This is the second story in a series of eight, celebrating the Colorado Municipal League’s dedication to serving Colorado’s municipalities over the last century.

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State voters adopted municipal home rule in Colorado in 1902. Since then, home rule has been clarified, protected, and discussed at the state and local level. Municipal home rule is a system of government written into the Colorado Constitution, making Colorado one of thirty-one states with some form of home rule in the state constitution. Colorado’s home rule provisions and protections against state preemption are among the most robust in the nation. The Colorado Municipal League has championed the benefits of home rule from the League’s inception and has worked to protect the rights of home rule municipalities in the legislature and courts.

A short lesson on home rule

Home rule is a form of government that gives local governments the power to make laws regarding matters of local concern, as opposed to being directed in those matters by the state government. Authority to act on matters of local and municipal concern is derived from the Colorado Constitution and a municipality’s locally enacted charter and ordinances, rather than state statutes. Cities and towns that adopt a local charter do not have to wait for the state to authorize actions and are protected from the state interfering in local matters. In its essence, home rule allows local policy to be set by those most immediately impacted by them.

Colorado’s early home rule

Colorado’s home rule movement was fueled by frequent amendments to Denver’s territorial charter by the General Assembly as part of ongoing partisan disputes. In 1901, Denver Senator John Rush, with the support of Governor James Orman, passed legislation referring a constitutional amendment to statewide voters to form Denver as a consolidated home rule city and county, and give citizens of first- and second-class cities the right to adopt local charters and become home rule municipalities. In his inaugural address, Governor Orman strongly supported home rule.

The question of home rule for Denver has been a disturbing one ever since the enactment of the law under
which the governor appoints the Denver board of public works and the fire and police board. It may occur
that governors will be elected that have little or no knowledge of the governmental affairs of such a city as
Denver [and] the responsibilities for all city employees should be cast upon the people who live in the cities.
Place the responsibility where it belongs—upon the voters of the city.

Gov. Orman, quoted in Denver’s Struggle for Home Rule, Denv. Mag., Fall 1971, at 345

Colorado voters overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment, located in Article XX to the state constitution, by a vote of 59,750 to 25,767.

In 1912, Colorado voters amended Article XX to specifically list several home rule powers and, most importantly, a paragraph confirming the “full right of self-government in local and municipal matters” and all powers essential to exercise that right.

Colorado Municipal League advocates for home rule

The League, established in 1923, began advocating on behalf of home rule nearly immediately. A few initial members were home rule municipalities when they formed the League, surely establishing the importance of local control when they founded it.

The League has advocated for home rule through its amicus program in its beginning years. The League advocates in state and federal courts on behalf of Colorado municipalities as an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”). Throughout the decades, it has continued to provide commentary in the courts and the legislature in support of home rule.

1970 expands home rule to all municipalities

In 1970, voters approved a home rule amendment that presented the opportunity for smaller communities to become home rule as well. The home rule portion of the measure was included with the League’s support. The amendment extended the right to adopt home rule to the citizens of each municipality, regardless of population or when incorporated, and directed the General Assembly to enact statutory procedures to facilitate the adoption, amendment, and repeal of home rule charters. The 1970 measure was approved by an overwhelming vote of 325,512 to 170,986.

The 1970 amendment made home rule accessible to towns with less than 2,000 in population. Since it became law, municipalities across the state of Colorado have made the shift and taken on more local control.

Home rule lives on

The longevity and vitality of home rule depends on the vigilance, assertiveness, and loyalty of those who understand and value local control on issues that matter to them locally. Where home rule authority ends is, to some extent, always in flux. Our understanding of home rule continues to evolve as it is challenged in the legislature or in courts, just as it has for 120 years. At least one result is certain – home rule continues to provide flexibility and diversity in addressing local needs in a way that works for a particular community.

Coloradans’ desire to decide local issues locally appears to be as strong as ever. Voters approved one new home rule charter last year, bringing the total of home rule municipalities to 105. More cities and towns are currently scheduling elections to vote on charters or the formation of charter commissions in coming years.

Colorado’s Home Rule Municipalities

Below is a list of the home rule municipalities in Colorado as of February 2023.