Colorado § 24-50-135 - Exemptions from personnel system.

§ 24-50-135. Exemptions from personnel system.

(1) Administrators employed in educational institutions and departments not charitable or reformatory in character shall be exempt from the state personnel system. For purposes of this section, "administrators employed in educational institutions and departments" means:

(a) Officers of an educational institution and their executive assistants; employees in professional positions, including the professional employees of a governing board; and any other employees involved in the direct delivery of academic curriculum;

(b) and (c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2004, p. 419, § 1, effective August 4, 2004.)

(d) and (e) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2011, (HB 11-1301), ch. 297, p. 1425, § 19, effective August 10, 2011.)

(f) Professional officers and professional staff of the department of higher education; and

(g) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2004, p. 419, § 1, effective August 4, 2004.)

(h) Employees in positions funded by grants, gifts, or revenues generated through auxiliary activities. For purposes of this paragraph (h), "auxiliary activities" means institutional activities managed and accounted for as self-supporting activities.

(2) (a) The president of each educational institution or a person designated by the president shall determine which administrative positions in that institution are exempt from the state personnel system under subsection (1) of this section, subject to an appeal to the board; except that a position shall not be determined to be exempt while it is held by an existing employee in the state personnel system. The president of an educational institution may decide not to exempt a position funded through auxiliary activities if the president determines that exempting the position is not in the best interests of the institution.

(b) The executive director of the Colorado commission on higher education shall determine which administrative positions in the department of higher education other than administrative positions in educational institutions are exempt from the state personnel system under subsection (1) of this section, subject to an appeal to the board.

(c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2011, (HB 11-1301), ch. 297, p. 1425, § 19, effective August 10, 2011.)

(d) No later than December 31 of each year, the executive director of the Colorado commission on higher education shall submit a report to the state personnel director, in the form prescribed by the director, listing all positions in the department of higher education, other than positions at educational institutions, that are exempt from the state personnel system in accordance with this section.

(3) For purposes of this section, a person is in a professional position or is a professional employee or professional staff if the person is in a position that involves the exercise of discretion, analytical skill, judgment, personal accountability, and responsibility for creating, developing, integrating, applying, or sharing an organized body of knowledge that characteristically is:

(a) Acquired through education or training that meets the requirements for a bachelor's or graduate degree or equivalent specialized experience; and

(b) Continuously studied to explore, extend, and use additional discoveries, interpretations, and applications and to improve data, materials, equipment, applications, and methods.

(4) The state personnel director shall establish procedures to approve the exemption of an employee from the state personnel system pursuant to section 13 (2)(a)(XI) and (2)(a)(XII) of article XII of the state constitution.

Source: L. 72: R&RE, p. 176, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 26-1-35. L. 2004: (1)(g) amended, p. 1649, § 59, effective July 1; entire section amended, p. 419, § 1, effective August 4. L. 2010: (2)(a) and (2)(b) amended, (HB 10-1181), ch. 351, p. 1627, § 17, effective June 7. L. 2011: (1), (2)(a), and (2)(c) amended and (3) added, (HB 11-1301), ch. 297, p. 1425, § 19, effective August 10. L. 2012: (4) added, (HB 12-1321), ch. 260, p.1352, § 12, effective January 1, 2013 (see editor's note).

Editor's note: (1) Subsection (1)(g) was amended in House Bill 04-1362. Those amendments were superseded by the amendment of the section in Senate Bill 04-007, effective August 4, 2004.

(2) Section 14 of chapter 260, Session Laws of Colorado 2012, provides that subsection (4) is effective upon proclamation of the vote by the governor only if House Concurrent Resolution 12-1001 is passed by a vote of the people at the next general election. That resolution was approved by a vote of the registered electors of Colorado on November 6, 2012. Subsection (4) was effective upon the proclamation of the Governor, January 1, 2013. The vote count for the measure was as follows:

YES: 1,276,432

NO: 988,542

Cross references: In 2012, subsection (4) was added by the "Modernization of the State Personnel System Act". For the short title and the legislative declaration, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 260, Session Laws of Colorado 2012.

ANNOTATION

Once a person becomes a state employee, he is presumed to be member of classified personnel system with a right to the benefits of that system and a right to be notified and given an opportunity for a hearing before any determination that he is exempt from that system. Salas v. State Pers. Bd., 775 P.2d 57 (Colo. App. 1988).

Office of division engineer is an appointive office and therefore in personnel system. People v. Chew, 67 Colo. 394, 179 P. 812 (1919).

The commissioner of insurance is a state officer also, is not appointed to perform judicial functions, and is within the classified personnel system. Wilson v. People ex rel. Cochrane, 71 Colo. 456, 208 P. 479 (1922).

Where the office of youth services and metropolitan state college (Metro) entered into an agreement to provide educational services at a juvenile corrections facility, the teachers are fundamentally employees of Metro and need not even be labeled faculty members in order to fall under the higher education institution exemption from the classified system. Dept. of Human Servs. v. May, 1 P.3d 159 (Colo. 2000).