2017 Extraordinary Session

The Senate Education Committee considers matters concerning: K-12 public schools, including public school accountability and school finance; and higher education, including administration and governance, tuition, and financial assistance.  In addition, the committee has legislative oversight responsibility for the departments of Education and Higher Education.

The Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee considers matters concerning the regulation of professions and occupations, property and casualty insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, workers' compensation insurance, economic development, banks and financial institutions, real estate, labor, and technology. In addition, the committee has legislative oversight responsibility for the Department of Labor, the Department of Personnel and Administration, the Department of Regulatory Agencies, and the Office of Information Technology.

The Senate Appropriations Committee conducts hearings on bills that change expenditures or revenues and affect the budget. The Committee typically reserves discussion for the fiscal impact of the bills. Many of the bills considered by the Committee have had hearings in other committees before being referred to Appropriations and for those bills that have previously had a hearing the Committee does not customarily take public testimony.

The Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy Committee generally considers matters concerning water, agriculture, wildlife, mineral development, renewal energy, energy conservation, electric utilities, and recreation.  In addition, the committee has legislative oversight responsibility for the departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Colorado Energy Office.

The committee studies the conservation, use, development, and financing of the water resources of Colorado for the general welfare of its inhabitants and to reviews and proposes water resources legislation. The committee also is responsible for holding public hearings on the draft Colorado State Water Plan and submitting a summary of the public's and committee's feedback on the plan to the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

The committee studies wildfire prevention and mitigation.

The committee reviews transportation, traffic, and motor vehicle legislation and may consult with experts in the fields of traffic regulation, the licensing of drivers, the registration and titling of motor vehicles, and highway construction and planning.

The commission studies and proposes legislation relating to funding of police officers' and firefighters' pensions in this state and benefit designs of such pension plans.

The committee is responsible for overseeing the Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal Justice System Task Force and recommending bills to implement the proposals studied by the task force.

The committee studies the implementation of Colorado's health exchange. It reviews and approves grants applied for by the exchange's board of directors to implement the exchange, approves the exchange's executive director, and recommends legislation on the operation of the exchange.