Advocacy Coordinator
The Colorado General Assembly began their 74th Legislative Session on January 10, 2024 and will end May 8, 2023. This is the time where our elected leaders – the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives – will make crucial policy decisions that will affect the state.
New to the legislative process? Here are a few basic things to know about the legislative session happening now!
There are 35 Senators who serve the state of Colorado. Senators are elected to four-year terms and may serve two consecutive terms. Senators must be a United States citizen and be a resident of the district from which the Senator is elected for at least twelve months prior to election. The Senate is divided so that one-half of the Senators are elected biennially, as nearly as practicable. The executive leadership of the Colorado Senate is called the Senate President. The president is elected by a majority vote of the Senate. The President calls the Senate to order each day, presides over the legislative sessions, and implements the rules and protocols of the Senate. There are also majority and minority leaders who are selected by their respective caucuses.
The Colorado House of Representatives is comprised of 65 Representatives. Representatives are elected every two years from the district in which they live, and they are limited to serving eight consecutive years. Each Representative District consists of approximately 88,800 citizens.
The executive leadership of the Colorado House of Representatives is called the speaker of the house. The speaker is designated by the majority party, then elected for two-year terms by all sixty-five members of the General Assembly. The Speaker calls the House to order each day, presides over the legislative sessions, and implements the rules and protocols of the House. There is also a majority leader and minority leader who are chosen by their respective caucuses.
Senators and Representatives are responsible for talking to the constituents and stakeholders in their services areas. Based on the needs and concerns they hear from the public, and their own priorities, they may introduce or collaborate on bills that they bring to either the Senate or House floor to review. All bills introduced must have bill sponsors which can be a mix of Senators and Representatives while also a mix of caucuses.
If you don’t know who your legislators are, then click here to find out! The city and county of Denver are represented by:
Senator Julie Gonzales, Senator Chris Hansen, Senator Jeff Bridges, Senator Robert Rodriguez, Representative Jennifer Bacon, Representative Elisabeth Epps, Representative Meg Froelich, Representative Tim Hernandez, Representative Leslie Herod, Representative Javier Mabrey, Representative Emily Sirota, Representative Alex Valdez, and Representative Steven Woodrow.
Legislators can introduce bills on a variety of topics – from education and industry to social services and housing.
The graphic below shows the process a bill must go through – and the approvals it must receive – to become Colorado law.
As the 2024 legislative session progresses in Colorado, we’ll share more about the bills being introduced, and how they impact homeownership and affordability.
Glossary of Key Terms to know!
If you want to know even more words relating to this process, then follow this link that the general assembly has provided the public.
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