HB 25-1265
Fiscal Note
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
HB 25-1265: MODIFY COUNTY COMMISSIONER ELECTIONS
Prime Sponsors:
Rep. Marshall
Sen. Liston; Weissman
Published for: House State Affairs
Drafting number: LLS 25-0571
Fiscal Analyst:
Shukria Maktabi, 303-866-4720
shukria.maktabi@coleg.gov
Version: Initial Fiscal Note
Date: February 25, 2025
Fiscal note status: The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Summary Information
Overview. The bill requires counties with populations of 250,000 or more to have five county
commissioners and five districts.
Types of impacts. The bill is projected to affect the following areas on an ongoing basis:
Local Government
Appropriations. No appropriation is required.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts
Type of Impact
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
State Revenue $0 $0
State Expenditures $0 $0
Transferred Funds $0 $0
Change in TABOR Refunds $0 $0
Change in State FTE 0.0 FTE 0.0 FTE
Page 2
February 25, 2025 HB 25-1265
Summary of Legislation
The bill requires counties with populations of 250,000 or more to have five commissioners and
five districts. The bill outlines three methods for electing the five required commissioners, as
follows:
five commissioners voted by residents of five districts;
three commissioners voted by residents in three districts and two at-large commissioners; or
five at-large commissioners using proportional ranked voting method.
By January 1, 2032, a board of county commissioners with only three commissioners in a county
with a population greater than 250,000 must adopt a resolution to change their membership to
five commissioners, and must refer a resolution to voters at the next general election to select a
voting scenario to elect future commissioners. The requirements of the bill also apply to
counties whose populations grow and exceed 250,000 in the future.
Counties may change the method of electing members of a board of county commissioner via
referendum or a petition signed by at least eight percent of voters submitted to the county clerk
at least 90 days before the next general election.
Background
Currently, there are eight Colorado counties with a population greater than 250,000 people, not
including Denver, which is a consolidated city and county. Of the eight counties, Adams,
Arapahoe, El Paso, and Weld counties already have five commissioners. This bill impacts the
remaining four counties that only have three commissioners: Boulder, Douglas, Jefferson,
Larimer.
Local Government
Workload and costs for Boulder, Douglas, Jefferson, and Larimer counties will increase from
adding two more commissioners, holding the required referendum to select the method of
electing commissioners, and redistricting to create new commissioner districts. To the extent
additional counties reach the 250,000 population threshold on or after January 1, 2032, costs will
increase for those counties. It is assumed that counties would implement the changes and seat
additional county commissioners no later than FY 2031-32. These impacts are discussed in more
detail below.
New Commissioners
When the four counties add two additional commissioners, this will result in costs to each
county of $350,000 or more annually for salaries and benefits for these commissioners.
Additional costs for office space, computers, supplies, aides, support staff, and other expenses
will also be incurred. Page 3
February 25, 2025 HB 25-1265
Referendum
Counties may have additional election costs to place the required referendum on a general
election ballot by January 2032. It is assumed that counties already have county offices or ballot
measures that will require participation in the coordinated election. To the extent this
referendum is the sole county measure on the ballot, new costs will be incurred. If other county
offices or ballot measures are on the ballot, adding one additional measure may impact the
share of coordinated election costs paid by the county. For information purposes, large urban
counties in past elections have had cost of around $700,000 to participate in coordinated
elections.
Redistricting
If a county must establish new district boundaries following voter approval of the method for
selecting commissioners, costs will increase for additional staff in election divisions, computer
hardware, and software with geographic system information (GSI) and mapping capabilities, as
well as associated costs to convene a redistricting commission. Costs include expenses for data
gathering and analysis, community meetings, and ensuring newly drawn districts are fair; this
can range from $75,000 to $135,000 per county.
Petition Process
The bill also creates a new countywide petition process that requires county clerks to approve
petition formats, receive petitions, and review signatures to verify if the 8 percent threshold is
met for future petitions seeking to change the voting method for county commissioners. This
process can cost between $37,500 and $75,000 per county per ballot measure.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 90 days following adjournment of the General Assembly sine die, assuming
no referendum petition is filed.
State and Local Government Contacts
Counties
County Clerks
Local Affairs
Secretary of State
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit the General Assembly website.