During the November 1990, general election, 71% of Colorado voters who voted that year approved Amendment 5 to the Colorado constitution, which created limits on the number of consecutive terms that state legislators may serve in the Colorado General Assembly. Those term limits became effective in 1998.
Since that time, state Representatives and Senators in Colorado have been limited to eight years of consecutive service in a chamber. Representatives are elected to two-year terms and are allowed to serve up to four consecutive terms for a total of eight consecutive years in the House. Senators are elected to four-year terms and are allowed to serve up to two consecutive terms for a total of eight consecutive years in the Senate.
While rare, in Colorado, former state legislators can reset their chamber term-limit clock by remaining out of office for a four-year period.
An exception to the eight-year chamber limit is granted to persons who are appointed or elected to the General Assembly as a result of a vacancy. If such person serves less than half of the vacated term, then he/she may serve in that chamber until the next general election at which point, he/she must stand for election by voters. If re-elected, then the term limit for that person could increase to eight years, 364 days in the House or nine years, 364 days in the Senate.
Conversely, if a person is elected to the General Assembly as a result of a vacancy and serves at least half of a vacated term, then he/she may serve in that chamber until the next general election at which point, he/she must stand for election by voters. If re-elected, then his/her chamber limit for would decrease by one full term.
Lists of current House Term Limits and Senate Term Limits are provided under the “Legislators” menu at Colorado General Assembly website. Those lists provide the name of each current member of that chamber, district number, date sworn in, and the year during which the member will be term limited.
One of the results of having legislative term limits is that at least 25% of the House of Representatives will be newly elected every two years. In that 65-member chamber, that means at least 16 Representatives will be new to that chamber every two years. The percentage and total number will usually be higher given that some members may seek election to some other office, some may not seek re-election, and others may lose an election. While those factors also apply in the Colorado Senate, turnover is generally lower in the upper chamber due to the four-year Senate terms.