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Legislative Council Staff

What We Do

The Legislative Council Staff is divided into various  sections that provide research and institutional support for the Colorado General Assembly.

These sections are described below.

Policy & Research

The Policy & Research section is responsible for a wide array of research and committee staffing activities, including the staffing of committees of reference, interim committees, and statutory committees, and preparing memos and other research publications to help the members of the General Assembly.  Committee support includes bill scheduling; preparing committee agendas, committee reports and summaries; conducting committee- or bill-specific research; and responding to information requests from the public. Research work includes writing memoranda for members of the General Assembly, preparing annual and final reports, and producing issue briefs on topics of interest to the General Assembly and the public.  The staff also plays a primary role in preparation of the blue book ballot analysis. 

Constituent Services

The Constituent Services Staff work with members of the General Assembly in responding to constituent questions.  Constituent requests must be submitted through a legislator's office.

Fiscal Notes

Fiscal Notes Staff is responsible for reviewing each printed bill and concurrent resolution to determine its fiscal impact.  A revised fiscal note is prepared for an engrossed, reengrossed, revised, or rerevised bill when warranted.  Other ongoing duties include providing assistance to interim and statutory committees regarding fiscal issues and responding to research requests from committees and legislators.  The staff also addresses specialized research project and studies, such as the annual property tax audit of county assessments, property tax projection modeling, the biennial school district cost-of-living study, and the blue book ballot analysis.

Economics and Forecasting

The Economics Staff forecasts state General Fund and cash fund revenue quarterly.  These revenue forecasts are used to develop the state budget, monitor state spending in relation to revenue, and determine and report the amount of excess state revenue as required by the state constitution.  The quarterly forecasts include projections for the national and state economies and summaries of economic trends in nine regions around the state. The Economics staff also prepares several annual forecasts that are used to prepare budget requests for various state programs.  Aside from forecasting, the staff assists with the preparation of fiscal notes for revenue and tax legislation, responds to research requests from members regarding revenue and fiscal matters, and assists with the blue book ballot analysis.

Visitor Services

Visitor Services Staff and volunteers provide State Capitol visitors with historical, legislative, and dome tours.  An estimated 300,000 persons visit the State Capitol annually.  Approximately 70,000 of these visitors join building tours coordinated by the visitor services staff.  The staff places special emphasis on educating school-aged children about state government and Colorado history.  The staff also prepares materials for the public, organizes special events at the Capitol, such as Colorado Day, and operates the Capitol Gift Shop.

Information Technology Services

Information Technology Staff provide information technology services and support to all legislators and legislative staff and support and maintain the General Assembly's computers, printers, networking equipment, servers, storage systems, and wireless network. Staff also manage services pertaining to a centralized file storage system, website support, and development and maintenance of various custom software applications used by legislative staff.

Support Services

The Legislative Council Staff provides centralized support services for the General Assembly and its support agencies.  The staff provides centralized accounting service for the legislative branch service agencies and compensation and benefit service for members of the General Assembly.  In addition, it operates a Print Shop that serves all the agencies, including the printing of bills for the House and Senate.

Joint Legislative Library

The Joint Legislative Library maintains reference materials and information on subject areas pertinent to government functions and Colorado legislative documents required to be filed with the General Assembly.  This includes current and past publications such as the Colorado Revised Statutes, Session Laws, and House and Senate Journals.  The library staff also maintains a reports database and a legislators' history database.  The library is open to the public, but materials cannot be checked out.