Legislative oversight of executive agency rulemaking in Colorado (2025)

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See also: 50-state research: Legislative oversight of executive agency rulemaking, Five pillars of the administrative state: Legislative control

Legislatures oversee executive agency rulemaking through a variety of mechanisms, including reviewing regulations, holding hearings, approving regulations prior to their adoption, or disapproving of or nullifying regulations, among other procedures. State laws and constitutions establish these legislative oversight requirements or authorizations. This page summarizes the legislative oversight of agency rulemaking mechanisms in Colorado law.

This page contains the following sections:

Legislative oversight of agency rulemaking in Colorado
This section details the legislative oversight mechanism in Colorado.
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How does Colorado compare to other states?
This section compares the legislative oversight policies in Colorado to those across the 50 states, specifically related to legislative oversight requirements, designated oversight entity, and scope of regulatory oversight.
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Legislative oversight of agency rulemaking in Colorado

Agencies must submit all rules to the Office of Legislative Legal Services; if the agency misses the deadline, the rule is void. The Committee on Legal Services reviews each regulation to determine whether rules and amendments are within the agency's rule-making authority or whether the rules were statutorily authorized. The committee on legal services shall, on affirmative vote, submit such rules, comments, and proposed legislation at the next regular session of the general assembly, and can recommend changes to the regulation to the legislature. Any legislator can introduce legislation to modify or nullify agency rules. All rules expire after 1 year unless reauthorized by the legislature.

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-4-103(8)(c)-(d)

(c) (I) (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, including section 24-4-107, and except as provided in subsection (8)(c)(I)(B) of this section, on and after November 1, 1993, all rules adopted or amended during any one-year period that begins each November 1 and continues through the following October 31 expire at 11:59 p.m. on the May 15 that follows such one-year period unless the general assembly by bill acts to postpone the expiration of a specific rule.

(B) A rule adopted pursuant to section 25.5-4-402.4 (6)(b)(III) expires at 11:59 p.m. on the May 15 following the adoption of the rule unless the general assembly acts by bill to postpone the expiration of a specific rule.

(C) Postponing the expiration of a rule does not constitute legislative approval of the rule and is not admissible in any court as evidence of legislative intent. Postponing the expiration date of a specific rule does not prohibit any action by the general assembly pursuant to subsection (8)(d) of this section with respect to the rule.

(II) It is the intent of the general assembly that, in the event of a conflict between this paragraph (c) and any other provision of law relating to suspension or extension of rules by joint resolution (whether said provision was adopted prior to or subsequent to this paragraph (c)), this paragraph (c) shall control, notwithstanding the rule of law that a specific provision of law controls over a general provision of law.

(d)(I) An agency that has adopted or amended a rule shall submit the adopted or amended rule, including a temporary or emergency rule, to the Office of Legislative Legal Services in the form and manner prescribed by the committee on legal services. The office of legislative legal services shall first review the rule or amendment to the existing rule to determine whether the rule or amendment is within the agency's rule-making authority and for later review by the committee on legal services for its opinion as to whether the rule conforms with subsection (8)(a) of this section.

(II) The committee on legal services shall direct the office of legislative legal services to review the rules submitted by adopting agencies using graduated levels of review based on criteria established by the committee. The criteria developed by the committee on legal services must provide that the office of legislative legal services review every rule as to form and compliance with filing procedures and that, upon request of any member of the committee or any other member of the general assembly, the office of legislative legal services provide full legal review of any rule during the time period that the rule is subject to review by the committee.

(III) The official certificate of the director of the office of legislative legal services, or the director's designee, as to the fact that an agency submitted a rule to the office of legislative legal services or as to the date an agency submitted a rule, as shown by the records of the director's office, as well as to the fact that an agency failed to submit a rule to the office of legislative legal services, as shown by the nonexistence of such records, shall be received and held in all civil cases as competent evidence of the facts contained in the official certificate. The office of legislative legal services shall retain records regarding the review of rules pursuant to this section in accordance with policies established pursuant to section 2-3-303 (2). If an agency issues a rule or an amendment to an existing rule for review by the committee on legal services pursuant to this subsection (8) without submitting the rule or amendment to the office of legislative legal services within twenty days after the date of the attorney general's opinion on the rule or amendment pursuant to subsection (8)(b) of this section, the rule or amendment is void.

(IV) The office of legislative legal services shall present its findings to the committee on legal services at a public meeting held after timely notice to the public and affected agencies. The committee on legal services shall, on affirmative vote, submit such rules, comments, and proposed legislation at the next regular session of the general assembly. The committee on legal services is the committee of reference for any bill introduced pursuant to this subsection (8)(d)(IV). Any member of the general assembly may introduce a bill that rescinds or deletes portions of the rule. Rejection of such a bill does not constitute legislative approval of the rule. Only that portion of any rule specifically disapproved by bill is no longer effective, and that portion of the rule that remains after deletion of a portion of the rule retains its character as an administrative rule.

(V) Each agency shall revise its rules to conform with the action taken by the general assembly. An agency shall not repromulgate a rule that has been allowed to expire by action of the general assembly pursuant to subsection (8)(c) of this section because the rule, in the opinion of the general assembly, is not authorized by the state constitution or statute, unless the authority to promulgate the rule has been granted to the agency by a statutory amendment, by the state constitution, or by a judicial determination that statutory or constitutional authority exists. Any rule so repromulgated is void. Any rule that an agency revises pursuant to this subsection (8)(d)(V) shall be transmitted to the secretary of state for publication pursuant to subsection (11) of this section. Passage of a bill repealing a rule does not result in revival of a predecessor rule.

(VI) This subsection (8)(d) and subsection (4.5) of this section do not apply to rules of agency organization or general statements of policy that are not meant to be binding as rules.

(VII) For the purpose of performing the functions assigned it by this subsection (8)(d), the committee on legal services, with the approval of the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate, may appoint subcommittees from the membership of the general assembly.

(e) The office of legislative legal services shall identify rules that were adopted during each applicable one-year period as a result of legislation enacted during any legislative session, regular or special, commencing on or after the previous eight calendar years. After the rules have been identified, the office of legislative legal services shall notify in writing any prime sponsors of the enacted legislation who are still serving in the general assembly and the current members of the applicable committees of reference in the senate and house of representatives for that enacted legislation that a rule has been adopted as a result of the legislation; except that the office of legislative legal services need not provide the notice regarding an adopted rule if the rule resulted from legislation that was enacted more than eight calendar years prior to the rule's adoption.^[1]

How does Colorado compare to other states?

Is legislative oversight optional, required, or both?

Because many states have more than one mechanism of legislative oversight of agency regulations, some states have both optional and required legislative oversight mechanisms.

Thirty-four (34) states require legislative review of all or some agency regulations. Seven states include both optional and required legislative oversight mechanisms, and 27 states only have required legislative oversight mechanisms.
Ten (10) states authorize, but do not require, legislative oversight of agency regulations.
The law does not include provisions regarding legislative review of agency actions in six states.

Who reviews the regulations?

Generally, either the full legislature, legislative committees, legislative agencies, divisions, or offices, or any combination of these bodies, is authorized or required to review agency regulations. Thirty-three (33) states authorize or require more than one legislative entity to review agency regulations; therefore, the breakdown below exceeds 50.

Thirty-one (31) states authorize or require full legislative review of agency regulations.
Forty-one (41) states authorize or require legislative committees to review agency regulations.
Thirteen (13) states authorize or require legislative agencies, divisions, or offices to review agency regulations.

What is reviewed?

In states that don't require the legislature to review rules, review is optional, while other states do not have laws relating to legislative oversight of agency rules.

Thirty-two (32) states require legislative review of all rules. Some states require different levels of review for rules that meet different criteria.
Six states require legislative review of some rules. Some states require legislatures to review rules that meet certain criteria, which are policies similar to REINS-style state laws. Other states require legislative review of rules that received a public complaint.
Six states do not require, but explicitly authorize, legislative review of rules.
Six states do not have laws regarding legislative review of agency rules.

Some states require legislatures to review rules that meet certain criteria, which are policies similar to REINS-style state laws.

Footnotes

↑ Justia, "CO Rev Stat § 24-4-103," accessed January 14, 2026

[1] Justia, "CO Rev Stat § 24-4-103," accessed January 14, 2026

[1]

Legislative oversight of executive agency rulemaking in Colorado (2025)

Contents

Legislative oversight of agency rulemaking in Colorado

How does Colorado compare to other states?

Is legislative oversight optional, required, or both?

Who reviews the regulations?

What is reviewed?

See also

Footnotes

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