Legislative
Overview

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado believes that the best way to protect the Bill of Rights and the freedoms it guarantees is to ensure that unconstitutional bills never become law. During each legislative session we track numerous bills that address important issues that affect our freedoms. The ACLU of Colorado provides testimony in the Colorado House and Senate. While the ACLU covers many issues, most of our legislative work is concentrated on privacy (includes reproductive rights), religious freedom, free speech, protected class (includes LGBT, affirmative action, immigrant rights), law enforcement, government secrecy and others. Issues always arise that do not fit neatly into these categories and the ACLU of Colorado is ever vigilant to catch them, too.

The Colorado General Assembly meets every year for 120 days, with each session beginning in January and ending in May. There are 65 members of the House who serve two-year terms and 35 members of the Senate who serve four-year terms. Legislators have term limits and may only serve eight consecutive years in one chamber of the legislature but may be elected to the other chamber for another eight years. To learn more about Colorado state legislative processes and activities, click here.

To learn more about the ACLU’s work in the recent legislative session, click here.

Click on this link for information on how you can get involved.

If you would like to receive updates on the work being done as we plan for the next legislative session and action alerts about legislation, sign up here.