OUR COLORADO LEGISLATURE - IMPORTANCE TO OUR VOTERS

Original Article Published in 2022; Updated and Republished on 1/1/2024

Our Colorado legislature performs many functions -- but two of the most important tasks impacting all of us voters are:

- Making our laws

- Approving the State budget for managing our resources

Who makes up our Legislature?

The Colorado General Assembly has a House of 65 Representatives and a Senate of 35 Senators. They meet annually for 120 days -- beginning in January. Representatives serve 2-year terms (up to a total of 8 years), and Senators serve 4-year terms (for a maximum of 8 years).

But don’t think that 120 days is all that they work for us. Both the House and the Senate conduct their work through Committees that may meet primarily during the general session, but there are Committees that meet during interim periods outside the general session.

House and Senate Committees consider legislation and provide oversight of executive branch agencies. Senate Committees also conduct confirmation hearings.

But your legislators spend much of the rest of their time meeting with constituents to determine their needs in order to put together that important legislation, and to help their constituents with the Colorado governmental process. They are there to listen -- to YOU.

Why does it matter Who is in our Legislature?

Writing our laws and deciding the most important uses for taxpayer money are what make our State government work for us. Essentially these decisions are made by the party who has majority control of our legislature in each chamber.

After the 2020 election, we saw states with Republican-controlled legislatures pass restrictive laws to make voting more difficult. And in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, we saw Republican-controlled state legislatures passing extremely restrictive laws concerning women’s healthcare choices.

THAT is what legislatures can do -- exercise their power while not listening to their constituents.

That is exactly why keeping a Democratic majority in the Colorado legislature is so important. Both the Colorado House and Senate, Democratic majorities were elected in 2020 and 2022 -- passing progressive legislation regarding women’s health care and gun safety, plus safeguarding our voting rights. And those are just a few examples of their accomplishments. For November 2024 -- Let’s keep voting in all Down-Ballot races to keep Democrats in the majority for our Colorado legislature!

See our EVVoteBlue.org article “The Case for Electing Democratic State Level Officials and Legislators”.