Colorado § 31-12-102 Legislative declaration

Colorado Statutes

§ 31-12-102 — Legislative declaration

Colorado § 31-12-102

Title 31Government

Art.Annexation - Consolidation - Disconnection

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Bluebook

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 31-12-102 (2026).

Text

(1)The general assembly hereby declares that the policies and procedures in this part 1 are necessary and desirable for the orderly growth of urban communities in the state of Colorado, and to these ends this part 1 shall be liberally construed. The general assembly further declares that it is the purpose of this part 1:

(a)To encourage natural and well-ordered development of municipalities of the state;

(b)To distribute fairly and equitably the costs of municipal services among those persons who benefit therefrom;

(c)To extend municipal government, services, and facilities to eligible areas which form a part of the whole community;

(d)To simplify governmental structure in urban areas;

(e)To provide an orderly system for extending municipal regulations to newly annexed a

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(1) The general assembly hereby
declares that the policies and procedures in this part 1 are necessary and desirable
for the orderly growth of urban communities in the state of Colorado, and to these
ends this part 1 shall be liberally construed. The general assembly further declares
that it is the purpose of this part 1:

(a) To encourage natural and well-ordered development of municipalities of
the state;

(b) To distribute fairly and equitably the costs of municipal services among
those persons who benefit therefrom;

(c) To extend municipal government, services, and facilities to eligible areas
which form a part of the whole community;

(d) To simplify governmental structure in urban areas;

(e) To provide an orderly system for extending municipal regulations to
newly annexed areas;

(f) To reduce friction among contiguous or neighboring municipalities;

(g) To increase the ability of municipalities in urban areas to provide their
citizens with the services they require; and

(h) To respect the sovereignty of federally recognized Indian tribes with
lands within the exterior boundaries of a federally recognized Indian reservation
and within the exterior boundaries of the state, to reduce the jurisdictional
complexities that arise when municipalities annex Indian reservation land, and to
ensure cooperation and collaboration by municipalities with tribal governments.

(2) The general assembly further declares that:

(a) Section 30 of article II of the state constitution was added to the state
constitution as a voter-approved ballot measure in 1980;

(b) Since its adoption, section 30 of article II of the state constitution has
been in lawful force and effect. As part of the state constitution, all annexations
since its enactment have been or should have been undertaken subject to its terms.

(c) By enacting House Bill 10-1259, enacted in 2010, which amends various
provisions of this part 1, the general assembly does not intend to change the law
governing annexations in the state but rather to better harmonize the provisions of
this part 1 with those of section 30 of article II of the state constitution.

Legislative History

Source: L. 75: Entire title R&RE, p. 1076, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2010: (2) added, (HB 10-1259), ch. 211, p. 913, � 1, effective August 11. L. 2024: (1)(f) and (1)(g) amended and (1)(h) added, (SB 24-193), ch. 451, p. 3136, � 1, effective June 6.