When visiting the website of the Colorado General Assembly, you’ll find a menu of topics that organize that massive and growing library of information into general topics. Where that menu will appear on your screen and how you might go about selecting a category depends on whether you are using a desktop or laptop computer versus a mobile device such as tablet or phone. From a computer, the menu will likely appear horizontally along the top of your browser window. From a mobile device, look for three horizontal bars and then press that icon to open the menu.
The fifth category in that menu is titled “Committees”, which provides access to the following information:
- Committees – Rosters and schedules for House and Senate Committees of Reference, Year-Round Committees, Interim Committees, and Other Committees
- Committee Information – House and Senate Committee Meeting Schedules and Rosters, House and Senate Committee Routing Requirements based on Fiscal Impact, and the Executive Committee Policy on Electronic Participation in Joint Committees
- Committee Room Policy – A helpful guide to participating in public hearings
- Public Testimony Options – Information about participating in a hearing via Remote Testimony, Submitting Written Testimony, Testifying in Person, or to Listen Online.
The Committees menu option leads to a page that lists all current legislative committees. If you are following one or more bills through a legislative session, then the House Committees of Reference and the Senate Committees of Reference should be of primary interest to you. Keep in mind that, with passage of the GAVEL Amendment to the Colorado Constitution in 1988, every bill that is introduced must be referred to and then must receive a public hearing by at least one of those Committees of Reference.
Year-Round Committees can meet during a legislative session or during the annual interim. Those committees provide oversight of agencies within the state Legislative Branch, conduct hearings regarding the state budget and capital construction, and other issues of importance to the state. There might be opportunity to provide subject matter input to a Year-Round Committee, but actual testimony, for or against a bill, would take place before a House or Senate Committee of Reference during a legislative session.
Interim Committees meet only during an interim period and generally exist to gather information about a specific topic, which is identified in the name of each such committee. Since the legislature is not in session during an interim period, no bills can be introduced in either chamber. Thus, no law-making can occur. As with Year-Round Committees, there might be opportunity to provide subject matter input to an Interim Committee, but actual testimony, for or against a bill, would take place before a House or Senate Committee of Reference during a legislative session.
The “Other Committees” section of the Committee Page would include any House, Senate, or Joint Select Committee(s) that has been created by one or both chambers of the General Assembly.
The Committee Information page provides access to the meeting schedules of the House and Senate Committees of Reference. In each chamber of the legislature, each Committee of Reference is organized into one of three meeting schedules or categories. Based on that schedule, each Committee of Reference will then meet on the same days each week, either upon adjournment of that chamber or as an “afternoon committee”, beginning at a time designated by chair, which is generally 1:30 or 2:00 p.m.
The Committee Information page also provides a roster for each House and Senate Committee of Reference. Those rosters indicate the total number of members of each committee, along with the chair and vice chair for each committee.
The next resources that are provided at the Committee Information page provide Routing Instructions for House and Senate bill with a fiscal impact. Those instructions are provided by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate and explain various committee routing requirements. For example, a bill that proposes to increase or decrease General Fund or Cash Funds might be required to route through the Finance Committee of that chamber. Bills that propose to increase or decrease an appropriation of General Funds or Cash Funds might be required to route through the Appropriations Committee of that chamber. Some bills might be required to route through both the Finance and Appropriations Committees of a chamber.
Finally, the Committee Information page provides access to the current Executive Committee Policy on Electronic Participation in Joint Committees, which includes policy for participation by members of the General Assembly and the Public.
The Committee Room Policy menu option provides a helpful PDF document that explains how to sign up for public testimony and provides various policies regarding conduct while in a committee hearing room. Please note that a committee chair may request a sergeant-at-arms to remove a person who is impeding, disrupting, or hindering a committee meeting or who endangers any member, officer, or employee of the General Assembly or any member of the public.
Finally, the Public Testimony Options page provides instructions for providing Remote Testimony, Submitting Written Testimony, Testifying in Person, and how to Listen Online. A phone number and email address are provided for those who might have trouble signing up to testify or submitting written testimony. You’ll also find a link to a helpful video about how to sign up and testify remotely.