(1) Each organized county within the state is
a body corporate and politic and as such is empowered for the following purposes:
(a) To sue and be sued;
(b) To purchase and hold real and personal property for the use of the
county, and acquire lands sold for taxes, as provided by law;
(c) To sell, convey, or exchange any real or personal property owned by the
county and make such order respecting the same as may be deemed conducive to
the interests of the inhabitants; and to lease any real or personal property, either as
lessor or lessee, together with any facilities thereon, when deemed by the board of
county commissioners to be in the best interests of the county and its inhabitants;
(d) To make all contracts and do all other acts in relation to the property and
concerns necessary to the exercise of its corporate or administrative powers. Any
such contract may by its terms exceed one year and shall be binding upon the
parties thereto as to all of its rights, duties, and obligations.
(e) To exercise such other and further powers as may be especially
conferred by law;
(f) To develop, maintain, and operate mass transportation systems, which
power shall be vested either individually in the board of county commissioners or
jointly with other political subdivisions or governmental entities formed pursuant to
the provisions of part 2 of article 1 of title 29, C.R.S. Except as provided in
paragraph (j) of this subsection (1), this provision shall not apply to any county or
portion thereof encompassed by the regional transportation district as formed
pursuant to the provisions of article 9 of title 32, C.R.S. Counties, by ordinance
adopted, administered, and enforced in accordance with part 4 of article 15 of this
title, shall have the authority: To fix, maintain, and revise passenger fees, rates, and
charges, and terms and conditions for such systems; to prescribe the method of
development, maintenance, and operation of such mass transportation systems;
and to receive contributions, gifts, or other support from public and private entities
to defray the operating costs of such systems.
(g) To provide for the payment of construction, installation, operation, and
maintenance of street lighting by ordinance adopted, administered, and enforced in
accordance with part 4 of article 15 of this title and to assess, either in whole or in
part, the cost of constructing, installing, operating, and maintaining such street
lighting against the property in the vicinity of such street lighting in proportion to
the frontage of the property abutting the road, street, or alley where such street
lighting is so constructed, installed, operated, and maintained;
(h) To enter into contracts with the executive director of the department of
corrections pursuant to section 16-11-308.5, C.R.S., for the placement of persons
under the custody of the executive director in county jails or adult detention
centers;
(i) To dispose of abandoned personal property acquired by an elected county
official or county employee in performing official duties. Said personal property
may be disposed of only after the exercise of due diligence to determine the owner
of such personal property. Such personal property may be sold, discarded, or used
for county purposes as the board of county commissioners deems to be in the best
interests of the county.
(j) For any county located in whole or in part within the boundaries of the
regional transportation district, to provide transit services in cooperation with and
pursuant to consultation with the board of directors of the district. For purposes of
this paragraph (j), county means any county or city and county.
(k) To coordinate, pursuant to 43 U.S.C. sec. 1712, the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. sec. 4321 et seq., 40 U.S.C. sec. 3312,
16 U.S.C. sec. 530, 16 U.S.C. sec. 1604, and 40 CFR parts 1500 to 1508, with the
United States secretary of the interior and the United States secretary of
agriculture to develop land management plans that address hazardous fuel removal
and other forest management practices, water development and conservation
measures, watershed protection, the protection of air quality, public utilities
protection, and private property protection on federal lands within such county's
jurisdiction;
(l) To conduct or participate in forest health projects as defined in section
37-95-103 (4.9) within and outside the boundaries of the county.
(m) Independently initiating and bringing civil actions to enforce:
(I) Parts 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, and 14 of article 12 of title 38; and
(II) Beginning January 1, 2026, parts 4, 8, and 10 of article 12 of title 38.
(2) Counties have the authority to adopt and enforce ordinances and
resolutions regarding health, safety, and welfare issues as otherwise prescribed by
law. In addition to any other enforcement or collection method authorized by law, if
a county passes an ordinance or resolution of which a violation would be a class 2
petty offense, the county may elect to apply the penalty assessment procedure set
forth in section 16-2-201, C.R.S., and may adopt a graduated fine schedule for
multiple offenses. If a specified offense would be an unclassified misdemeanor, a
county may elect to downgrade the offense to a class 2 petty offense and apply the
penalty assessment procedure under circumstances deemed appropriate and
prescribed by the county in an ordinance or resolution.
(3) (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a contract between a county
and a private attorney who the county retains in relation to a civil action described
in subsection (1)(m) of this section shall specify an hourly rate, not to exceed five
hundred dollars per hour, at which the county compensates the private attorney.
(b) A county may use an amount equal to or less than ten percent of any
monetary award received as a result of a civil or criminal action commenced
pursuant to subsection (1)(m) of this section to cover the costs of that civil action,
including attorney fees.
(c) In commencing a civil action pursuant to subsection (1)(m) of this section,
a county may confer with any housing authority created pursuant to title 29 that
serves the county in whole or in part.