Colorado Bill Expands Auraria Board Student and Faculty Participation

CO Legislature Bill Search

Published January 1st, 2026

Detected March 19th, 2026

Summary

Colorado's SB26-034 amends participation rules for the Auraria Board of Directors. It grants voting rights to student and faculty advisory committee representatives and expands the faculty advisory committee. The bill also introduces conflict of interest recusal requirements for board members.

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What changed

Colorado Senate Bill SB26-034 modifies the composition and voting rights of the Auraria Board of Directors. Key changes include granting voting membership to representatives from the student and faculty advisory committees, expanding the faculty advisory committee from six to nine members, and reducing the residency requirement for the student representative. Additionally, the bill mandates that board members recuse themselves from votes or executive sessions where a conflict of interest exists.

This legislation will impact the governance structure of the Auraria Higher Education Center. Educational institutions and their governing boards should review these changes to ensure compliance with the new voting rights and residency requirements for advisory committee representatives. The introduction of conflict of interest recusal obligations also necessitates updated internal policies and training for board members. The bill's effective date is January 1, 2026, with no specific compliance deadline mentioned beyond that.

What to do next

Review and update Auraria Board of Directors bylaws and operating procedures to reflect new voting rights for student and faculty representatives.
Ensure the faculty advisory committee is expanded to nine members as required.
Implement procedures for board members to identify and recuse themselves in cases of conflict of interest.

Source document (simplified)

SB26-034

Auraria Board Student & Faculty Participation

| Type | Bill |
| --- | --- |
| Session | 2026 Regular Session |
| Subjects | Higher Education |
Concerning expanding participation by members of the Auraria board of directors advisory committees.

Recent Bill (PDF) Recent Fiscal Note (PDF) Bill Summary:

Under current law, the members of the Auraria board of directors (board) who are the representatives of the student advisory committee and faculty advisory committee are nonvoting members. The bill makes those members voting members of the board. Concerning the representative of the student advisory committee, the bill repeals the requirement that the student be a full-time student and reduces the Colorado residency requirement from 3 years prior to the member's election to one year prior to the member's election.

The bill expands the faculty advisory committee from 6 to 9 members. One of the additional members is elected from each constituent institution of the Auraria higher education center.

The bill requires board members to recuse themselves from a vote or executive session of the board when they have a conflict of interest.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Prime Sponsors

Senator

Chris Kolker
Senator

Janice Marchman
Representative

Eliza Hamrick
Representative

Jennifer Bacon

Committees

Senate

Education

House

Education

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Status

Passed

Introduced

Passed

Related Documents & Information

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03/13/2026 | Final Act | PDF |
| 03/11/2026 | Rerevised | PDF |
| 03/10/2026 | Revised | PDF |
| 02/17/2026 | Reengrossed | PDF |
| 02/12/2026 | Engrossed | PDF |
| 01/26/2026 | Introduced | PDF |

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 02/10/2026 | PA1 | PDF |

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 02/19/2026 | First Revised Fiscal Note | PDF |
| 02/02/2026 | Initial Fiscal Note | PDF |

| Activity | Vote | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Refer Senate Bill 26-034 to the Committee of the Whole. | The motion passed on a vote of 10-3. | Vote summary |
Committee Report: PDF
| Activity | Vote | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adopt amendment L.001 | The motion passed without objection. | Vote summary |
| Adopt amendment L.006 | The motion passed without objection. | Vote summary |
| Refer Senate Bill 26-034, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. | The motion passed on a vote of 4-3. | Vote summary |
Hearing Summary | Committee Report: PDF
| Date | Calendar | Motion | Vote | Vote Document |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 03/11/2026 | Third Reading | BILL | 43 AYE 21 NO 1 OTHER | Vote record |

| Date | Calendar | Motion | Vote | Vote Document |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 02/17/2026 | Third Reading | BILL | 19 AYE 11 NO 4 OTHER | Vote record |

| Date | Amendment Number | Committee/ Floor Hearing | Status | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 02/12/2026 | L.007 | Second Reading | Passed [*] | PDF |
| 02/09/2026 | L.006 | SEN Education | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/09/2026 | L.001 | SEN Education | Passed [*] | PDF |
* Amendments passed in committee are not incorporated into the measure unless adopted by the full House or Senate.

** The status of Second Reading amendments may be subsequently affected by the adoption of an amendment to the Committee of the Whole Report. Refer to the House or Senate Journal for additional information.

| Date | Location | Action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03/10/2026 | House | House Second Reading Passed - No Amendments |
| 03/18/2026 | Governor | Sent to the Governor |
| 03/18/2026 | House | Signed by the Speaker of the House |
| 03/17/2026 | Senate | Signed by the President of the Senate |
| 03/11/2026 | House | House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments |
| 03/10/2026 | House | House Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments |
| 03/05/2026 | House | House Committee on Education Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole |
| 02/18/2026 | House | Introduced In House - Assigned to Education |
| 02/17/2026 | Senate | Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments |
| 02/13/2026 | Senate | Senate Third Reading Laid Over to 02/17/2026 - No Amendments |
| 02/12/2026 | Senate | Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor |
| 02/09/2026 | Senate | Senate Committee on Education Refer Amended to Senate Committee of the Whole |
| 01/26/2026 | Senate | Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Education |
Prime Sponsor

Sen. C. Kolker | Sen. J. Marchman

Rep. J. Bacon | Rep. E. Hamrick

Sponsor

(None) Co-Sponsor

Sen. J. Coleman | Sen. J. Gonzales | Sen. I. Jodeh | Sen. C. Kipp | Sen. M. Weissman