Colorado Legislative Council Research Publications

Colorado Legislative Council research publications are valuable resources for researching Colorado legislative intent and legislative history. In Colorado, legislative committees research a variety of issues that impact our state and its citizens. Typically, these committees produce a final report on their research and activities, and propose legislation based on their findings. These final reports are then submitted to the General Assembly for consideration. The staff of the Colorado Legislative Council provides non-partisan research and support on legislative issues and prepares the final committee reports. Each report describes the committee’s research mandate, outlines the committee’s activities in furtherance of its goals, and sets forth the committee’s recommendations (usually in the form of proposed legislation). Accordingly, these reports are a critical resource for scholars and researchers of Colorado legislative history.

In addition to committee reports, Colorado Legislative Council research publications include the Ballot Information Booklets (known as the Blue Book) and the Colorado Legislator’s Handbooks. The Blue Book provides voters with the text of ballot measures and includes an analysis of each ballot measure. This analysis includes the major arguments for and against each measure and an evaluation of the potential fiscal impact of each ballot measure. The Colorado Legislator’s Handbook sets forth the General Assembly’s rules, practices and procedures. Again, these historical materials are a veritable gold mine of legislative and electoral information.

With the approval of the Legislative Council, the Sturm College of Law’s Westminster Law Library is digitizing all of the Colorado Legislative Council’s research publications (going as far back as 1954). We invite students, researchers, and the general public to access these documents through the library’s website. Please note: digitizing these research publications is an ongoing process and many of the 2010 publications are awaiting digitization. If you need help locating any of these research publications, please feel free to contact the library’s reference desk at 303-871-6206 or email.

Written by Jennifer Chang, Law Librarian Fellow