(a) The following committees of reference of the Senate are appointed at the beginning of each regular session of the General Assembly convening after a general election and at such other times as may be necessary, and the members of the committees serve at the pleasure of the appropriate appointing authority:
(1) Agriculture and Natural Resources.
(2) Appropriations.
(3) Business, Labor, and Technology.
(4) Education.
(5) Finance.
(6) Health and Human Services.
(7) Judiciary.
(8) Local Government and Housing.
(9) State, Veterans, and Military Affairs.
(10) Transportation and Energy.
The party representation of such committees is in proportion, as nearly as practicable, as determined by the majority leader, to the relative number of members of the two major political parties in the Senate. The majority leader of the Senate shall determine the number of members, shall designate the number from each political party, shall appoint the majority members to the committees of reference, and shall designate the chair and vice-chair of each committee of reference. In addition, the majority leader shall appoint any member of the Senate who is not affiliated with either of the major political parties in the Senate to the committees of reference. The minority leader shall appoint the minority members to such committees.
(a.1) For the purposes of section 24-4-103 (8) (d), Colorado Revised Statutes 1973, the Committee on Legal Services shall be considered a committee of reference.
(a.2) In addition to any other committee of reference specified in subsection (a) of this rule, a bill that allocates any additional legislative staff resources may also be referred to the Legislative Council as a committee of reference in accordance with section 2-3-301 (5), Colorado Revised Statutes.
(a.3) Repealed, Senate Resolution 19-003, January 8, 2019.
(a.4) Repealed, Senate Resolution 19-003, January 8, 2019.
(a.5) Repealed, Senate Resolution 19-003, January 8, 2019.
(b) The following committees shall be appointed at the beginning of each regular session of the General Assembly convening after a general election and at such other times as may be necessary, and the members of the committees shall serve at the pleasure of the appropriate appointing authority:
(1) Senate Services.
(2) Joint Budget Committee.
(3) Workplace Harassment Committee.
The majority leader of the Senate shall appoint the majority members to these committees, with the majority leader appointing to the Joint Budget Committee the majority party members elected by the Senate majority party caucus to serve on this committee. The minority leader shall appoint the minority members to these committees, with the minority leader appointing to the Joint Budget Committee the minority party member elected by the Senate minority party caucus to serve on this committee.
(c) No committee shall sit during the sessions of the Senate nor at any time occupy the Senate chamber without leave granted by the Senate.
(d) Committees shall report upon all matters referred to them without unnecessary delay, and in case of an adverse report, shall at all times state explicitly reasons therefor, in which case such adverse report shall not be acted upon until the following day. They shall return all petitions and other papers referred to them with the bill or resolution, if any, to which they relate.
(e) If a committee of reference decides that a bill referred to it should be referred to another committee it shall do so by means of a committee of reference report.
(f) The Senate services committee shall see to the proper revision, engrossment, and enrollment of bills. The committee may examine all bills, joint resolutions, joint memorials, and amendments, or other papers which are required to be engrossed before they go out of the possession of the Senate; they may also compare such amendments as shall be made in the House to Senate bills, that are concurred in by the Senate, for the purpose of seeing if they are correct for enrollment in the bill. No bill shall have its third reading unless it shall have been printed, nor until it has been correctly engrossed. The said committee may examine all bills before third reading and final passage, for the purpose of avoiding repetitions, unconstitutional provisions, securing proper title and of ensuring accuracy in the text and references and consistency with the language of existing statutes, and as to whether any amendments adopted by the Senate, if not already printed, are of that material character required by the constitution to be printed. If the committee examines any bills, it may report the nature of errors, with a concise suggestion as to the change necessary to correct the same. The committee may examine all bills originating in the Senate to see that they are correctly enrolled, signed by the President and the Speaker of the House, and presented to the Governor for signature. The committee may also authorize, review, and audit all expenditures for equipment, supplies, and services necessary for the efficient conduct of the business of the Senate and may employ such officers and employees of the Senate as authorized and assign them to their duties. The committee shall have leave to report at any time on its activities and may delegate any of its responsibilities to the secretary, as appropriate.
(g) (1) The Senate Workplace Harassment Committee shall handle complaints under the workplace harassment policy of the General Assembly against a member of the Senate or a partisan staff person of the Senate. The Senate Workplace Harassment Committee consists of four members, two appointed by the majority leader and two appointed by the minority leader. Members of the Senate Workplace Harassment Committee should have the appropriate experience and demeanor to handle potentially partisan issues in an objective manner.
(2) The Senate Workplace Harassment Committee shall elect a chair and a vice-chair, one from each of the two major political parties. The chair so elected serves as chair for the first regular session of the General Assembly at which the Workplace Harassment Committee is to serve and as vice-chair for the second regular session. The vice-chair so elected serves as chair for the second regular session of said General Assembly.
(3) If the chair receives a complaint from the director of the office of legislative workplace relations that was filed against a member of the Senate or a partisan staff person of the Senate under the workplace harassment policy, the chair shall convene a meeting of the Senate Workplace Harassment Committee to consider the complaint and shall proceed in accordance with the workplace harassment policy. Pursuant to the workplace harassment policy and section 24-6-402 (3)(a)(III), Colorado Revised Statutes, meetings of the Senate Workplace Harassment Committee may occur in executive session. Additionally, pursuant to section 24-72-204 (3)(a)(X.5), Colorado Revised Statutes, all documents related to any workplace harassment complaint are confidential and are not subject to public inspection, except as otherwise provided in section 24-72-204 (9), Colorado Revised Statutes, or as permitted under the Workplace Harassment Policy.
(4) The Senate Workplace Harassment Committee may solicit outside experts to assist it in its work.
(5) As used in this subsection (g), "partisan staff person of the Senate" means a person who is supervised by a member of the Senate and includes caucus staff persons and aides, interns, and volunteers supervised by a member of the Senate.