Colorado § 24-19-102 - Definitions.

§ 24-19-102. Definitions.

For the purposes of this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Government-financed entity" means any organization, group, or other entity if:

(a) Such entity is composed of members which are governmental units or who are officials or employees of governmental units; and

(b) At least fifty percent of the annual operating budget for such entity is derived from dues, contributions, or other payments received from governmental units.

(2) "Government-supported official or employee" means any person who is employed or who was employed by a governmental unit or by a government-financed entity and who is or was a manager, an official, or an administrator for such governmental unit or government-financed entity.

(3) (a) "Governmental unit" means the state of Colorado, any department, division, section, unit, office, commission, board, institution, institution of higher education, or other agency of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the state government, or any local government, authority, public corporation, body politic, or other instrumentality of the state.

(b) "Governmental unit" does not include the university of Colorado hospital authority created pursuant to section 23-21-503, C.R.S., or the Denver health and hospital authority created in section 25-29-103, C.R.S.

(4) "Local government" means a county, municipality, city and county, or school district or a special district created pursuant to the "Special District Act", article 1 of title 32, C.R.S.

(5) (a) "Postemployment compensation" means compensation paid to a government-supported official or employee after termination of such government-supported official or employee's employment from a particular employment position with a governmental unit or a government-financed entity or after termination of the performance of actual services for such governmental unit or government-financed entity in such employment position if such compensation was not earned prior to such termination or, for an official or employee who becomes employed in a new position with the governmental unit or government-financed entity after such termination, if such compensation was not earned in the new position. "Postemployment compensation" shall include, but is not limited to, the provision of any unearned postemployment employee benefits. "Postemployment compensation" does not include the following:

(I) Any retirement benefits earned by a government-supported official or employee during the employment of such official or employee with a governmental unit or government-financed entity;

(II) Any payment made as a part of a bona fide early retirement program that is available to a class of five or more government-supported officials or employees;

(III) Any payments of deferred compensation that have been earned by a government-supported official or employee during the employment of such official or employee with a governmental unit or government-financed entity;

(IV) Any workers' compensation payment; or

(V) Any unemployment compensation payment.

(b) The term "postemployment compensation" includes any retirement benefits or any payments of deferred compensation to be paid into a retirement fund or deferred compensation plan after termination of performance of actual services for the particular employment position in the usual course of said employment. The prohibition of postemployment compensation is intended to eliminate any employment contract provision that binds the employer to make payments into a retirement fund or deferred compensation program after termination of performance of actual services in an employment position. Said prohibition is not intended to forbid the receipt of benefits or payments earned during actual performance of services if these benefits or payments are to be credited to or received by the employee after termination of actual performance of services for an employment position.

(c) Unless otherwise excluded by the provisions of this article, the term "postemployment compensation" includes any payment made to a government-supported official or employee after the term of employment of such official or employee in a particular employment position has ended pursuant to a settlement agreement between a governmental unit or government-financed entity and the official or employee; except that such payment is not postemployment compensation if such payment is made as part of a bona fide settlement of a legitimate legal dispute.

Source: L. 93: Entire article added, p. 663, § 1, effective July 1. L. 96: (3)(a), IP(5)(a), and (5)(b) amended and (5)(c) added, p. 849, § 1, effective May 23. L. 2015: (3)(b) amended, (HB 15-1239), ch. 153, p. 460, § 1, effective August 5.