County boards - district boards

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 26-1-116, under GENERAL PROVISIONS.

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 26-1-116

(1) (a) The county board shall consist of the board of county commissioners in each county; except that "board of county commissioners" as used in this title, in the city and county of Denver, means the department or agency with the responsibility for public assistance and welfare activities and, in the city and county of Broomfield, means the city council or a board or commission appointed by the city and county of Broomfield.

(b) In the case of a district department established pursuant to section 26-1-115 (2), the district board shall consist of not less than three members, and each county in the district shall select one or more of its county commissioners to serve as a member of the district board. The district board shall, in relation to the district department, have all the powers, duties, and responsibilities which the county board has in relation to the county department.

(2) The county board shall elect a chairman who shall preside at meetings and, when authorized by the board, shall sign all necessary documents for the board.

(3) The county board may hold a meeting to address the public assistance and welfare duties, responsibilities, and activities of the county department in conjunction with a meeting of the board of county commissioners, upon full and timely notice given pursuant to the provisions of section 24-6-402. The county board shall act in accordance with rules adopted by the state board when addressing public assistance, and welfare duties, responsibilities, and activities of the county department. The county board shall act in accordance with rules adopted by the executive director of the department of early childhood when addressing child care assistance duties, responsibilities, and activities of the county department.

Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1170, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 119-1-15. L. 79: (1)(a) and (3) amended, p. 1083, § 6, effective July 1. L. 2001: (1)(a) amended, p. 256, § 1, effective November 15. L. 2004: (3) amended, p. 371, § 1, effective August 4. L. 2022: (3) amended, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 852, § 84, effective July 1.

ANNOTATION

County board is subordinate to state. The county board of social services is set up as a subordinate agency or arm of the state. It is bound by, inter alia, the fiscal and personnel rules set up by the state board of social services. Martin v. District Court, 191 Colo. 107, 550 P.2d 864 (1976).

Pursuant to statute, county boards of social services act as agents of the state board, and are bound by the rules promulgated by the state board. Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Merit Sys. Council, 662 P.2d 1093 (Colo. App. 1982).

County board lacks standing to obtain judicial review of merit system council action. In the absence of an express statutory right, the county board lacks standing or any other legal authority to obtain judicial review of an action of the merit system council. Martin v. District Court, 191 Colo. 107, 550 P.2d 864 (1976).

A county board of social services is not an adversely affected or aggrieved "party" empowered to bring an action for judicial review of an agency action. Martin v. District Court, 191 Colo. 107, 550 P.2d 864 (1976).

Where the state board of social services is a party to judicial review proceedings, as a result of which a settlement agreement was reached, reinstating an employee suspended by a county department of social services, the county board and the county department, as subordinates of the state agency, are bound by the state department's actions settling the judicial review proceedings. Accordingly, the county board and the county department are without standing to seek judicial review of the merit system council's order implementing the settlement agreement, and the board of county commissioners is likewise without standing to seek judicial review. Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Merit Sys. Council, 662 P.2d 1093 (Colo. App. 1982).