Article VIII, Colorado Constitution

Colorado Constitution
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Article VIII of the Colorado Constitution is entitled State Institutions. It has five sections.

Section 1

	Text of Section 1: Established and Supported by State. Educational, reformatory and penal institutions, and those for the benefit of insane, blind, deaf and mute, and such other institutions as the public good may require, shall be established and supported by the state, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.

Section 2

	Text of Section 2: Seat of Government Where Located. The general assembly shall have no power to change or to locate the seat of government of the state, which shall remain at the city and county of Denver.

Amendments

• Colorado Measure Referral, Initiative 8 (1988), which was approved on November 8, 1988.

Section 3

Text of Section 3: Seat of Government - How Changed - Definitions (1) When the seat of government shall have been located in the city and county of Denver as provided in section 2 of this article, the location thereof shall not thereafter be changed, except by a vote of two-thirds of all the qualified electors of the state voting on that question, at a general election, at which the question of location of the seat of government shall have been submitted by the general assembly. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, if the governor determines that a disaster emergency exists that substantially affects the ability of the state government to operate in the city and county of Denver, the governor may issue an executive order declaring a disaster emergency. After declaring the disaster emergency and after consulting with the chief justice of the supreme court, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives, the governor may designate a temporary meeting location for the general assembly. (3) After the declaration of a disaster emergency by the governor, the general assembly shall convene at the temporary meeting location, whether during regular session or in a special session convened by the governor or by written request by two-thirds of the members of each house. The general assembly, acting by bill, may then designate a temporary location for the seat of government. The bill shall contain a date on which the temporary location of the seat of government shall expire. (4) As used in this section: (a) "Disaster emergency" means the occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, illness, or loss of life or property resulting from an epidemic or a natural, man-made, or technological cause. (b) "Seat of government" means the location of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the state of Colorado.

Amendments

• Colorado State Seat Temporary Location, Referendum Q (2010), which was approved on November 2, 2010.

Section 4

	Text of Section 4: Appropriation for Capitol Building.

Repealed by Colorado Measure Referral, Initiative 8 (1988) on November 8, 1988.

Section 5

Text of Section 5: Educational Institutions. (1) The following educational institutions are declared to be state institutions of higher education: The university at Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Denver; the university at Fort Collins; the school of mines at Golden; and such other institutions of higher education as now exist or may hereafter be established by law if they are designated by law as state institutions. The establishment, management, and abolition of the state institutions shall be subject to the control of the state, under the provisions of the constitution and such laws and regulations as the general assembly may provide; except that the regents of the university at Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Denver may, whenever in their judgment the needs of that institution demand such action, establish, maintain, and conduct all or any part of the schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacy of the university, together with hospitals and supporting facilities and programs related to health, at Denver; and further, that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent state educational institutions from giving temporary lecture courses in any part of the state, or conducting class excursions for the purpose of investigation and study; and provided further, that subject to prior approval by the general assembly, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the state institutions of higher education from hereafter establishing, maintaining, and conducting or discontinuing centers, medical centers, or branches of such institutions in any part of the state. (2) The governing boards of the state institutions of higher education, whether established by this constitution or by law, shall have the general supervision of their respective institutions and the exclusive control and direction of all funds of and appropriations to their respective institutions, unless otherwise provided by law.

Amendments

• Colorado University of Colorado Board of Regents, Measure 4 (1972), which was approved on November 7, 1972.

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Lexis Nexis, "Colorado Constitution"
• Constitution of the State of Colorado, as currently amended
• Colorado Experience: Colorado Constitution on Youtube
• List of constitutional amendments since 1912
• Huffington Post, "Colorado Constitution"

Additional reading

• Oesterle, Dale A., and Richard B. Collins (2002). The Colorado State Constitution: A Reference Guide, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing.