(1) (a) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), commencing with the presentation in 2021 and each presentation thereafter to and including the presentation in 2025, at the joint hearings conducted pursuant to the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act", part 2 of article 7 of title 2, the judicial department shall report on its progress toward making the system changes and other steps necessary for the creation of the twenty-third judicial district. Prior to these presentations, the judicial department shall request input from each of the counties in the then-existing eighteenth judicial district and include their input in the presentation.
For state fiscal years 2020-21 to 2024-25, as part of its annual budget requests to thejoint budget committee of the general assembly, the judicial department shall include details about any budget requests related to the preparation for and creation of the twenty-third judicial district.
At its presentation in 2026, at the joint hearings conducted pursuant to the "StateMeasurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act", part 2 of article 7 of title 2, the judicial department shall prepare a final report detailing the entire transition process from the enactment of House Bill 20-1026, enacted in 2020, to the effective date of the creation of the twenty-third judicial district, detailing what aspects went relatively smoothly, what aspects created issues, and any recommendations to the general assembly concerning how any future revision of judicial district lines might be made easier.
(2) Due to the creation of the twenty-third judicial district in 2025, at the general election in November of 2024:
A question shall be presented to the electors of Arapahoe county concerning the election of the district attorney for the eighteenth judicial district who will take office in January of 2025;
A question shall be presented to the electors of the counties of Douglas, Elbert, andLincoln concerning the election of the district attorney for the twenty-third judicial district who will take office in January of 2025; and
Any district court judge of the eighteenth judicial district who is eligible for retentionat the November 2024 election may stand for a retention election from the electors of the eighteenth judicial district.
(3) (a) Effective January 7, 2025, any district court judge who on that date was serving as a district court judge in the eighteenth judicial district and who lives within the boundaries of the new twenty-third judicial district shall, pursuant to section 10 of article VI of the state constitution, complete the term for which the judge was last elected or appointed as a district court judge in the twenty-third judicial district. Such district court judges are eligible for a retention election in the twenty-third judicial district in the same year that they would have been eligible for a retention election in the eighteenth judicial district but for the creation of the twenty-third judicial district.
(b) On and after January 7, 2025, assignment of judges shall be pursuant to sections 10 and 11 of article VI of the state constitution.
This section is repealed, effective July 7, 2027.
Source: L. 2020: Entire section added, (HB 20-1026), ch. 40, p. 136, § 5, effective September 14.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 20-1026, see section 1 of chapter 40, Session Laws of Colorado 2020.