Background
The Laws Notebook is a useful resource which enables SDA members to easily locate and review provisions from the Colorado Revised Statutes that apply to special district operations and governance.

For many years, the Laws Notebook was only available in a hard-copy format which was organized into a familiar dark-brown, three-ring binder that is probably kept on a shelf (or maybe in a drawer) somewhere at your district office.

Beginning in 2010, SDA created an electronic version of the Laws Notebook which allows our members to access the same statutory provisions from the convenience of their computer. With the online Laws Notebook, the entire district staff doesn’t all have to share the hard-copy binder.

Moving Target
The Colorado General Assembly, however, amends and adds to the state statutes every year, so the SDA Laws Notebook needs an annual update to match the legislative activity.

Printed Notebook
In order to keep your printed copy of the Laws Notebook up-to-date, you must manually remove and discard the old pages and insert the new provisions into your binder. All the documents you will need in order to file the 2011 Updates into your SDA Laws Notebook binder are available under “Laws Notebook” on the “Resources” page of the SDA website at www.sdaco.org. SDA Membership login is required before the Laws Notebook is accessible from the Resources page.

To update your Laws Notebook you will need to print (double-sided is recommended):

• Filing Instructions;
• Title Page;
• Table of Contents;
• Index; and
• Updated Statutory Sections for Tabs 9, 15, 18, 24, and 26.

Follow the Filing Instructions to insert the updated statutory provisions into the proper location in the Notebook. In some cases, several different statutory sections are grouped together behind a single tab divider because the statutes all relate to the same general topic. For example, Tab 15 includes five different groups of statutes on the subject of “Ethics.” Other statutory material gets a whole tab to itself, such as the Open Meetings Law in Tab 19.

If you are uncertain whether you’ve missed any updates over the years, the 2011 Table of Contents reflects (in parentheses) the date of the version of each statutory section which is currently included in your Notebook. For example, if your printed copy of the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act in Tab 25 is dated 2009, that’s ok. Those statutory provisions haven’t been modified for a couple of years, and that copy is still the current law.

Online Notebook
The online Laws Notebook is also accessible through the Resources page of the SDA website (membership login required). Begin by opening the electronic Table of Contents which includes hyperlinks that will direct you to an online legal library service called “Michie’s Legal Resources” at www.michie.com/colorado. Michie’s Legal Resources offers online access to the Colorado Revised Statutes, the Colorado Constitution, Court Rules and other legal reference materials. Each year, Michie.com updates its website to reflect any amendments to the Colorado statutes. Therefore, the online SDA Laws Notebook updates automatically each year as the new and amended statutes are posted to Michie’s website.

Reference Material Only
The SDA Laws Notebook is not intended to take the place of legal consultation with the district’s attorney. However, the Laws Notebook (used in conjunction with the expansive subject matter Index) can help you answer simple questions about a special district’s legal/statutory duties and responsibilities, plus it can help give you a basic foundation about an issue in preparation for calling your lawyer.