SB 34 Colorado Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Auraria Board Student & Faculty Participation

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 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.)

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 26, 2026 Signed Mar 27, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

Rerevised → Final Act · 4 edits · Mar 13, 2026

MODERATE

This bill transforms the Auraria Board of Directors by granting full voting rights to the student and faculty representatives who previously served only as nonvoting members. The changes also increase the size of the advisory committees that select these representatives and clarify that current members automatically gain these new voting powers without needing to be reelected.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of shared governance by converting advisory roles into voting roles within the Auraria Board of Directors, affecting the three institutions under its jurisdiction.

ELIGIBILITY

Student and faculty representatives on the Auraria Board are changed from nonvoting members to full voting members.

REQUIREMENT

The student advisory committee size increased from six to nine members, and the faculty advisory committee size increased from six to nine members.

TIMELINE

The act takes effect on October 1, 2026, and requires the board to update its bylaws to reflect the new voting authority.

DEFINITION

Added a formal legislative declaration stating that the elected student and faculty members now have voting rights equal to other board members to strengthen shared governance.

Floor votes · House Mar 11, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 27, 2026

Signed into law

Governor Signed

executive

Mar 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by the Speaker of the House

lower

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the President of the Senate

upper

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Introduced

Introduced In House - Assigned to Education

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Education

upper

4 primary · 15 co-sponsors