Summary
The Government of Colorado is the governmental structure as established by the Constitution of the State of Colorado. It is composed of three branches: the executive branch headed by the Governor, the legislative branch consisting of the General Assembly, and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court and lower courts.
The constitution also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall and ratification.
Source: Wikipedia
State-wide Representatives
Colorado is located in the Western region of the USA with Denver as its capital. Jared Polis (D) is Governor.
The Colorado legislature, founded in 1912, has 35 Senate members and 65 House members.
| Office | Name | Party | Assumed office | Next election | Term limited | Maximum term length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Jared Polis | Democratic | January 8, 2019 | 2022 | No | Two consecutive terms | |
| Lieutenant Governor* | Dianne Primavera | Democratic | January 8, 2019 | 2022 | No | Two consecutive terms | |
| Secretary of State | Jena Griswold | Democratic | January 8, 2019 | 2022 | No | Two consecutive terms | |
| Attorney General | Phil Weiser | Democratic | January 8, 2019 | 2022 | No | Two consecutive terms | |
| Treasurer | Dave Young | Democratic | January 8, 2019 | 2022 | No | Two consecutive terms | |
Governor Jared Polis
Current Position: Governor
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position(s): US Representative for CO-02 from 2009 – 2019
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Jared Schutz Polis (/ˈpoʊlɪs/; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019.
A member of the Democratic Party, he served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007 and five terms as the United States Representative from Colorado’s 2nd congressional district from 2009 to 2019. During his time in Congress, he was the only Democratic member of the libertarian conservative Liberty Caucus. He was elected governor of Colorado in 2018, defeating Republican nominee Walker Stapleton.
US Senators
Michael Bennet
Current Position: US Senator since 2009
Affiliation: Democrat
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Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American businessman, lawyer, and politician who has served as the senior United States Senator from Colorado since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed to the seat when Senator Ken Salazar became Secretary of the Interior. Bennet previously worked as a managing director for the Anschutz Investment Company, chief of staff to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, and Superintendent of Denver Public Schools.
“We must meet the promise each generation has made to the next: to leave more opportunity, not less, for our kids and grandkids.” Michael Bennet
John Hickenlooper
Current Position: US Senator since 2021
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position(s): Governor from 2010 – 2018; Mayor, Denver from 2003 – 2010
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John Wright Hickenlooper Jr.[(/ˈhɪkənluːpər/; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and geologist serving as the junior United States Senator from Colorado since 2021.
A member of the Democratic Party, Hickenlooper was mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011 and governor of Colorado from 2011 to 2019.
US House Members
Diana DeGette
Current Position: US Representative for CO-01 since 1997
Affiliation: Democrat
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Diana Louise DeGette (/dɪˈɡɛt/; born July 29, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 1st congressional district since 1997.
A member of the Democratic Party, her district is based in Denver. DeGette was a Chief Deputy Whip from 2005 to 2019 and is the dean of Colorado’s congressional delegation; she served as the Colorado State Representative for the 6th district from 1993 until her election to the U.S. House.
Joe Neguse
Current Position: US Representative for CO-02 since 2019
Affiliation: Democrat
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Joseph D. Neguse (/nəˈɡuːs/ nə-GOOSE; born May 13, 1984) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district is based in Boulder and includes many of Denver’s northwestern suburbs, as well as Fort Collins.
A member of the Democratic Party, he was a Regent of the University of Colorado from 2008 to 2015. Neguse is the first Eritrean-American elected to the United States Congress and Colorado’s first black member of Congress.
Lauren Boebert
Current Position: US Representative for CO-02 since 2021
Affiliation: Republican
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Lauren Opal Boebert (/ˈboʊbərt/ BOH-bərt; née Roberts, December 15, 1986) is an American politician, businesswoman, and gun-rights activist, serving as the U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 3rd congressional district since 2021.
Ken Buck
Current Position: US Representative for CO-04 since 2015
Affiliation: Republican
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Kenneth Robert Buck (born February 16, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who represents Colorado’s 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican.
He previously served as District Attorney for Weld County, Colorado. Buck ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 2010, losing to Democrat Michael Bennet. Buck was elected chair of the Colorado Republican Party on March 30, 2019, replacing Jeff Hays.
Doug Lamborn
Current Position: US Representative for CO-05 since 2007
Affiliation: Republican
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Douglas Lawrence Lamborn (born May 24, 1954) is an American attorney and politician currently serving as the U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 5th congressional district.
He is a member of the Republican Party. Having first been elected in 2006 and taking office in 2007, his district is based in Colorado Springs.
Jason Crow
Current Position: US Representative for CO-02 since 2019
Affiliation: Democrat
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Jason Crow (born March 15, 1979) is an American lawyer, veteran, and politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado’s 6th congressional district. Crow is the first member of the Democratic Party to represent the district, which encompasses several of Denver’s eastern suburbs like Aurora, Littleton, Centennial, and Thornton.
Crow was an impeachment manager during his first term in Congress at the first impeachment trial of President Trump.
Ed Perlmutter
Current Position: US Representative for CO-07 since 2007
Affiliation: Democrat
Colorado onAir Post
Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 7th congressional district since 2007.
A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in the northern and western suburbs of the Denver metropolitan area. He previously served as the Colorado State Senator from the 20th district from 1995 to 2003.
Wikipedia
The Government of Colorado is the governmental structure as established by the Constitution of the State of Colorado. It is composed of three branches: the executive branch headed by the Governor, the legislative branch consisting of the General Assembly, and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court and lower courts. The constitution also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall and ratification.
Executive
The statewide elected officers are:
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The Lieutenant Governor is elected on a ticket with the Governor. All statewide elected officers serve four-year terms. There are also elected members of the Colorado State Board of Education, and the Regents of the University of Colorado are elected from districts coterminous with Colorado’s congressional districts or at large. As a result, the Governor does not have direct management authority over either the Department of Education or any of the state’s institutions of higher education.
The executive branch is otherwise composed of the principal departments:[1]
- Department of Agriculture (CDA)
- Department of Corrections (CDOC)
- Department of Education (CDE)
- Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF)
- Department of Higher Education (CDHE)
- Department of Human Services (CDHS)
- Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE)
- Department of Law (DOL)
- Department of Local Affairs (DOLA)
- Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA)
- Department of Natural Resources (CDNR)
- Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA)
- Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)
- Department of Public Safety (CDPS)
- Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA)
- Department of Revenue (DOR)
- Department of State (DOS)
- Department of Transportation (CDOT)
- Department of the Treasury (CDT)
Regulations are published in the Colorado Register and codified in the Code of Colorado Regulations (CCR).
Legislature
The Colorado State Capitol in Denver
The legislative body of Colorado is the Colorado General Assembly made up of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Colorado Senate. Members of the House are elected for two year terms from single-member, equal population districts. Approximately half of the members of the state senate are elected each two years to four year terms from single-member, equal population districts. The House of Representatives has 65 members and the Senate has 35 for a total of 100 legislators in Colorado.[citation needed] The session laws are published in the Session Laws of Colorado.[2] The laws of a general and permanent nature are codified in the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.).[2]
Direct democracy
In addition to providing for voting,[3][4] the people of Colorado have reserved initiative of laws and referendum of laws enacted by the legislature to themselves,[5] and have provided for recall of office holders.[6]
Judiciary
The judiciary of Colorado is defined by Article VI of the Colorado Constitution as well as the law of Colorado. The administration of the state judicial system is the responsibility of the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court as its executive head, and is assisted by several other commissions. Colorado courts include the:
- Colorado Supreme Court,
- Colorado Court of Appeals,
- Colorado district courts,
- Colorado county courts,
- Colorado water courts,
- Colorado municipal courts.
All of the courts above, other than municipal courts and Denver’s county court, are part of the state court system. In Denver, county and municipal courts are integrated and are not part of the state court system for administrative purposes, and the Denver Probate Court and the Denver Juvenile Court have jurisdiction over probate and juvenile matters, respectively. Outside Denver, these matters are within the jurisdiction of the district courts.
Most crimes in Colorado are prosecuted by a district attorney. One district attorney is elected for each of the state’s 22 judicial districts in a partisan election. The state attorney general also has power to prosecute certain crimes, and in rare circumstances a special prosecutor may be appointed to prosecute a crime on a case by case basis. Municipal ordinance violations are prosecuted by city attorneys.
Local government
Colorado is divided into 64 counties. Counties are important units of government in Colorado since the state has no secondary civil subdivisions, such as townships. Two of these counties, the City and County of Denver and the City and County of Broomfield, have consolidated city and county governments. A municipality may extend into multiple counties.
The 272 Colorado municipalities operate under one of five types of municipal governing authority:
- 2 consolidated city and county governments
- 61 cities and 35 towns that are home rule municipalities
- 12 statutory cities
- 161 statutory towns
- 1 territorial charter municipality
There are no township governments in Colorado, but there are more than 4,000 special districts. See Active Colorado Local Governments.
Other governments
There are two federally recognized tribes that overlap Colorado: the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Constitution of Colorado, article IV, § 22; C.R.S. § 24-1-110.
- ^ a b Hamilton, Andrea L. (August 2008). “Conducting Colorado Legislative History Research” (PDF). The Colorado Lawyer. 37 (8): 113–115. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-04.
- ^ Constitution of Colorado, article II, section 5
- ^ Constitution of Colorado, article VII
- ^ Constitution of Colorado, article V, section 1
- ^ Constitution of Colorado, article XXI
- ^ “Tribes”. Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
