Search Publications

This issue brief provides an overview of federal and state laws related to gender pay equity and a summary of past legislative efforts by the Colorado General Assembly on the topic.

The state legislature established the Colorado Public Employee's Retirement Association (PERA) in 1931 to provide a pension benefit to state and local government employees, predating the federal Social Security Act of 1935 by four years. PERA is administered under Article 51 of Title 24 of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

The harmful effects of secondhand smoke and emissions from tobacco, marijuana, and electronic smoking devices continue to be an issue in Colorado. Since 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified secondhand tobacco smoke as a known cause of cancer.

This issue brief provides an overview of conservation easements in Colorado and discusses the certification process, federal and state tax incentives for the donation of conservation easements, and state purchases of conservation easements.

Many pieces of legislation regarding health care and health insurance made their way through the 74^th General Assembly. Most of the legislation fell into the following categories: removing barriers to treatment, and licensing requirements.

This handbook is designed to be a reference guide for legislators and the public on the topic of Colorado laws related to liquor licensing. It covers the three-tier regulatory structure; license and permit types; general licensing requirements; enforcement; taxes and fees; and recent legislation.

Health insurance is a method of paying or receiving reimbursement for health care costs from covered services. Health insurance companies spread the costs and risk of covered health care services across all members of a plan in exchange for premiums and other cost-sharing mechanisms, such as deductibles and copayments. These rates are actuarially determined and set at a level that covers the estimated health care costs incurred by all members of the group. This issue brief provides an overview of the health insurance market in Colorado and federal and state health insurance regulations.

View Google Doc

Many pieces of legislation regarding human services made their way through the 74th General Assembly. Human Services legislation primarily focused on child welfare issues, funding senior services, and addressing housing concerns through Medicaid.

Addressing the substance use disorder epidemic and providing behavioral health resources to communities throughout Colorado were the two major behavioral health care themes that emerged during the Second Regular Session of the 74th General Assembly. Important behavioral health bills are discussed below.

Prior authorization—sometimes referred to as preauthorization or precertification—is a process by which an insurer reviews a request for health care services or drugs before consenting to cover the costs of the proposed treatment. Upon receiving a request, an insurer can approve or deny the request, or request additional information from the patient or their health care provider. Health insurers may require prior authorization for a variety of reasons, including cost control and verification of medical necessity.

View Google Doc

This issue brief provides an overview of public sector use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, including federal and state regulations, and current applications in Colorado.

House Bill 24-1448 enacted a new school finance formula, to begin in FY 2025-26 and be phased in over a 6-year period. This memorandum provides an overview of the new formula, the six‑year phase‑in period, and the parameters that would result in pausing implementation of the new formula. It does not include provisions of HB24-1448 that are not directly related to the new formula, including changes to mill levy override limits, the mill levy override match program, and capital construction funding.

View Google Doc

This report contains the final audited figures for state revenue retained under Referendum C in the 2005‑06 through 2023-24 state fiscal years and preliminary numbers for the 2024-25 state fiscal year. It also reflects the actions of the General Assembly and Governor in spending the retained money. This report is prepared in accordance with the requirements of Referendum C, which was approved by voters in 2005.

View Google Doc

While lease agreements are the primary legal contract between landlords and tenants, there are also federal, state, and local laws regulating this relationship. This memorandum provides a detailed overview of Colorado laws regulating residential lease agreements, as well as applicable federal laws and examples of stricter local laws. It concludes with a list of resources for landlords and tenants. Nothing in this memorandum should be construed as legal advice.

During the 2024 legislative session, the General Assembly considered a number of bills affecting funding for capital construction and the duties of the Capital Development Committee (CDC).

This memorandum provides an overview of ranked choice voting in Colorado and other states. Ranked choice voting is a method of voting where voters rank candidates by preference. Ranked choice voting is currently used in nonpartisan elections in several Colorado municipalities, with at least one additional municipality planning to use it in future elections.

Deadline Schedule for the 2025 Colorado General Assembly.

During the 2024 legislative session, the General Assembly considered several measures related to liquor, tobacco, marijuana, and gaming.

Este documento incluye declaraciónes de impacto fiscal preparadas por el personal del Consejo Legislativo para las medidas en la boleta estatal de noviembre de 2024.

Este documento incluye los dos proyectos de ley que remitieron medidas a la boleta de noviembre de 2024.