6 MAY 16-22, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Measured Response THE COLORADO LEGISLATURE ADDED FIVE ITEMS TO NOVEMBER’S BALLOT BEFORE ENDING THE SESSION. BY HANNAH METZGER The list of ballot measures awaiting Colorado voters in November is growing. State lawmak- ers voted to send fi ve measures to the ballot before the Colorado Legislature adjourned on May 8, adding to two citizen-initiated measures that had already offi cially qualifi ed for the ballot: an effort to include economic impact statements before the questions on ballot measures, and another to cap property tax revenue increases at 4 percent each year. The fi ve legislative ballot proposals would let the state keep all sports betting tax revenue to fund water projects; create an excise tax for gun and ammo purchases to fund victim services; remove the ban on same-sex mar- riage from Colorado’s constitution; adjust cer- tain election fi ling deadlines; and let judges deny bail to people charged with fi rst-degree murder. A citizen-initiated proposal to enshrine the right to abortion and allow state funds to be used to pay for abortions is also anticipated to get on the ballot. The initiative submitted enough signatures to qualify, and is now awaiting confi rmation from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Offi ce, which has until May 17 to verify the signatures. And dozens of additional measures could still make the cut. Sixteen proposed initiatives are currently collecting petition signatures, and 45 others were approved by the title board but have not yet begun petitioning. Initiatives to require that local govern- ments ask voters for re-approval to retain more tax revenue than allowed by the Tax- payer’s Bill of Rights; create a parents’ bill of rights; enshrine the right to school choice in the state constitution; and expand the homestead property tax exemption for certain seniors were all voted down by legislators. Two proposals died on the calendar with- out fi nal votes: measures to prohibit someone appointed to fi ll a vacancy in the state legis- lature from running for legislative offi ce in the next term and to establish a new formula for calculating annual property tax revenue growth limits. A resolution to allow the legislature to pass a retrospective law to let victims of child sexual abuse pursue lawsuits for the abuse regardless of when it happened made it to the Senate fl oor — but it failed by just one vote on April 17 after Republicans united against it. The legislature also stepped in to stop sev- eral competing ballot measures regarding fossil fuels that threat- ened to fl ood the ballot this year. Advocates for those initiatives agreed to pull their proposals amid a legislative compromise announced by Governor Jared Polis, state legislators and lead- ers of environmental and oil and gas industries on April 29. The agreement included introducing a pair of bills to es- tablish a new fee for oil and gas production and cut certain com- pounds from drilling operations, Colorado Public Radio reported. In exchange, legislators killed other bills meant to reduce air pollution, and industry leaders said they would withdraw their planned ballot measures. “Forging consensus on an issue like this is hard,” Senate President Steve Fenberg said in a statement. “This agreement represents Colo- radans of all stripes coming together to put the needs of our state and our community fi rst.” The measures that will be withdrawn in- clude proposals to prevent governments from restricting energy sources, make oil and gas companies strictly liable for environmental damages, and add Republicans and Indepen- dents to the Air Quality Control Commission. The deadline to turn in petition signatures for two of the oil and gas industry’s energy choice initiatives, 85 and 86, passed on April 18. Those initiatives expired, as the signatures were not submitted. A similar legislative compromise at- tempted to prevent proposed property tax ballot measures by passing a bill to lower prop- erty tax rates, but advocates for the measures did not agree to pull their support. A third ballot measure also failed to submit petition signatures by its April 18 deadline: Initiative 81, an effort to ban abortion at any point after conception. Organizers said they fell short of the 124,238 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. So far, 149 ballot measures have been re- jected, withdrawn or expired, according to the Colorado Secretary of State website. The title board has approved 45 citizen- initiated ballot measures, but they aren’t yet authorized to collect petition signatures. That’s because the proponents behind the initiatives haven’t submitted their petition formats, says Jack Todd, spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Offi ce. Proponents could be abandoning these initiatives or delaying as they decide which to advance. That’s likely the case for many of the repeat initiatives that received a title but haven’t started petitioning; for example, the title board approved eight versions of mea- sures to overhaul the state’s election systems, fi ve to reduce the state income tax and three to create a charter school institute. There’s no formal deadline for when pro- ponents need to submit their petition formats for approval — but no matter when they turn those in, they only have until August 5 to collect the signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. “The ball is in their court,” Todd says. Sixteen citizen-initiated ballot measures are currently collecting petition signatures. Proponents need 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. One new initiative was approved for peti- tioning on May 3: Initiative 160, public athletics programs for minors, to ban transgender girls from participating in female sports by restrict- ing participation in public school girls’ sports programs to only those assigned female at birth. If passed by the voters, here’s what the other fi fteen petitioning ballot measures would do: Initiative 142, Parental notifi cation of gen- der incongruence: Require public school employees to notify a student’s parents if the child is experiencing “gender incongruence.” Petition due on August 5. Initiative 201, Prohibit ranked choice voting: Prohibit ranked choice voting from being used in any election for public offi ce in Colorado. Petition due on August 5. Initiative 202, Ballot access through cau- cus and assembly process: Enshrine in the state constitution the right of candidates to qualify for the ballot through a political party’s caucus and assembly process. Petition due on August 5. Initiative 278, Primary elections for major political parties: Enshrine in the state con- stitution the right of major political parties to hold separate primary elections to select candidates. Petition due on August 5. 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 per- cent for commercial property. Petition due on July 25. Initiative 112, Concerning eligibility for parole: Require offenders convicted of certain violent crimes to serve their full sentence if they’ve been con- victed of a violent crime twice before, and increase the required percentage of sentence served before parole for certain violent offenses. Petition due on July 25. Initiative 138, School choice in K-12 education: Add a child’s right to school choice and a par- ent’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. This measure is also awaiting action from the Colorado Supreme Court. 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 contingency 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 wrong- ful 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. Email the author at hannah.metzger@ westword.com. NEWS KEEP UP ON DENVER NEWS AT WESTWORD.COM/NEWS Members of Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom turn in 99 boxes of petition signatures. EVAN SEMÓN
