City and County of Denver v. State

In 1912, Colorado voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that granted home rule for cities and towns that wished to establish their own charters and governance. The City and County of Denver (Denver) (plaintiff) was formed pursuant to Colorado’s home rule. In 1979, a law became effective in Denver that required employees of Denver to reside in Denver. The reason for the residency requirement was to increase city tax dollars, have municipal employees more readily available for civic emergencies, and motivate employees to be more attentive, compassionate, and diligent in their work. Similarly, the City of Durango (Durango) (plaintiff) enacted a residency requirement for employees of Durango. In 1988, the State of Colorado (defendant) passed a law that purported to preempt residency rules enacted by municipalities. The state’s asserted reason for eliminating residency requirements was to prevent adverse economic impacts beyond a given municipality’s borders. There was no evidence that residency requirements were causing significant adverse economic impacts on any given municipality. The state also asserted that people should be free to move where they want, despite the Colorado constitution’s requirement that state government employees must reside within the state. Denver and Durango sued the state, seeking to invalidate the state law. The trial court ruled in Denver and Durango’s favor. The state appealed.