Colorado § 31-31-201 - Association - creation - board - organization - tax exemption.

§ 31-31-201. Association - creation - board - organization - tax exemption.

(1) There is hereby created an independent public body corporate and politic to be known as the fire and police pension association. The association is constituted as a public instrumentality, and its exercise of the powers conferred by this article and article 30.5 of this title shall be deemed to be the performance of an essential public function. The association shall be a body corporate and a political subdivision of the state and shall not be an agency of state government and shall not be subject to administrative direction by any department, commission, board, or agency of the state.

(1.5) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that the fire and police pension association is a political subdivision of the state and that property owned, used, and occupied by the association is intended to be exempt from property tax as property of the state under section 4 of article X of the state constitution. Accordingly, for property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2007, all real property owned, used, and occupied by the association and personal property owned and used by the association shall be exempt from the levy and collection of property tax.

(2) (a) The governing body of the association shall be a board of directors consisting of nine members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate as follows:

(I) Two members who shall represent Colorado municipal employers;

(II) One member who shall represent full-time paid firefighters;

(III) One member who shall represent full-time paid police officers;

(IV) One member who shall be a retired firefighter who, upon completion of the member's term, shall be replaced by a retired police officer. Thereafter, the appointments of retired officers shall alternate between a retired firefighter and a retired police officer for each successive six-year term.

(V) One member of a board of directors of a special district or the full-time paid professional manager of a special district who shall represent special districts having volunteer firefighters;

(VI) One member from the state's financial or business community with experience in investments;

(VII) One member from the state's financial or business community with experience in insurance disability claims; and

(VIII) One member of the state's financial or business community experienced in personnel or corporate administration in corporations of over two hundred employees.

(b) Members shall be appointed for terms of four years; except that a member appointed pursuant to subparagraph (IV) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) shall serve for a term of six years.

(c) Vacancy in any position shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made. Appointments may be made without confirmation of the senate when the senate is not in session, but such appointments shall be confirmed within thirty days of the next meeting of the senate in regular session or they shall be void.

(d) The governor may remove any member of the board for cause.

(3) (a) The members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for any necessary expenditures and shall suffer no loss of salary or wages through service on such board.

(b) The board shall elect a chair and a vice-chair, shall appoint an executive director and such other employees as may be necessary, and shall fix the compensation for the appointees. The board shall have the authority to retain actuaries, investment counselors, private legal counsel, and other consultants as deemed necessary. The fees of such persons shall be considered expenses of the association.

(4) Neither the members of the board nor any person authorized by the board to act in an official capacity shall be held personally liable for any act undertaken pursuant to the provisions of this article 31, article 30.5, or article 31.5 of this title 31.

Source: L. 96: Entire article added with relocations, p. 894, § 1, effective May 23. L. 2007: (1.5) added, p. 1541, § 1, effective May 31. L. 2010: (2)(a)(IV) and (2)(b) amended, (HB 10-1016), ch. 72, p. 245, § 1, effective August 11. L. 2024: (4) amended, (HB 24-1042), ch. 15, p. 38, § 6, effective March 6.

Editor's note: This section was formerly numbered as § 31-30-1004.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. Since § 31-31-201 is similar to § 31-30-1004 as it existed prior to the 1996 amendment that relocated parts 3 through 10 of article 30, relevant cases construing the provisions of that section have been included in the annotations to this section.

Fire and police pension association board is not an "agency" for purposes of the State Administrative Procedure Act and, therefore, appropriate standard of review of its actions is not the "substantial evidence" standard of such act but is the "no competent evidence" standard of C.R.C.P. 106(a)(4). Ross v. Fire & Police Pension Ass'n, 713 P.2d 1304 (Colo. 1986).

Presence and participation of member of fund's administrative board who was a retired firefighter and member of old hire plan did not undermine the impartiality of the board's decision where member's participation was limited to being present at the public hearing and member did not ask questions of witnesses or make comments during the hearing, nor participate in board's deliberations on or determination of issue. Pueblo v. Fire & Police Pension Ass'n, 827 P.2d 597, (Colo. App. 1992).