Second Regular Session | 71st General Assembly
Colorado General AssemblyThis memorandum provides an overview of jury duty for criminal trials in Colorado, including how jurors are summoned, excused, selected, paid, and impaneled. Jury deliberations, instructions, and verdicts are also covered.
Colorado's liquor laws were first codified in 1935. The Colorado Beer Code regulates fermented malt beverages (commonly known as 3.2 beer), which were categorized as a "non‑intoxicating liquor" during the wait for states to ratify the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution....
During the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to a variety of elections topics, including campaign finance, local elections, redistricting, and voter registration and voting.
Understanding the State Budget: The Big Picture
Each year, the General Assembly is tasked with balancing constitutional, statutory, and federal requirements with a host of other considerations, such as competing policy priorities, caseload pressures, and the health of the state’s economy...
The Colorado Constitution limits the amount of revenue, from most sources, that the state government and local governments are permitted to retain and spend or save. This memorandum presents information on this constitutional requirement and its administration at the state level.
Gravity and switchblade knives, which were originally popularized by classic movies such as West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause, are considered illegal weapons in Colorado. Possessing such a weapon could result in a fine or jail time, or both. This issue brief...
In Colorado, the landlord–tenant relationship is primarily prescribed in lease agreements. This issue brief provides an overview of state and local laws regulating the landlord–tenant relationship, discusses the state and federal agencies that enforce fair housing laws, and lists...
Gravity and switchblade knives, which were originally popularized by classic movies such as West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause, are considered illegal weapons in Colorado. Possessing such a weapon could result in a fine or jail time, or both. This issue brief...
In October 2016, while Coloradans were sleeping, a self-driving semi‑trailer drove 51,744 cans of Budweiser beer from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs down Interstate 25. With the rise of investment in and the use of autonomous vehicles, governments face new challenges to address this growing...
This issue brief provides an overview of state laws related to pet animal facilities. These facilities are licensed and regulated under the Colorado Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act (PACFA).
This issue brief addresses Colorado’s emergency mental health hold procedure, which allows for an individual to be involuntarily held for a 72‑hour period of treatment and evaluation if he or she appears to have a mental illness and, due to the mental illness, appears to be an imminent...
This memorandum discusses tailpipe vehicle emission standards in the United States and the current regulations for light-duty vehicles.
The Colorado Motor Vehicle Resource Book is intended to serve as a reference guide for information on the state's motor vehicle laws.
In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court found in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association that the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (1992) violated the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because it illegally empowered the federal government to order...
This memorandum provides an overview of the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) and the changes made to PERA by Senate Bill 18‑200.
A statute of limitations is a law that specifies the maximum length of time allowed for a victim or prosecutor to initiate legal proceedings. Such a statute may apply in either criminal or civil cases. This issue brief provides an overview of criminal statutes of limitations, including...
This memorandum provides an overview of how post-conviction sex offender polygraph testing (PCSOT) is used for adult sex offenders in Colorado, as well as in other states. It also includes a summary of current research on its effectiveness.
TO: Committee on Legal Services
FROM: Brita Darling, Office of Legislative Legal Services
DATE: November 7, 2018
SUBJECT: Rules of the State Board of Human Services, Department of Human Services, concerning Adult Protective Services, 12 CCR 2518-1 (LLS Docket No. 180108 and No...
TO: Committee on Legal Services
FROM: Richard Sweetman, Office of Legislative Legal Services
DATE: November 7, 2018
SUBJECT: Rules of the Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue, concerning obtaining records for abandoned motor vehicles, 1 CCR 204-10 (LLS Docket No....
TO: Committee on Legal Services
FROM: Jennifer Berman, Office of Legislative Legal Services
DATE: November 7, 2018
SUBJECT: Rules of the Parks and Wildlife Commission, Department of Natural Resources, concerning general provisions – aquatic nuisance species, 2 CCR 406-0 (LLS...
TO: Committee on Legal Services
FROM: Office of Legislative Legal Services
DATE: November 7, 2018
SUBJECT: Update on Title 12 Recodification Project
cols-title-12-update-memo-20181107.pdf
In June 2014, Colorado became the first state to enact a law regulating on-demand transportation network companies (TNCs). Since then, 49 other states and the District of Columbia have established regulatory frameworks for TNCs. Unlike the taxicab industry, TNCs — such as Uber and Lyft — use a...