Colorado § 24-2-102 - Appointment of officers and employees.

§ 24-2-102. Appointment of officers and employees.

(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, such officers and employees as may be necessary in each principal department or institution of higher education shall be appointed by the head of each such department or institution in conformity with section 13 of article XII of the constitution of the state and the laws enacted in accordance therewith.

(2) The head of each principal department shall certify to the governor the number of officers and employees needed or required for the operation of his or her department for the ensuing twelve-month period in accordance with article 37 of this title.

(3) If, after appointments have been made to any principal department, the governor is of the opinion that the appointed personnel of any such department is in excess of its needs, the governor may require the separation of any of said appointees if ten days' prior notice of the proposed action is given by the governor to the head of any such department affected and opportunity given to such head within said ten-day period to be heard as to the necessity for the retention of all or any of said appointees proposed to be separated. The decision of the governor after such hearing shall be final and conclusive.

(4) Repealed.

(5) Elective officers shall not be subject to the provisions of this article 2, parts 2 and 11 of article 30, and articles 31, 35, 36, and 101 to 111 of this title 24.

Source: L. 41: p. 37, § 5. CSA: C. 3, §§ 5, 6. CRS 53: § 3-1-5. C.R.S. 1963: § 3-1-4. L. 68: p. 137, § 171. L. 72: p. 182, §§ 2, 3. L. 81: (4) amended, p. 1286, § 4, effective January 1, 1982. L. 91: (4) amended, p. 805, § 2, effective July 1. L. 95: (4) amended, p. 1103, § 35, effective May 31. L. 99: (1) amended, p. 164, § 23, effective August 4. L. 2004: (1) and (2) amended, p. 1693, § 29, effective July 1, 2005. L. 2025, 1st Ex. Sess.: (4) repealed and (5) added, (SB 25B-001), ch. 11, p. 69, § 2, effective August 28.

Editor's note: (1) Subsection (4) was relocated to § 24-75-201.5 (1) in 2025.

(2) Section 4 of chapter 11 (SB 25B-001), Session Laws of Colorado 2025, First Extraordinary Session, provides that the act changing this section applies to revenue estimates and interim revenue estimates presented, and executive orders issued, on or after August 28, 2025.

Cross references: For power of the head of a principal department to discontinue divisions, sections, or units other than those created by law, see § 24-1-107.

ANNOTATION

I. General Consideration.

II. Appointments.

III. Suspensions.

I. GENERAL CONSIDERATION.

Annotator's note. Cases decided under former law (prior to 1941) have been included in the annotations to this section.

II. APPOINTMENTS.

Persons necessary after department formed deemed necessary employees. The officers, assistants, and employees necessary in each principal department are those persons necessary after each department is formed, not those persons initially necessary to constitute the department. People v. Downen, 106 Colo. 557, 108 P.2d 224 (1940).

Motive or intent in making an appointment is irrelevant where the authority to make an appointment is conferred by statute. Davis v. Morley, 79 Colo. 168, 244 P. 599 (1926).

Chief of Colorado state patrol is appointed by head of department of highways and the appointment must be made from a list of three persons ranking highest, as determined by a competitive test of competence administered by the Colorado state personnel board. Schippers v. Colo. State Pers. Bd., 178 Colo. 154, 496 P.2d 307 (1972) (decided prior to the 1983 transfer of the Colorado state patrol to the department of public safety).

For the former requirement that appointments are to be approved by executive council, see People ex rel. Swayze v. Bixby, 102 Colo. 583, 81 P.2d 880 (1938).

III. SUSPENSIONS.

For constitutionality of provision authorizing suspensions for economy reasons, see Getty v. Gaffy, 96 Colo. 454, 44 P.2d 506 (1935).

Suspension of positions within the Division of Disaster Emergency Services to decrease general fund expenditures is warranted regardless of whether the funding source of the positions is the general fund or federal funds. Bardsley v. Dept. of Pub. Safety, 870 P.2d 641 (Colo. App. 1994).

Temporary discontinuance of a state department's functions and consequent lay off of employees as part of a budget reduction plan is lawful, but abolition of a statutorily created state agency and the transfer of its functions to another principal department without prior legislative authority is unlawful. Subsequent legislative authority for such transfer of functions does not make the issue of the validity of the Governor's actions moot. Bardsley v. Dept. of Pub. Safety, 870 P.2d 641 (Colo. App. 1994).

Governor's suspension decision not open to judicial inquiry. The finding of the governor that sufficient reason exists for suspending or discontinuing an office, etc., is not open to judicial inquiry. Getty v. Gaffy, 96 Colo. 454, 44 P.2d 506 (1935); People ex rel. Engley v. Martin, 19 Colo. 565, 36 P. 543 (1894); Lee v. Morley, 79 Colo. 481, 247 P. 178 (1926).

Order suspending officer may name incumbent. Where the governor, by executive order, under statutory authority, suspends the secretary of the state civil service commission (now the department of personnel), the fact that the incumbent is named personally in the order is unimportant. Getty v. Gaffy, 96 Colo. 454, 44 P.2d 506 (1935).

Secretary of former civil service commission was not entitled to compensation during suspension. Bedford v. Gaffy, 96 Colo. 452, 44 P.2d 508 (1935).