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2024 Colorado legislative session

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2024 Colorado legislative session
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General information
Scheduled session start:    Jan. 10, 2024

Scheduled session end:    May 8, 2024

Leadership
Senate President
Stephen Fenberg (D)

House Speaker
Julie McCluskie (D)
Majority Leader
Senate: Robert Rodriguez (D)
House: Monica Duran (D)
Minority Leader
Senate: Paul Lundeen (R)
House: Michael Lynch (R)

Elections
Next Election:    November 5, 2024

Last Election:    November 8, 2022

Previous legislative sessions
2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2024 legislative sessions


In 2024, the Colorado State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 10 and adjourn on May 8.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Democrats won a 23-12 majority in the Senate and a 46-19 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Colorado was one of 21 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a majority in the Colorado state House and state Senate.
  • Colorado was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • Colorado's governor was Democrat Jared Polis.

    • Leadership in 2024

    Colorado State Senate

    Colorado House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2024

    See also: State government trifectas

    Colorado was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2024 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Colorado was also one of 21 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Colorado State Legislature in the 2024 legislative session.

    Colorado State Senate

    Party As of January 2024
         Democratic Party 23
         Republican Party 12
    Total 35

    Colorado House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2024
         Democratic Party 45
         Republican Party 19
         Vacancies 1
    Total 65

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Colorado state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there were 35 standing committees in Colorado's state government, including 14 joint legislative committees, 10 state Senate committees, and 11 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees

    • Capital Development Committee
    • Capitol Building Advisory Committee
    • Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws
    • Colorado Health Insurance Exchange Oversight Committee
    • Executive Committee
    • Joint Budget Committee
    • Joint Select Committee on Rising Utility Rates
    • Legal Services Committee
    • Legislative Audit Committee
    • Legislative Council Committee
    • Legislative Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Committee
    • Statutory Revision Committee
    • Technology Committee
    • Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal Justice System Committee

    Senate committees

    • Business, Labor, and Technology Committee
    • Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
    • Senate Appropriations Committee
    • Senate Education Committee
    • Senate Finance Committee
    • Senate Health and Human Services Committee
    • Senate Judiciary Committee
    • Senate Local Government Committee
    • Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee
    • Transportation and Energy Committee

    House committees

    • Agriculture, Livestock, and Water Committee
    • Energy and Environment Committee
    • Health and Insurance Committee
    • House Appropriations Committee
    • House Business Affairs and Labor Committee
    • House Education Committee
    • House Finance Committee
    • House Judiciary Committee
    • Public and Behavioral Health and Human Services Committee
    • State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee
    • Transportation and Local Government Committee

    Legislation

    Enacted legislation

    The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Election administration legislation

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    State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.

    Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.

    The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Colorado. The following information is included for each bill:

    • Bill number
    • Official name or caption
    • Most recent action date
    • Legislative status
    • Topics dealt with by the bill

    Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Colorado Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Section 1 of Article V and Article XIX of the Colorado Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Colorado
    Colorado Constitution
    800px-Flag of Colorado.svg.png
    Preamble
    Articles
    I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII • XIX • XX • XXI • XXII • XXIII • XXIV • XXV • XXVI • XXVII • XXVIII • XXIX • Schedule

    The Colorado Constitution provides three mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a citizen-initiated process, a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Once on the ballot, a 55 percent supermajority vote is required for the approval of any constitutional amendment put on the ballot by the legislature or by a citizen initiative, except those that only remove language from the constitution, rather than adding language or changing existing language.

    Initiative

    See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

    An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

    In Colorado, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 5% of the votes cast for the Colorado secretary of state in the preceding general election. Colorado has a distribution requirement for initiated amendments. Signatures must be collected from at least 2% of the registered voters who live in each of the 35 state Senate districts. A 55% vote is required for voter approval.

    Combined initiated constitutional amendments and state statutes

    See also: Combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute

    A combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends both a state's constitution and state statute. There are at least two (2) states that allow citizens to initiate combined amendments and statutes.

    In Colorado, the number of signatures required for a combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute is equal to 5% of the votes cast for the Colorado secretary of state in the preceding general election. Colorado has a distribution requirement for initiated amendments. Signatures must be collected from at least 2% of the registered voters who live in each of the 35 state Senate districts. A 55% vote is required for voter approval.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Colorado State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 44 votes in the Colorado House of Representatives and 24 votes in the Colorado State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Article XIX of the Colorado Constitution, the state Legislature can refer a state constitutional convention question to the ballot. A two-thirds (66.67%) vote of legislators in each chamber is required.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Colorado .

    Colorado Party Control: 1992-2025
    Thirteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Four years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    Senate R R R R R R R R R D D R R D D D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D
    House R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D

    Historical Senate control

    Democrats won control of the Colorado State Senate in 2018. In 2022, they won a 23-12 majority.

    The table below shows the partisan history of the Colorado Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Colorado State Senate election results: 1992-2022

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
    Democrats 16 16 15 14 18 17 18 20 21 20 19 17 17 19 20 23
    Republicans 19 19 20 21 17 18 17 15 14 15 16 18 18 16 15 12

    Between 1900 and 2022, the chamber changed partisan hands 14 times.

    Historical House control

    Democrats won control of the Colorado House of Representatives in 2012. In 2022, they won a 46-19 majority.

    The table below shows the partisan history of the Colorado House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Colorado House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
    Democrats 31 24 24 26 27 28 33 39 38 32 37 34 37 41 41 46
    Republicans 34 41 41 39 38 37 32 26 27 33 28 31 28 24 24 19

    Between 1900 and 2022, the chamber changed partisan hands 19 times.


    See also

    Elections Colorado State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

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