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2019 Op. Colo. Att'y Gen. 1 (2019)

handle is hein.sag/sagco2019 and id is 1 raw text is: PHIL WEISER Attorney General NATALIE HANLON LEH Chief Deputy Attorney General ERIC R. OLSON Solicitor General v.C* STATE OF COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF LAW RALPH L. CARR COLORADO JUDICIAL CENTER 1300 Broadway, 10th Floor Denver, Colorado 80203 Phone (720) 508-6000 Office of the Attorney General FORMAL ) OPINION ) No. 19-01 OF ) ) September 30, 2019 PHILIP J. WEISER ) Attorney General ) Kara Veitch, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration and designee of Governor Jared Polis, requested this Formal Opinion under § 24-31-101(1)(b), C.R.S. (2019). QUESTIONS PRESENTED AND SHORT ANSWERS Questions Presented. Your request for a Formal Opinion contained two questions: in connection with those state public bodies whose enabling statutes provide them with the power to appoint, or control the appointment, of a director of a division in a principal department of state government, (1) does the provision of the Colorado Constitution at article XII, § 13(7) negate such power, removing from that state public body the power to make the division director's appointment, and (2) if so, what are examples of state public bodies that may be impacted by such a conflict with said § 13(7)? Short Answer 1. Yes, the Colorado Constitution, article XII, § 13(7), reserves to the head of each principal department the authority to appoint division heads whose positions are within the state personnel system. State statutes that purport to grant this appointing authority to a different body, such as a state board or commission, are inconsistent with the state constitution and, thus, without legal effect. Short Answer 2. Examples of state public bodies whose statutory appointing authority may be affected by a conflict with article XII, § 13(7) include: