2026 General Assembly Judiciary (Senate & House) and Joint Budget Committee (JBC) contacts

[Spike CO]

Attached is the current information for the Senate & House Judiciary Committees, along with the JBC (Joint Budget Committee)/

The Judiciary Committees consider matters concerning courts and judges, civil liberties, Colorado's constitution, revision of the Colorado Revised Statutes, the correctional system and prison facilities, juvenile justice, and homeland security.  The committee also has legislative oversight responsibility for the Department of Corrections, the Department of Law, the Department of Public Safety, and the Judicial Branch. The committees are normally structured so that the party with the majority in a chamber (Senate or House) have the majority of members, and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the committees are always from the majority party. At the present time, both chambers are under majority control of the Democratic Party.

There were changes made to the makeup of both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees from the 2025 session.

The Joint Budget Committee (JBC) is charged with studying the management, operations, programs, and fiscal needs of the agencies and institutions of Colorado state government. Throughout the year, the JBC holds a number of meetings and considers a range of documents to help prepare budget recommendations for the General Assembly. 

The SMART (State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent Government (SMART) Act was revised in 2013 to formalize a performance management system in Colorado by providing broad parameters for the key elements of performance management: planning, management, data collection and reporting, and evaluation.  The SMART Act provides the framework for a customer-focused approach to the delivery of government goods and services through the following requirements: 

• Department performance plans - outline department strategic and operational priorities
• Annual Performance Reports - 4 page summary of each department performance plan, and their progress towards strategic and operational goals
• Performance evaluations - regular evaluations on progress towards goals outlined in performance plans
• SMART Act hearings - Departments present performance plans, regulatory and legislative agendas, and budget requests to Joint Committees of Reference 

The General Assembly Judiciary Committees, in joint session (Senate & House Judiciary committees meeting as one entity) are scheduled for the SMART hearings on the agencies they have oversight for ( Department of Corrections, the Department of Law, the Department of Public Safety, and the Judicial Branch) beginning Tuesday Jan 20th, Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd. The Public is allowed to provide comment and opinion regarding the information being presented as well as any concerns about the agencies presenting that they feel the committee members need to be aware of.

The agenda for the meetings has not been published as yet, and as soon as they are made available will be provided..