State Feed: Colorado

Colordao: Initiative Process Comes Under Siege

AmandaKathryn — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:34:17 -0400

An unlikely alliance of some of the state’s leading liberal and conservative voices are sounding the alarm that Colorado’s ballot initiative process is facing an unprecedented assault from established interests and lawmakers.

University of Colorado Professor Honored For Efforts to Protect State Initiative Process

Thu, 19 May 2011 14:33:43 -0400

(LAKE RIDGE, VA) – Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented Thad Tecza, a senior instructor emeritus in political science at the University of Colorado, with the May 2011 John Lilburne Award for his efforts during this year’s legislative session to protect Colorado’s initiative process.

Colorado: Citizen Initiative Rights Dead

AmandaKathryn — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:41:30 -0500

According to Jon Caldara, initiative rights in Colorado are now dead. As voters, many of us find state-wide citizen initiatives to be wanting, at least if election results matter. Caldara, of the Independence Institute, was a petition proponent for Amendment 63, the health care initiative that appeared on last November`s ballot. That ballot measure failed. Now Caldara is being sued personally for fraud supposedly committed by petition circulators.

“It doesn`t matter if you love or hate my initiative,” says Caldera. State law killing is your initiative rights.

Colorado: The Petition Process is Dead

AmandaKathryn — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:32:14 -0500

This legislative session there will be yet another attempt to make it harder for citizens to change the Colorado State Constitution by raising the signature requirements to get something on the ballot. Why bother? The petition process in Colorado is already DEAD.

I mean it. Dead. Only a fool with a financial death-wish would try to get ANY initiative on a statewide ballot.

Federal Judge Says Colorado Can't Restrict How Campaigns Pay Workers

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:21:26 -0400

U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer on Friday put a temporary hold on part of a controversial 2009 bill restricting, among other things, how and when voters can be asked to sign a petition. You can read the judge’s order here.

Colorado: City marijuana laws and mayoral powers could change if measures win at ballot box

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:04:52 -0400

Dozens of existing medical marijuana dispensaries could be outlawed in Colorado Springs, and the mayor would have sweeping powers, including the authority to lower taxes, under two separate proposals making their way to the ballot. The effort to ban pot shops involves a man who says his two daughters died because of drug use. The proposal for a mayor with a wide range of powers involves anti-tax activist Douglas Bruce.

Read the story from The Gazette

Colorado: Hourly pay requirement hurts signature gathering process

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:54:59 -0400

Conservative activists asked a federal judge Wednesday to overturn a state law on ballot petitions. U.S. District Judge Phillip Brimmer isn’t likely to rule until Friday at the earliest. Each passing day makes it harder for Jon Caldara to gather signatures for his ballot initiative to overturn the federal health-care reform law in Colorado.

Read the story from The Durango Herald

Colorado: "Legislative" or "Administrative"? It Makes All the Difference

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:32:48 -0400

Colorado’s constitution guarantees all stat citizens the power of initiative “as to all local, special, and municipal legislation of every character in of for their respective municipalities.” One restriction on this is that initiatives must be “legislative,” not “administrative.” Any initiative that is deemed “administrative” cannot be certified for the ballot.

Colorado: Restrictive bill signed into law

Wed, 26 May 2010 12:18:24 -0400

Sponsors of a bill signed into law Tuesday say the new restrictions on ballot initiative backers could prevent future tangles like those surrounding a series of anti-tax measures before voters this November. House Bill 1370 requires that issue committees, the term for groups backing initiatives, register with the state and begin disclosing financial information as soon as they print and distribute 200 petitions. Current rules require these groups to register only after they raise or spend $200, a threshold that can be harder to gauge, according to bill co-sponsor Sen.

Colorado: Initiative would let dogs off the leash

Wed, 19 May 2010 13:46:42 -0400

You might not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but you could let that dog off-leash and give it a try in a Denver park under a citizen initiative that’s up for review tomorrow. An initiative being proposed by Ronald “Byron” Williams would allow dogs to be off-leash in certain parts of almost all Denver parks from 5-9 a.m.

Denver Post: Petition Process is a Guaranteed Right that Legislature Shouldn't Restrict

Wed, 19 May 2010 11:58:30 -0400

It doesn’t matter what you think of the process by which Coloradans put laws and constitutional amendments on the ballot. In this state, it’s a basic right protected in the state constitution. Lawmakers didn’t create that right and they can’t take it away.

Colorado: Tax headed to ballot in Aspen

Tue, 18 May 2010 15:05:28 -0400

Aspen voters will be asked in November to approve increasing the current lodging tax by 1 percent to support marketing and special events for the resort. The Aspen Chamber Resort Association and Aspen Lodging Association asked the Aspen City Council on Monday night to approve including the measure on the upcoming ballot. “This is an opportunity for the people of Aspen to stand behind the notion of a sustainable tourism economy,” Mayor Mick Ireland said. “It is an opportunity for the community to cast a yes vote for the future.”

Citizens' Rights Safe in Many States as State Legislatures End Sessions

Tue, 18 May 2010 14:23:59 -0400

Of the 45 states whose legislatures hold sessions in 2010, 27 of them have adjourned for the year, and 5 more will wrap up before the end of the month. Of the more than 80 bills dealing with the initiative and referendum process in various states, 51 of them would have reduced citizens’ initiative rights. Thanks to the work of activists in our coalitions, only 3 bills reducing citizen’s rights have passed and become law.

Colorado: Rafting initiative could be on November ballot

Thu, 13 May 2010 14:42:55 -0400

One of the most contentious bills of the legislative session — a proposal to settle a decades-long dispute between rafters and landowners — sank in a conference committee Tuesday. The six-lawmaker panel deadlocked when members couldn’t settle on rules regarding how, when or whether river enthusiasts should be able to float through private property.

Read the story from the Vail Daily

Common Cause’s Elena Nunez Honored for Work Keeping Initiative Process Open & Accessible

Wed, 12 May 2010 13:01:42 -0400

(LAKE RIDGE, VA) – Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation, a transpartisan national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented Common Cause’s Elena Nunez with the May 2010 John Lilburne Award. Nunez is being awarded for her work in spearheading opposition to Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 (SCR 3), a constitutional amendment designed to make it more difficult for the citizens of Colorado to amend their constitution through a voter initiative.

Coloradans' Voting Rights Narrowly Escape Another Hit

Wed, 12 May 2010 11:38:32 -0400

Thanks to the hard work of a transpartisan coalition of groups and activists - including Citizens in Charge, our partner organization - the quest of some state senators to even further reduce Coloradans’ petition rights has been stopped.Senate Concurrent Resolution 003, which would have imposed a su

Colorado: Prospects diminished for liquor sale initiatives

Mon, 10 May 2010 11:05:28 -0400

Colorado shoppers are much less likely to find beer, wine and liquor on supermarket shelves after a House committee on Wednesday killed a bill to expand alcohol sales and the prospects dimmed for two similarly aimed ballot initiatives. It was the third time in as many years that a coalition of convenience stores, supermarkets and consumer advocates has been thwarted in the legislature.

Read the story from the Denver Post

Colorado: Strong mayor system may face ballot initiative

Thu, 06 May 2010 18:04:07 -0400

More than 80 people participated in a town hall meeting Wednesday to learn about a proposal to change Colorado Springs’ system of government to a strong-mayor form. “This governance system is not anything new or radical,” said Mary Ellen McNally, a co-chair of Citizens for Accountable Leadership, which is proposing a November ballot initiative. “In fact, it is very similar to the structure … in our U.S. Constitution.”

Read the story from The Gazette

Colorado: Restrictive citizen initiative bill criticized in hearing

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:10:15 -0400

Sen. Abel Tapia’s proposal that seeks to make it more difficult for citizens to run ballot initiatives that would change the Colorado Constitution was harshly criticized during testimony, but it narrowly passed a Senate committee on Wednesday. Tapia, D-Pueblo, said Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 aims to keep reasonable the amount of issues that confront voters on the statewide ballot.

Read the story from The Pueblo Chieftain

Petition Rights Activists Slam Colorado Proposal in Huffington Post

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:01:41 -0400

Shortly after the lunch break and without a TV crew in sight, the [Colorado] Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee first passed a proposal that would largely gut the ability of ordinary citizens to propose amendments to the state constitution.