Behind the Curtain: Who Actually Runs the Colorado Capitol (And What They Get Paid)

What This Bill Actually Does

Every year, before the heavy lifting of lawmaking really begins, the Colorado General Assembly has to handle its own human resources. House Joint Resolution 26-1001 is the official blueprint for staffing the Capitol for the 2026 legislative session (the 75th General Assembly). Instead of changing state law, this internal resolution creates the specific jobs, sets the pay scales, and authorizes the hiring of the people who actually keep the legislative gears turning.

The bill lays out an extensive roster of partisan and non-partisan roles for both the House and the Senate. On the administrative side, it funds the Chief Clerk, Journal Clerks, and Enrolling Clerks—the folks who meticulously track every amendment, vote, and daily calendar change. If you have ever wondered how a messy floor debate gets translated into perfectly clean legal text, these are the professionals doing the work. It also authorizes the Sergeants-at-Arms, who maintain order, decorum, and security in the chambers and committee rooms.

On the policy side, the resolution outlines the structure for both the Majority and Minority leadership teams. It sets up positions like Chief of Staff, Communications Directors, and Senior Budget Policy Analysts. Most notably for the average citizen, it authorizes the hiring of Legislative Aides—the frontline workers who answer constituent emails and schedule meetings—capping them at 1,800 hours per legislator for the year at a rate of $25.34 per hour. Interestingly, it even sets the daily rate for the Capitol Chaplain at exactly $25.00 per visit.

What It Means for You

At first glance, an internal Capitol staffing resolution might seem completely disconnected from your daily life in Colorado. But if you are a parent trying to advocate for better schools, or a homeowner concerned about property taxes, this bill directly funds the people you will actually interact with. When you call your representative or state senator, you are rarely getting them directly on the line—you are talking to a Legislative Aide.

This resolution sets the baseline for how accessible your elected officials can be. By capping aide hours at 1,800 per legislator for the year, it essentially means each lawmaker has roughly one full-time staffer (or a couple of part-timers) to handle the thousands of calls, emails, and meeting requests they receive from their district. Understanding that these aides are earning $25.34 an hour while managing immense logistical loads is a helpful reality check when you are trying to get their attention. They are the absolute gatekeepers to power in Colorado, and treating them with professional respect is the fastest way to get your issue in front of a voting member.

Here is what you should do to navigate this system effectively:

• Find your aide's name: Go to the Colorado General Assembly website, find your specific legislator, and look for their staff contact. Address your emails to the aide by name—it stands out in an inbox full of generic form letters.
• Keep it concise: Knowing that this resolution only funds limited staff hours, keep your outreach brief and bulleted. Aides do not have time to read a six-page essay, but they will summarize a clear, one-paragraph request for their boss.
• Watch the calendar: Because these are largely "session-only" employees, their heaviest workload is the 120 days between January and May. If you have a neighborhood issue that isn't urgent, reaching out in the late summer or fall might get you more direct time with the lawmaker.

What It Means for Your Business

For Colorado business owners, contractors, and industry leaders, understanding the internal structure of the Capitol is just as important as reading the actual bills. HJR26-1001 is essentially the organizational chart for the state's largest and most consequential board of directors. If your industry is facing heavy new regulations, or if you are tracking a massive state procurement contract, the people funded by this resolution are the ones drafting the fine print.

The most critical roles to watch in this document are the Policy Analysts and Budget Analysts assigned to the Majority and Minority offices. Lawmakers are generalists—they have to vote on everything from water rights to nursing regulations in a single afternoon. They rely heavily on these analysts to tell them what a bill actually does to the economy, to local businesses, and to the state budget. If your trade association or lobbyist is doing their job right, they aren't just talking to the elected officials; they are actively educating these behind-the-scenes analysts on how proposed legislation will impact your bottom line.

Here are a few specific action items you can take this week to leverage this understanding:

• Map the analysts: If your business is heavily affected by state policy (like real estate development, energy, or healthcare), ask your industry association to identify which Majority Policy Analyst covers your sector. They are the ones writing the internal memos that guide floor votes.
• Plan your compliance timeline: The resolution specifically funds Enrolling Clerks. These are the people who finalize the exact legal text of a bill after it passes. Don't start spending money on new compliance software or legal reviews until these clerks publish the "Enrolled" version of the bill—that is the final, official text that goes to the Governor.
• Build relationships early: If you want to invite a lawmaker to tour your facility or speak at your company, send the request directly to their Legislative Aide well before the chaotic final weeks of the legislative session.

Follow the Money

While this resolution doesn't raise your taxes or create new business fees, it does represent a significant chunk of the state's internal operating budget. Let's do some quick math on the most transparent number in the bill: the Legislative Aides. The state has 65 Representatives and 35 Senators (100 lawmakers total). If every single one of them maximizes their allotted 1,800 hours at $25.34 per hour, that is roughly $4.56 million dedicated strictly to baseline constituent services and basic office management for the year.

That figure doesn't even touch the salaries of the specialized staff, like the Chief of Staff, the Communications Directors, or the specialized Reading Clerks who physically read the bills out loud on the floor. These positions are paid out of the state's General Fund through an annual legislative appropriation. Interestingly, the resolution authorizes the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate to hire temporary, session-only staff and interim replacements. This means the total Capitol payroll footprint flexes up significantly during the busy 120-day legislative session and shrinks dramatically when the lawmakers go home for the summer. It is a massive, temporary workforce spun up every January to do the state's business.

Where This Bill Stands

Because this is a Joint Resolution focused entirely on the internal operations of the General Assembly, it moves much faster than a standard piece of legislation and does not require the Governor's signature. It is a mandatory housekeeping measure that lawmakers must pass immediately so they can legally pay the staff who are already working at the Capitol.

The bill was introduced in the House on January 14, 2026, and sailed through both chambers without a single amendment or delay. By January 21, 2026, it was officially signed by both the Speaker of the House (Vanessa Reilly) and the President of the Senate (James Rashad Coleman Sr.), making it fully effective. The staff are hired, the pay rates are locked in, and the 2026 legislative session is officially fully staffed and open for business.