Attorney General's Opinions

• Publication year: 1975
• Pages: 675
• Citation: Vol. 4 No. 4 Pg. 675

4 Colo.Law. 675 Colorado Lawyer 1975.

1975, April, Pg. 675. Attorney General's Opinions

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Vol. 4, No. 4, Pg. 675

Attorney General's Opinions

With this issue. The Colorado Lawyer offers a new service: publication of the official opinions of the Attorney General of the State of Colorado. The opinions are not otherwise published or disseminated, although copies are available from the Attorney General's office, and we undertake this publication on a trial basis. Continuation will depend on reader reaction and general use. Lengthy opinions may be subject to summarization if space does not permit complete publication. Any summarization will be noted and the complete opinion will be available from the Attorney General's office.

Opinion of February 25, 1975

Board of Regents

University of Colorado

Boulder, Colorado 80302

Dear Members of the Board

In reviewing the brief proposed to be filed in the case of the Associated Students of the University of Colorado v The Regents of the University, now pending before the Colorado Supreme Court, I have come to the conclusion that it is erroneous as a matter of law and assumes legal positions that are not tenable. I am therefore recommending to the Board that the appeal not be prosecuted further, and I herewith submit an official opinion of the Attorney General for your guidance.

Question: Does the Sunshine Act apply to the Board of Regents so as to prevent the Board from holding closed sessions?

Conclusion: Yes. The Sunshine Act applies to the Board of Regents, and closed sessions of the Board would be in violation thereof. This opinion does not supersede the conclusion reached in Attorney General's Opinion No. 73-0042 nor that portion of Opinion No. 73-001 concerning the attorney-client privilege. It does supersede Opinion No. 73-0014.

Analysis: First, it is imperative to examine the provisions of the Colorado Constitution relating to the Board of Regents. Prior to 1972, Section 14 of Article IX of the Colorado Constitution gave a specific grant of authority to the Board:

The Board of Regents shall have the general supervision of the University, and the exclusive control and direction of all funds of, and appropriations to the University.

In 1972, Section 14 was repealed and subsection (2) of Section 5 of Article IX was added, which reads as follows:

The governing boards of the state institutions of higher education, whether established by this Constitution or by law shall have the general supervision of their respective institutions and exclusive control and direction of all funds of, and appropriations to their respective institutions, unless otherwise provided by law.

Prior to the 1972 Amendment, it was questionable whether the State Legislature could, in view of the specific constitutional grant to the Board, enact legislation affecting the Board of Regents. The effect of the amendment was to remove the Board from the special status created by Section 5 and place it in a general class consisting of "the governing boards of institutions of higher

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education." Such boards have general supervision of their respective institutions, "unless otherwise...