Colorado Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Colorado, with full citations and the original source on every page.
Can the Colorado State Treasurer invest state funds directly in corporate stock?
No. Article XI, section 2 of the Colorado Constitution generally prohibits the State from directly owning stock in a corporation. Recognized exceptions cover stock that comes to the state by escheat, …
How does the Colorado House of Representatives impeach a state official, and what conduct can get an official removed from office?
Colorado has no specific impeachment procedure in statute. Historically the House has started impeachment with a House resolution, governed by House Rule 26. To impeach for malfeasance in office, the …
How long does the State Board of Education member from Colorado's new 8th congressional district serve, and is the term different starting in 2024?
Two years for the 2022 election, six years for 2024 and beyond. Senate Bill 22-013 set a one-time two-year term for the 2022 election only. Because the bill did not extend the short term to later elec…
Did the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision (SFFA v. Harvard) make workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion programs illegal?
No. The Supreme Court's SFFA decision struck down race-conscious university admissions under the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI. It did not address workplace DEI programs, which are governed by …
Can a Colorado county keep the surplus value when it forecloses on property for unpaid taxes, after the U.S. Supreme Court's Tyler v. Hennepin County decision?
Probably not, in some circumstances. The opinion concludes that Colorado's statutes for recovering unpaid property tax on real property and mobile homes are likely unconstitutional under the U.S. Supr…
Can Colorado's state personnel director create a paid family leave benefit for state employees by rule, without an act of the legislature?
Yes, but only with strict procedural compliance: the director must run a technically sound prevailing-practices survey, follow formal APA rulemaking, and avoid changing any leave benefit set by statut…
When a Colorado regulatory program's effective renewal legislation passes after the sunset repeal date but during the one-year wind-up, is the program still law?
Yes. Under § 24-34-104(2)(b), a regulatory program continues to operate as law for one year after its sunset date. The legislature can amend or extend it at any point during that year, so the Occupati…
When a Colorado statute says a state board appoints a division director, but the state constitution says the department head appoints them, who actually has the appointing power?
The department head. Under Colo. Const. art. XII, § 13(7), the head of each principal department appoints division heads in the personnel system, and any statute that purports to give that authority t…
After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA, did Colorado need a constitutional amendment, or just a statute, to legalize commercial sports betting?
Just a statute. The AG concluded sports betting is not a constitutional 'lottery' under Article XVIII, § 2, but it is criminal 'gambling' under § 18-10-102(2). Legalizing it required new legislation, …
When can Colorado school staff share information about a student with police, parents, or other educators without violating federal student privacy law?
Often. FERPA only covers 'education records', not personal observations, peer reports, or social media posts. Education records can be shared during emergencies, with school officials who have a legit…
Could the Colorado General Assembly restructure the Hospital Provider Fee as a TABOR-exempt enterprise without voter approval?
Yes. The AG concluded an HPF enterprise would meet the three-part 'government-owned business' test from Colorado case law: no power to tax, services exchanged for involuntary fees, and financial separ…
Can a Colorado school district give the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey to students without first getting written parental consent, if the district uses an opt-out (passive consent) form?
Yes. Both the federal student-survey statute and Colorado's parallel statute require written parental consent only when participation is 'required.' If schools follow the opt-out procedures the AG des…
Could the Colorado State Board of Education tell the Commissioner to grant school districts a waiver from the performance-based component of the state ELA and Math test?
No. State law expressly bars the Board from waiving § 22-7-409 testing requirements, and skipping one component of a two-part assessment would invalidate the entire test.
When a Colorado law enforcement officer asks the medical marijuana registry to confirm a patient is allowed to possess more than two ounces or six plants, does the registry have to answer?
No. The registry only confirms whether the cardholder is 'lawfully in possession' of the card itself. Anything above the default of six plants or two ounces depends on undefined 'medical necessity', w…
Can Colorado's Independent Ethics Commission share frivolous ethics complaints with the State Auditor for performance-audit purposes without breaking the constitutional confidentiality rule?
Yes. The AG concluded disclosure to the State Auditor for audit purposes does not break confidentiality, because the auditor is bound by the same confidentiality rule and the documents stay protected …
Can Colorado's Department of Public Health raid leftover medical marijuana registry fees to fund unrelated programs, and can the Governor or General Assembly redirect that money to the general fund?
No to the first; the Department can only spend leftover medical marijuana program cash fund money on the medical marijuana program itself, because § 25-1.5-106(17)(a), C.R.S. expressly bars credits or…
Are the slot-machine-style 'sweepstakes' games at internet cafes and cyber cafes legal in Colorado, or are they actually illegal gambling dressed up as a phone-card promotion?
They are illegal gambling. The AG concluded that Colorado's sweepstakes statute (§ 6-1-802(10), C.R.S.) by its terms excludes activity that is otherwise unlawful, and that the games at sweepstakes caf…
Can a Colorado school district that teaches reading in both English and Spanish identify a 'Significant Reading Deficiency' under the READ Act using a Spanish-language assessment, instead of being forced to test the child only in English?
Yes. The AG concluded that the READ Act focuses on the skill of reading, not on reading the English language. The Act's list of approved interim assessments under § 22-7-1209(1)(b), C.R.S., includes S…
When the Colorado High Performance Transportation Enterprise (a TABOR-exempt entity) finishes rebuilding a stretch of highway and hands the lanes back to CDOT, does the increased book value of those lanes count toward CDOT's TABOR spending limit?
It depends on whether the asset can easily be converted to cash. The AG concluded that 'fiscal year spending' under Article X, § 20 of the Colorado Constitution captures expenditures and reserve incre…
Could Colorado's General Assembly legalize online casino gambling on its own, without going to voters, by treating the casino server's location as where the bet is placed?
No. The AG concluded that limited gaming under Article XVIII, Section 9 of the Colorado Constitution covers only physical, casino-style gaming inside qualifying buildings in Central City, Black Hawk, …
Can Colorado district attorneys claim a priority cut of casino tax money to cover the cost of prosecuting gaming-related crimes, before the constitutional split goes to host counties and the state?
No. The AG concluded that off-the-top Limited Gaming Fund payments under Article XVIII, Section 9(5)(b)(I) are reserved for state agencies that 'administer' Section 9 itself. District attorneys prosec…
Could Colorado hire a private 'recovery audit' contractor to comb through tax refund records, looking for refunds the state had issued in error?
No. The AG concluded that issuing a tax refund is not a 'payment activity' under the Recovery Audit Statute, and a taxpayer is not a 'vendor or other entity.' The Statute therefore did not apply to ta…
After Colorado redrew its congressional and legislative districts following the 2010 census, did the Secretary of State have to recalculate candidate petition signature requirements as if the prior elections in those districts had not happened?
No. The AG concluded that Colorado's petition signature statutes (§§ 1-4-801(2)(b) and 1-4-802(1)(c), C.R.S.) required the lesser of an enumerated number or a percentage of votes cast in the district'…
When Colorado's S.B. 12-158 took effect, did the Division of Supportive Housing and Homeless Programs cease to exist as a separate public housing agency, and did the Division of Housing have statewide jurisdiction to take over its work?
Yes to both. The AG concluded that S.B. 12-158 (effective July 1, 2012) merged SHHP into the Colorado Division of Housing, automatically transferring all contracts and grants to the Division of Housin…
Could a Colorado public university unilaterally create a discounted tuition rate for undocumented students without the legislature's approval?
No. The AG concluded that any tuition rate below what other nonresidents pay is a 'public benefit' under § 24-76.5-103, C.R.S. and 8 U.S.C. § 1621, and federal law required an affirmative state legisl…
When Colorado merged a homeless-services housing agency into the Department of Local Affairs, did the agency lose its existing HUD contracts, voucher authority, or its name?
No. The AG concluded that H.B. 11-1230 was a type-2 transfer of the Division of Supportive Housing and Homeless Programs (SHHP) into the Department of Local Affairs. SHHP kept its existing contracts, …
Are Colorado Charter School Institute schools subject to TABOR's voter-approval requirements for multi-year debt and emergency reserve obligations?
Yes. The AG concluded that CSI Charter Schools are 'districts' under TABOR because they are essentially governmental in nature, are created and primarily funded by the state, perform an essential gove…
Could the Colorado State Board of Education approve Innovation Schools Act waivers for a brand-new school that didn't yet have any teachers, administrators, or accountability committee?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Innovation Schools Act of 2008 was meant to expand local-school-district flexibility, that the majority-support evidence requirement in § 22-32.5-104(3)(f) only applied …
When a patient escapes or elopes from the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, what can the hospital tell the police, the media, and local schools without violating HIPAA or state confidentiality law?
It depends on whether the patient is forensic (escape is a crime, broader disclosure permitted under HIPAA's law-enforcement and public-safety exceptions and the state confidentiality statute's no-pri…
Can a Colorado rural electric co-op require a homeowner with rooftop solar to hand over the renewable energy credits, free of charge, just to be allowed to interconnect to the grid?
No. The AG concluded that REC transfer was not one of the PUC interconnection screens, so requiring it was an unreasonable burden on interconnection prohibited by § 40-9.5-118(2)(d). Where the custome…
Could CollegeInvest, the state's student-loan authority, hire an outside lobbyist?
Yes. The AG concluded that § 23-3.1-206(1)(g)'s authority to engage 'private consultants', 'professional and technical assistance', 'advice', and 'other services' was broad enough to cover legislative…
How far did Colorado's 2008 insurance bad-faith law (HB 08-1407) reach: did it apply to ERISA-preempted self-funded plans, to out-of-state master policies covering Coloradans, to pre-effective-date policies, and did it strip insurers of authority to make ordinary coverage decisions?
Mostly narrow. The AG concluded that HB 08-1407's penalty provisions did not reach self-funded ERISA plans, did not reach out-of-state master policies (except for the limited mammography requirement),…
Did Colorado's 1% Art in Public Places set-aside apply to higher education construction projects financed by certificates of participation paid from federal mineral lease revenues?
No. The AG concluded that the certificates-of-participation financing scheme did not generate a 'capital construction appropriation' triggering the 1% Art in Public Places allocation under § 24-80.5-1…
Is medical marijuana sold under Colorado's Amendment 20 subject to state sales tax, and who has to collect it?
Yes, mostly. The AG concluded that medical marijuana is tangible personal property subject to Colorado state sales tax, that no prescription-drug or agricultural exemption applied (except for marijuan…
Could the Colorado governor order mandatory unpaid furloughs of state executive-branch employees, and could the order pick and choose which departments, divisions, or positions were exempt?
Yes to both. The AG concluded that the governor had inherent supreme executive authority under Colo. Const. art. IV, § 2 to allocate staff and resources, including by ordering mandatory unpaid furloug…
Did the Colorado Lottery have to verify the lawful U.S. presence of every retailer license applicant and every winner cashing a ticket above $599?
Mostly no, partly yes. The AG concluded that cashing a winning lottery ticket was not a 'service' triggering the Secure and Verifiable Identity Documents Act, but that a lottery retailer license was a…
Could the Colorado state personnel director require Clinical Security Officers at the Pueblo mental health institute to either become certified peace officers or be reclassified out of the security occupation group?
Yes. The AG concluded that the state personnel director had the statutory authority to classify state positions, that his determination Clinical Security Officers were misclassified was reasonable on …
Was Mesa State College eligible for Amendment 50 community college gaming-tax revenue?
Yes. The AG concluded that Mesa State College's Western Colorado Community College Division qualified as a public community college under Amendment 50 and so its students and programs were eligible fo…
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Attorney general opinions in Colorado are written by the Colorado Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.