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Homelessness affects thousands of individuals and families across Colorado. Among U.S. states, Colorado has the 8th highest number of residents experiencing homelessness. This memorandum describes the scope of homelessness in the state and provides an overview of the programs and resources available to Colorado’s unhoused population.

A recall is a process that allows voters to remove and replace an elected official before the official’s term ends. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado is one of 19 states that allow for the recall of state and local elected officials.

Pursuant to Section 2-3-2002, C.R.S. (House Bill 24-1368), the Language Access Advisory Board was created in the Legislative Department for the 2024 interim to study and make recommendations on improving language access to the legislative process for populations with limited English proficiency. The advisory board met four times over the 2024 interim, and it is required to report to the Executive Committee of the Legislative Council by December 15, 2024, on its work and its recommendations.

According to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a high-quality bus-based transit system that delivers fast and efficient service that may include dedicated lanes, busways, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, elevated platforms and enhanced stations. BRT is considered by many transit planners as a cost-effective way to increase transit ridership, reduce wait times, and increase rider safety and comfort.

The harmful effects of secondhand smoke and emissions from tobacco, marijuana, and electronic smoking devices continue to be an issue in Colorado. Since 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified secondhand tobacco smoke as a known cause of cancer.

This memorandum provides an overview of ranked choice voting in Colorado and other states. Ranked choice voting is a method of voting where voters rank candidates by preference. Ranked choice voting is currently used in nonpartisan elections in several Colorado municipalities, with at least one additional municipality planning to use it in future elections.

The U.S. federal government holds exclusive authority to regulate immigration, including who may enter the country and under what conditions. Nevertheless, states can enact laws that impact immigrants and influence the enforcement of federal immigration laws, provided that these state laws do not conflict with federal law. This issue brief outlines current state and federal laws affecting immigration in Colorado, including immigration enforcement, the Office of New Americans, access to public services, health insurance coverage, and identification.

The General Assembly considered several measures impacting local governments in 2024, including bills that limit the actions of home owners’ associations, modify certain taxing mechanisms, and affect local government regulatory authority. 

The General Assembly considered several measures related to local governments during the 2025 legislation session, including bills that affect taxation and fees, permitting procedures, land use, and special districts.

The General Assembly considered several measures related to housing during the 2025 legislation session, including bills that affect landlords and tenants, state housing programs, and residential building regulations.

Between 2023 and 2025, the General Assembly passed laws designed to boost the type and supply of housing in Colorado communities. These laws emphasize higher‑density residential housing near transit areas and encourage more affordable housing options, such as accessory dwelling units and condominiums. This issue brief summarizes key housing laws passed by the legislature since 2023 that aim to increase the state’s housing supply.

Colorado’s Medicaid program, Health First Colorado, is administered by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF). HCPF contracts with Regional Accountable Entities (RAEs), to coordinate health care for Medicaid members. This issue brief provides an overview of RAEs.

This memorandum provides information on Colorado's construction defect laws and the various issues surrounding construction defects in Colorado. It also provides data on housing trends in the state and offers a comparative view of construction defect civil laws in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Texas.

This handbook is intended to serve as a resource guide on the role and responsibilities of local governments, including counties, municipalities, special districts, and school districts.

The General Assembly considered several measures related to local government during the 2023 legislative session, including bills regarding local government operations, metropolitan districts, public employees, electric vehicles, and safety.

The General Assembly considered several measures related to housing during the 2023 legislative session, including bills regarding landlords and tenants, housing transactions, local governments, and land use.

This memorandum provides an overview of the process to fill vacancies in various elected offices at the federal, state, and local levels.  A vacancy in an elected office occurs when an office holder resigns or dies during his or her elected term.   A vacancy may also occur when an elected official moves outside of the district he or she represents.  Vacancies in federal, state, and local elected offices in Colorado are filled in a variety of ways, including appointments, vacancy elections, and political party vacancy committees.

Colorado's transportation system consists of the state highway system, county and municipal roads, mass transit, airports, railroads, and bicycle and pedestrian routes.  The system is primarily managed by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).  Cities, counties, transit authorities, regional transportation authorities, public highway authorities, and other state agencies are also involved in managing portions of the system.  The Colorado Transportation Commission provides direction to CDOT, a role authorized by the General Assembly in state law.  Both state an

During the 2022 legislative session, the General Assembly passed numerous bills related to general business issues and economic development initiatives.

During the 2022 legislative session, the General Assembly passed numerous measures related to the liquor, nicotine, marijuana, and gaming industries.

During the 2022 legislative session the General Assembly considered legislation related to special districts, local government administration, boards and commissions, funding, and firefighting assistance.

During the 2022 legislative session, the General Assembly considered housing bills to address affordability, homeowner associations, and families without housing.

This memorandum provides information about special district elections in Colorado.  Specifically, it provides an overview of special district elections and the times at which special district elections are conducted.  Also included are an overview of special districts generally and a table of all election dates in Colorado law.

This memorandum provides information about irrigation districts in Colorado.  Specifically, it discusses the current irrigation districts, the powers and duties of irrigation districts, and how those powers and duties compare to those of special districts.