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SB26-034 • 2026

Auraria Board Student & Faculty Participation

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 act mak

Education Elections
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Sen. C. Kolker, Sen. J. Marchman, Rep. J. Bacon, Rep. E. Hamrick, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. J. Gonzales, Sen. I. Jodeh, Sen. C. Kipp, Sen. M. Weissman, Rep. A. Boesenecker, Rep. K. Brown, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. L. Goldstein, Rep. S. Lieder, Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. J. Phillips, Rep. M. Rutinel, Rep. E. Sirota
Last action
2026-03-27
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Auraria Board Student and Faculty Voting Rights

This law changes the voting status of student and faculty representatives on the Auraria board from nonvoting to voting members, updates residency requirements for students, expands the faculty advisory committee, and sets rules for conflict of interest.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the student representative and faculty representative on the Auraria board from nonvoting members to voting members.
  • Removes the requirement that the student representative must be a full-time student.
  • Reduces the Colorado residency requirement for the student representative from three years to one year before being elected.
  • Expands the faculty advisory committee from six to nine members, with each constituent institution electing an additional member.
  • Requires board members to avoid voting or participating in executive sessions if they have a conflict of interest.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The student and faculty representatives on the Auraria board.
  • Students who want to be elected as the student representative.
  • Faculty members involved with the faculty advisory committee.

Terms To Know

fiduciary
A person or organization that has a legal duty to act in the best interest of another party, such as the Auraria higher education center.
conflict of interest
A situation where someone's personal interests might affect their ability to make fair decisions for others.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how long the changes will be in effect.
  • It is unclear if there are any additional requirements or restrictions beyond what is stated in the summary.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

L.001

SEN Education

Passed [*]

Plain English: The amendment adds new rules about how to replace an elected member of the student advisory committee if they can't do their job.

  • Adds a new section (III) that explains what happens when a student representative on the board cannot serve anymore due to death, resignation, or inability/refusal to act.
  • The amendment does not specify how long the replacement term will be.
  • It is unclear if this change affects other advisory committee members besides students.
L.006

SEN Education

Passed [*]

Plain English: The amendment adds new requirements for members of the Auraria board to take an oath, act as fiduciaries, and recuse themselves from votes when there is a conflict of interest.

  • Members of the Auraria board must now take an oath or affirmation.
  • Board members are considered fiduciaries of the center and must recuse themselves if they have a conflict of interest.
  • The board can create policies to define conflicts of interest, require disclosure of relevant interests, and establish procedures for determining when recusal is necessary.
  • The exact details of how conflicts of interest will be defined and managed are left up to the board's discretion through their bylaws and policies.
L.007

Second Reading

Passed [**]

Plain English: The amendment changes the list of specific sections in the bill that are being modified, altering how certain members of the Auraria board might participate.

  • Changes the text to remove 'and (1)(d)(I)' and add '(1)(c)(III), (1)(d)(I), and (2)'.
  • The amendment's exact impact on student and faculty participation is unclear due to incomplete information.
  • Technical language makes it hard to understand the full implications without additional context.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-27 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-03-18 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-03-18 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  4. 2026-03-17 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  5. 2026-03-11 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  6. 2026-03-10 House

    House Second Reading Passed - No Amendments

  7. 2026-03-10 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments

  8. 2026-03-05 House

    House Committee on Education Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole

  9. 2026-02-18 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Education

  10. 2026-02-17 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  11. 2026-02-13 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Laid Over to 02/17/2026 - No Amendments

  12. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor

  13. 2026-02-09 Senate

    Senate Committee on Education Refer Amended to Senate Committee of the Whole

  14. 2026-01-26 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Education

Official Summary Text

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 act makes the student board member and the faculty board member voting members of the board. Concerning the student board member, the act 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 faculty advisory committee is expanded from 6 to 9 members. One of the additional members is elected from each constituent institution of the Auraria higher education center.
The act states that board members are fiduciaries of the Auraria higher education center and requires board members to recuse themselves from a vote or executive session of the board when they have a conflict of interest.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)