Committee Approves Office of Legislative Legal Services Budget, 1.7% Net Increase
February 26, 2026 | 2026 Legislature CO, Colorado
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The Committee on Legal Services voted unanimously to approve the Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLL) fiscal year 2026–27 budget after a presentation by Director Ed DiCecco.
DiCecco told the committee the combined legal-services and human-resources request totals $11,681,140, a 1.7% net increase, and emphasized that the budget is heavily weighted toward personal services. "The state's budget is very tight," he said, noting most budget lines are being held constant or reduced and that personal services make up about 86% of the legal-services budget (about 93% when employer PERA contributions are included).
The presentation laid out several specific adjustments driving the request. DiCecco described a proposed reallocation of one FTE from legal services to the HR side of the office (estimated at about $75,000 in salary and associated costs) to expand HR capacity for benefits administration, in-house training and centralized handling of employment-related complaints. He also noted health-insurance costs were projected to increase by about $94,860.
To address workforce-related expenses, the office proposed modest stipends: a $15-per-month increase to the transit allowance (applied officewide) and a $10-per-month cellphone stipend to compensate employees for using personal phones for multifactor authentication. DiCecco said the cellphone stipend would total roughly $16,680 across the office.
On operating costs, the office budgeted a $350,000 contingency for contract printing and supplements to cover regular publications plus up to two supplements for a possible special session or ballot-related referred measures in this general election year (Article V, Section 1). DiCecco also flagged a $125,000 appropriation for outside legal fees based on an assumed $250-per-hour billing rate and said the committee could later vote to adjust that rate and the appropriation if needed.
Representative (Rep.) Silver asked whether the parking structure is owned or leased; DiCecco said it is managed by the Department of Personnel & Administration and is available to other Capitol Complex employees. Senator Frizzell confirmed the $15 parking allowance change would be applied to everyone in the office, not only employees who cannot access the parking structure.
Senator Frizzell moved to approve the FY2026–27 OLL budget as presented in the budget-request document dated 02/20/2026, with authorization to accept any changes prescribed by the Executive Committee or Joint Budget Committee; Representative Soper seconded. The committee conducted a roll-call vote and the motion passed unanimously among members present; Representative Camacho was excused.
The committee will reconvene March 19.
DiCecco told the committee the combined legal-services and human-resources request totals $11,681,140, a 1.7% net increase, and emphasized that the budget is heavily weighted toward personal services. "The state's budget is very tight," he said, noting most budget lines are being held constant or reduced and that personal services make up about 86% of the legal-services budget (about 93% when employer PERA contributions are included).
The presentation laid out several specific adjustments driving the request. DiCecco described a proposed reallocation of one FTE from legal services to the HR side of the office (estimated at about $75,000 in salary and associated costs) to expand HR capacity for benefits administration, in-house training and centralized handling of employment-related complaints. He also noted health-insurance costs were projected to increase by about $94,860.
To address workforce-related expenses, the office proposed modest stipends: a $15-per-month increase to the transit allowance (applied officewide) and a $10-per-month cellphone stipend to compensate employees for using personal phones for multifactor authentication. DiCecco said the cellphone stipend would total roughly $16,680 across the office.
On operating costs, the office budgeted a $350,000 contingency for contract printing and supplements to cover regular publications plus up to two supplements for a possible special session or ballot-related referred measures in this general election year (Article V, Section 1). DiCecco also flagged a $125,000 appropriation for outside legal fees based on an assumed $250-per-hour billing rate and said the committee could later vote to adjust that rate and the appropriation if needed.
Representative (Rep.) Silver asked whether the parking structure is owned or leased; DiCecco said it is managed by the Department of Personnel & Administration and is available to other Capitol Complex employees. Senator Frizzell confirmed the $15 parking allowance change would be applied to everyone in the office, not only employees who cannot access the parking structure.
Senator Frizzell moved to approve the FY2026–27 OLL budget as presented in the budget-request document dated 02/20/2026, with authorization to accept any changes prescribed by the Executive Committee or Joint Budget Committee; Representative Soper seconded. The committee conducted a roll-call vote and the motion passed unanimously among members present; Representative Camacho was excused.
The committee will reconvene March 19.
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