6 APRIL 18-24, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Measure for Measure THREE MORE PROPOSALS ARE EXPECTED TO GET ON COLORADO’S NOVEMBER BALLOT. BY HANNAH METZGER Colorado voters will be busy at the virtual ballot box come November. Initiatives regarding bail eligibility, abor- tion rights and economic impact statements are on track to qualify for the 2024 ballot; they’re now awaiting fi nal verifi cation from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Offi ce. According to that offi ce, as of April 15, 214 proposals for citizen ballot measures had been fi led. But very few will end up on the ballot seven months from now; 102 initia- tives have already been rejected, withdrawn or expired, and 94 are still awaiting action Here’s a look at the issues Coloradans can expect to see on their ballots so far: Bail Eligibility for Murder Suspects When Colorado abolished the death pen- alty in 2020, the ability to deny bail to murder suspects unintentionally went away with it. Now voters will get the opportunity to undo this change. The state constitution says suspects can only be denied bond in “capital cases,” mean- ing cases that are punishable by death. Since Colorado no longer punishes crimes with death, no suspects can be denied bail, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled last June. House Resolution 24-1002 asks voters to create an exception to this new rule, allowing judges to deny bail to people charged with fi rst-degree murder in cases where “proof is evident or presumption is great.” The legislature approved the resolution nearly unanimously on March 28, with only fi ve out of 100 legislators voting against it. “We have seen harrowing examples in Colorado of fi rst-degree murder defendants posting bail and committing further vio- lent crime before their court date,” Senator Rhonda Fields, a sponsor of the resolution, said in a statement. “Making fi rst-degree murder defendants ineligible for bail would give victims and their families peace of mind and help keep our communities safe.” Following the legislature’s approval, the resolution will be delivered to the secretary of state to be placed on the ballot. Since the measure would amend the state constitu- tion, it must earn 55 percent of votes to pass. Expanding Abortion Protections Recent state laws have protected abortion access in Colorado after federal abortion rights were overturned in 2022. This ballot measure proposal aims to solidify Colorado’s abortion access even further. Initiative 89: Right to Abortion asks voters to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution. The measure would also allow state funds to be used to pay for abortions, in- cluding Medicaid and state employee health insurance, which is currently prohibited un- der a constitutional measure passed in 1984. Proponents say they had collected over 225,000 signatures in support of Initiative 89 as of April 12; they only need 124,238 valid signatures to qualify, including at least 2 per- cent of registered voters in each of Colorado’s 35 state Senate districts. The measure needs 55 percent approval from voters because it is a constitutional amendment. Economic Impact Statements for Ballot Measures If passed into law, this proposal would change the way all future ballot measures are written. Initiative 77: Economic Impact Statement asks voters to require that a ballot measure’s economic impact statement be included on the ballot before the question. The statement would have to explain how the ballot measure would affect Colorado’s employment, gross domestic product and the revenue, expenditures, taxes and fi scal liabilities of state and local governments. “Coloradans are already battling rising infl ation, higher property taxes and tighten- ing family budgets. Voters deserve to know what the economic and fi nancial impacts are so they can make an informed decision,” says Mark Truax, campaign manager of Protect Colorado, the group behind the initiative. The campaign submitted its signatures on March 27; the Secretary of State’s Offi ce has until April 26 to determine whether enough were collected to make the ballot. Now Petitioning Fifteen other proposals have been ap- proved to start gathering signatures. Propo- nents need to collect 124,238 signatures from registered voters to get their initiative onto the ballot, and they only have six months after the bill title is set to do so. The latest ballot-measure petitions are due by August 5, and the Secretary of State’s Offi ce has until September 4 to verify the signatures. If passed by the voters, here’s what these proposed ballot measures would do: Initiative 81, Protections for a living child: Ban abortion at any point after conception, classifying it as homicide. Petition due on April 18. Initiative 85 and Initiative 86, Consumer choice in energy: Prohibit governments from passing any law or regulation to favor or restrict different energy sources. Petition due on April 18. Initiative 91, Prohibit trophy hunting: Ban the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx statewide, making it a Class 1 mis- demeanor. Petition due on July 5. Initiative 108, Valuation for assessments: Decrease the state property tax assessment rate to 5.7 percent for residential property and 24 percent for commercial property. Petition due on July 25. Initiative 112, Concerning eligibility for parole: Require offenders convicted of cer- tain violent crimes to serve their full sentence if they’ve been convicted of a violent crime twice before, and increase the required per- centage of sentence served before parole for certain violent offenses. Petition due on July 25. Initiative 116, Consumer choice in energy choice: Require governments to let consum- ers choose the energy source used in their home or business. Petition due on August 5. Initiative 138, School choice in K-12 edu- cation: Add a child’s right to school choice and a parent’s right to “direct” their child’s education to the state constitution. Petition due on July 25. Initiative 144, Veterinary telehealth: Allow state-licensed veterinarians to provide animal health care services through audiovisual com- munication systems. Petition due on August 5. Initiative 145, Establish qualifi cations and registration for VPA: Create the Veterinary Professional Associate position, allowing people with a master’s degree in veterinary care to carry out certain routine procedures. Petition due on August 5. Initiative 147, Criteria for obtaining con- cealed handgun permit: Prohibit sheriffs from denying applications for concealed handgun permits based on marijuana use that is lawful in Colorado. Petition due on August 5. Initiative 150, Damages involving cata- strophic injury or wrongful death: Remove the limitations on the amount of damages a victim or their family can recover in cases involving catastrophic injury or wrongful death. Petition due on August 5. Initiative 157, Funding for law enforce- ment: Create a $350 million fund for law enforcement pay, recruitment, training and providing $1 million in death benefi ts to the family of any offi cer killed in the line of duty. Petition due on August 5. Initiative 170, Limit on contingency fees: Restrict the contingent fee attorneys charge clients in personal injury or wrongful-death cases to no more than 25 percent of the total amount awarded to the client. Petition due on August 5. Initiative 171, Disclosure of litigation costs and expenses: Require attorneys to disclose in writing all costs the client will be responsible for ahead of time in personal injury or wrongful-death cases; if the total costs exceed the estimate by more than 10 percent, the client is not liable to pay the excess. Petition due on August 5. Legislative Measures The Colorado Legislature is also con- sidering fi ve resolutions that, if passed by lawmakers, will refer constitutional amend- ments to voters as measures on the Novem- ber ballot: Senate Resolution 24-001 would allow the legislature to pass a retrospective law to let victims of child sexual abuse pursue law- suits regardless of when the abuse happened. House Resolution 24-1001 would let seniors who qualifi ed for the homestead property tax exemption in 2016 or later but moved claim the exemption for their cur- rent residence. House Resolution 24-1004 would pro- hibit someone appointed to fi ll a vacancy in the state legislature from running for legislative offi ce in the next term. House Resolution 24-1005 would cre- ate a “parents’ bill of rights,” including the right to direct a child’s education, control their mental health care treatment, review materials they access in the classroom and be notifi ed if a child is “experiencing gender incongruence.” House Resolution 24-1006 would estab- lish a new formula for calculating annual property tax revenue growth limits. Email [email protected]. NEWS KEEP UP ON DENVER NEWS AT WESTWORD.COM/NEWS Three more proposals are expected to get on Colorado’s November ballot. GETTY IMAGES
