The Villager: Before a bill becomes a law in Greenwood Village, it must be approved by a majority of the city council at two separate meetings. The GV City Charter requires that a proposed new law be published in the next issue of the city’s legal newspaper after it receives a yes vote from the majority of the city council both times.

The first publication notifies members of the public of the council’s planned action so that they may weigh in before the new law is voted on for the second and final time. The Charter requires that the new law be published a second time after it is passed to make sure residents are aware of the new law. These rules, which are consistent with Colorado Revised Statutes § 31-116-105, are to promote transparency in government and have been followed since Greenwood Village became a city.

Recently, courts in Colorado decided that the manner in which home rule cities publicize their new laws is “a matter of local concern,” thus they need not follow state law and can make their own rules.

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