Legal Seminar

However, these Banking Board approvals were approved under § 11-105-403 C.R.S. Sale of assets - A bank chartered in this or another state may sell any asset in the ordinary course of business or, with the approval of the banking board, in any other circumstance. The sale of all, or substantially all, of the assets of a bank or of a department thereof is governed by § 11-103-709. Bank’s counsel also focused on statutory construction of the Code. Based on Colorado statutory construction, the word "may" as contained in § 11-103-709 C.R.S. must be construed to mean permissible. "The legislature's use of the term 'may' is generally indicative of a grant of discretion or choice among alternatives. In contrast, 'shall' is generally mandatory. And where both mandatory and directory verbs are used in the same statute . . . it is a fair inference that the legislature realized the difference in meaning, and intended that the verbs should carry with them their ordinary meanings. This inference strengthens where 'shall' and 'may' are used in close juxtaposition. Of course, we presume that the legislature does not use language idly." People v. Garcia, 382 P.3d 1258, 1261 (Colo. App. 2016) (internal citations omitted). This subsection uses the word "may" when referring to what a bank can do. It does not use restrictive words such as "shall," "must," or "only." However, the word "shall" does appear in subsections (3) and (6) of C.R.S. § 11-103-709.