Colorado voters may want to take some time prior to casting their ballots to study the record number of initiatives that will be up for a vote.
According to the Colorado Secretary of State, voters statewide will face seven constitutional amendments and seven propositions. All except one were initiated by citizen petitions. There will also be a regional proposition which will only be on the ballots of certain counties, including El Paso.
Each of the constitutional amendments will require a 55% majority to pass. The propositions will require only a simple majority.
Amendment 81: Law Enforcement Communication with Federal Immigration Authorities. This amendment would require law enforcement authorities to contact the Department of Homeland Security if a person with a previous felony conviction is arrested for a crime and it cannot be determined whether that person is in this country legally.
Amendment 82: Constitutional Right to Purchase and Sell Natural Gas. This amendment creates a state constitutional right to purchase and sell natural gas for cooking and heating in homes and businesses.
Amendment 83: Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish. This amendment would create a constitutional right to hunt and fish any species except endangered species, non-game species and species whose hunting and fishing is prohibited by federal law. It would also establish hunting and fishing as the preferred method of managing wildlife populations and preserve the right of the state to regulate hunting, fishing and wildlife management.
Amendment 84: Mail Ballot Voter Identification. This amendment would require a voter to sign their name and write the last four digits of their social security number, Colorado Drivers’ License Number or identification card number on the outside of their mail ballot. If there is a discrepancy between the information provided by the voter and information on file, election officials must correct the discrepancy before the ballot can be counted.
Amendment 85: Plain Language Ballot Titles. This amendment would require all state and local ballot questions to be written in plain English at no higher reading level than eighth grade.
Amendment 86: Requirements for Off-Cycle Congressional Redistricting. This amendment would reenact the current method of Congressional redistricting and prohibit modification of a final map unless three public meetings are held, the redistricting does not divide communities or favor one political party, and the changes are approved by the congressional redistricting committee and the Colorado Supreme Court.
Amendment 87: Graduated Income Tax. This amendment would eliminate the current uniform income tax rate and establish a graduated income tax scale. Rates would go down for lower income levels and be increased for higher income levels. This amendment would allow any increased income from this new tax structure to be applied to public education.
Proposition NN: Keep and Spend Money for Education and Other Purposes. This proposition would require the state to increase spending for public education 2% a year for the next 10 years. This increase would not come from increased taxes but “by raising the limit on annual fiscal year spending only by the amount spent on public K-12 education as a voter approved revenue change.” The proposition would also require an annual independent audit. Proposition NN was proposed by the Colorado General Assembly.
Proposition 132: Increase Penalties for Fentanyl Crimes. This proposition would increase the penalty for fentanyl and certain synthetic opioids, increase the felony classification of drug-related crimes, create mandated treatment for certain drug felony violations, and change the sentencing process.
Proposition 133: Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor. This proposition would expand the definition of human trafficking of a minor and increase the penalty to life without parole.
Proposition 134: Male and Female Participation in School and Collegiate Sports. This proposition would require schools, colleges, and athletic associations to designate sports teams as male, female or co-ed, and allow students to participate only in sports teams for their designated sex.
Proposition 135: Prohibit Surgery on Minors in Response to Perception of Sex or Gender. This proposition would prohibit surgery on minors to alter biological sex characteristics and prohibit state, federal, Medicaid or insurance funds to be used for such operations.
Proposition 136: Income Tax Rate Limit. This proposition would cap the state income tax rate at 4.4%.
Proposition 137: Direct Sporting Goods Sales Tax Revenue for Conservation. This proposition would allow the state to spend a certain portion of sales tax on sporting goods on Colorado’s natural resources, to prevent wildfires and to support outdoor recreation training and activities.
Ballot Issue 7A: Front Range Passenger Rail District. This proposition would establish a 0.333 percent sales and usage tax for the construction, maintenance and operation of passenger rail service on the Front Range. Like the other propositions, it requires a simple majority for passage. It was referred to voters by the Front Range Passenger Rail District Board.
The full text of all proposed amendments and propositions can be found on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website coloradosos.gov.
For more information on the statewide initiatives, voters can go online to the Colorado Conservative website at coloradoconservative.com and the Bell Policy Center website at bellpolicy.org.
