The recently concluded six-day special session of the Colorado General Assembly was the longest in 23 years. 

But it wasn’t the longest by a long stretch.

That belongs to the second of two special sessions in 1991 under then-Democratic Gov. Roy Romer. A 60-day marathon that addressed the reapportionment of the General Assembly, including the redrawing of legislative district boundaries, and school finance.

The first was a mere 11 days and dealt with a tax credit for United Airlines. This would have been in the days when Denver International Airport was being built.

This week’s session was the fourth under Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, following shorter sessions in 2024, 2023, and 2020. 

That’s not a record either – that also belongs to Romer, who saw seven special sessions between 1988 and 1998, during his 12 years in office. 

The shortest special session is relatively recent, lasting only two days, and that was in 2017, to resolve an issue with RTD taxes tied to the 2017 Sustainability of Rural Colorado omnibus bill. RTD and other special districts raised concerns that the legislation might inadvertently remove their share of tax revenues tied to retail marijuana sales.

Gov. John Hickenlooper wanted to call lawmakers back, but Republicans, who controlled the state Senate, said they didn’t believe it was necessary and that the fix could wait until January.

But Hickenlooper called them back in October. Every bill failed, and by the second day, there was nothing left, and the General Assembly adjourned. 

The following January, the General Assembly adopted the fix. 

The first special session dates back to 1894, under Governor Davis Waite, and focused on elections, initiatives and referendums, labor laws, and mining. That was also a 52-day marathon.

According to the Legislative Council, before 1952, the Colorado General Assembly convened only in odd-numbered years. Therefore, when the body met in even-numbered years, the session had to be called by the governor.

The 2025 special session becomes the 52nd special session since Colorado’s statehood.

Topics in special sessions, which begin with a call from the governor to lawmakers to deal with specific issues, have included:

• World War I (18 days in 1917)
• Pay the expenses of the state government (three different years: 1894, 1902, 54 days, and 1903)
• Labor disputes and prohibition of alcohol and firearm sales during riots (1914)
• Impeachment of the Secretary of State (1935)
• Grasshopper infestation (1958 and 1978)
• “Summer of Violence” (1993) and
• TABOR (1997 and 1998)

The 2012 special session dealt with the longest list of issues: Civil unions, driving under the influence of drugs, special mobile machinery fleets, unemployment insurance and water projects. That special session was the result of a decision by Republican House Speaker Frank McNulty to gavel the House into recess the day before the scheduled end of the session in order to avoid a House vote on civil unions, a bill that would likely have passed due to support from House Republicans.

Thirty-five bills were removed from the calendar as a result. Hickenlooper called the lawmakers back to address the most pressing matters still awaiting resolution, as well as the issue of civil unions. While that measure did not pass in the special session either, the following November’s election put House Democrats back in the majority. Republicans have not held the majority since then. 

Civil unions legislation was passed in the 2013 session under Democratic Speaker Mark Ferrandino.