Colorado § 28-3-103 - General provisions.

§ 28-3-103. General provisions.

(1) In case the United States is at war or in case of any other emergency declared by the president or the congress of the United States or by the governor or the general assembly of this state, any organization, unit, or detachment of the military forces of this state, by direction of the governor and upon order of the officer in immediate command thereof, may continue in fresh pursuit of insurrectionists, saboteurs, terrorists, enemies, or enemy forces beyond the border of this state into another state until they are apprehended or captured by such organization, unit, or detachment or until the military or police forces of such other state or the forces of the United States have had a reasonable opportunity to pick up the pursuit or to apprehend or capture the persons pursued, if such other state has given authority by law for such pursuit by such forces of this state. Except as provided by law, any person who is apprehended or captured in another state by any of the forces of this state shall, without unnecessary delay, be surrendered to the military or police forces of the state in which he or she is taken or to the United States, but such surrender shall not constitute a waiver by this state of its right to extradite or prosecute such person for any crime committed in this state.

(2) Any military forces of another state who are in fresh pursuit of insurrectionists, saboteurs, terrorists, enemies, or enemy forces may continue such pursuit into this state until the military or police forces of this state or the forces of the United States have had a reasonable opportunity to take up the pursuit or to apprehend or capture the persons pursued, and the pursuing forces may arrest or capture such persons within this state while in fresh pursuit. Any such persons who are captured or arrested by the military forces of such other state while in this state shall, without unnecessary delay, be surrendered to the military or police forces of this state to be dealt with according to law.

(3) This section shall not be construed so as to make unlawful any arrest in this state which would otherwise be lawful nor to repeal or prevent the application of any of the provisions of sections 16-3-104 and 16-3-106, C.R.S.

(4) The intent of this article and all acts of the state affecting the military forces is to conform to all acts and regulations of the United States affecting the same subjects, and all acts of the state shall be construed to effect this purpose, and anything to the contrary shall be held null and void so long as the subject matter has been acted on by the United States, and, upon any subject not acted upon with reference to these matters by United States authority, any act of the state shall be in full force and effect. Nothing in this subsection (4) shall be construed to limit in any way the application of this article to the discipline of the Colorado National Guard when on "active service" or "on duty" as defined in section 28-3-101.

(5) All matters relating to the organization, discipline, and government of the military forces not otherwise provided for in this article shall be decided by the custom, regulations, and usage of the appropriate service of the armed forces of the United States.

(6) The military forces of the state of Colorado shall be divided into two classes - the organized militia and the unorganized militia.

(7) The organized militia shall consist of the following:

(a) The federally recognized National Guard; and

(b) The state defense force.

(8) The unorganized militia shall consist of all other members of the military forces.

(9) Consistent with federal law, women may enlist in the state military forces in the same manner as men and shall be appointed by the governor in the same manner as men. While so serving in the state military forces, women shall have the same status as male members of the state military forces, consistent with federal law.

(10) A military force from another state, territory, or district shall not enter the state without the permission of the governor; except that this subsection (10) does not apply to a military force from another state, territory, or district that is on federal orders and acting as a part of the armed forces.

Source: L. 55: p. 607, § 3. CRS 53: § 94-9-3. C.R.S. 1963: § 94-1-3. L. 69: p. 868, § 1. L. 71: p. 1047, § 9. L. 86: (7)(b) amended, p. 1016, § 8, effective May 3. L. 95: (9) amended, p. 319, § 1, effective April 21. L. 2002: (1), (2), and (7) amended and (9) R&RE, pp. 584, 585, §§ 3, 4, effective May 24. L. 2025: (10) added, (SB 25-276), ch. 240, p. 1220, § 17, effective May 23.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 25-276, see section 1 of chapter 240, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.

ANNOTATION

Governor may not be interfered with. When the governor decides that an insurrection exists which necessitates the calling out of the militia, his action cannot be interfered with so long as he does not exceed his authorized power. In re Moyer, 35 Colo. 159, 85 P. 190 (1905); Moyer v. Peabody, 148 F. 870 (D. Colo. 1906), aff'd, 212 U.S. 78 (1909).

The Colorado Air National Guard is a state agency. Williams v. Colo. Air Nat'l Guard, 821 P.2d 922 (Colo. App. 1991).