carry and must be submitted by the bill request deadlines. (See “The 2026 Legislative Session Is Comin’ in…

  • Committee Action this Interim

    Because of budget constraints, the 75th Colorado General Assembly did not approve any new interim committees for this year and suspended the meetings of several current interim committees. However, many year-round and interim committees held meetings and proposed legislation this interim. We are taking this opportunity to share some information regarding the ongoing interim work…

  • We’ve Moved to the “Annex”!

    by Sarah Meisch After years of planning and extensive renovations, the time has finally arrived: The Office of Legislative Services (OLLS) has moved out of the Capitol and into the State Capitol Annex Building! On September 19, the OLLS moved out of its office space in the Capitol, and during the week of October 20,…

  • The “C” in Uniform Law Commission

    Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Patti Dahlberg and Thomas Morris and posted on November 5, 2015. This version has been edited and updated for this publication. They come from every state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands and they are the “C” in…

  • Who Does What? The Boundaries of Each Branch’s Authority

    Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Julie Pelegrin and posted on July 19, 2012. This version has been edited and updated for this week’s publication. by Jery Payne During the legislative session, legislators and legislative staff are so busy working with bills and amendments that we sometimes lack the time to step back…

  • The 2026 Legislative Session Is Comin’ in Hot

    The 2026 legislative session will convene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 14, but, as those of us who follow the legislature know—particularly OLLS drafting attorneys—bill drafting starts long before that date. In fact, legislators have been submitting bill requests for the upcoming session since the end of the last session. (Thank you, early birds!)…

  • Looking for Answers? A Wealth of Policy Resources Are at Legislators’ Disposal

    Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Julie Pelegrin and posted on June 28, 2012. This version has been edited and updated for this publication. If you’re a legislator starting work on legislation for the next session or you just have some questions and are interested in information on specific policy areas, there are…

  • OLLS is moving out of the Capitol

    The Office of Legislative Legal Services will be working remotely from September 18 through mid-October as the office moves from the Colorado State Capitol to the State Capitol Annex Building. If you need to contact OLLS staff, please feel welcome to reach out to the OLLS Front Office at (303) 866-2045 or olls.ga@coleg.gov. See you in…

  • Legislative Special Session to Convene on August 21

    On August 6, 2025, the Governor issued Executive Order D 2025 009, calling the General Assembly into a special legislative session beginning at 10:00 a.m. on August 21, 2025. Some may be wondering what, exactly, is a special session and how does it work? The most obvious things that are different about a special legislative…

  • We’ve Cooked Up Several New Dishes for Colorado

    by Jery Payne We began our legislative session with many ingredients: bill drafts, budget idea, legislative priorities, legislators, lobbyists, staff and the people of Colorado. We fired up the session and started cooking up policies and bills. Not every recipe made it to the table, but most did. Some good dishes were served, but we…

  • When Does an Act Become a Law? It depends.

    Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Julie Pelegrin and Patti Dahlberg and posted on March 20, 2015. This version has been updated where appropriate. Section 19 of article V of the state constitution specifies that an act takes effect “on the date stated in the act, or, if no date is stated in the…