Colorado Amendment 16, Fees for Water Usage in the Rio Grande Water Conservation District Initiative (1998)
| Colorado Amendment 16 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Water |
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| Status |
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| Type Initiated constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Colorado Amendment 16 was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in Colorado on November 3, 1998. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported creating fees for water pumped from aquifers under state trust lands in the Rio Grande Water Conservation District and using such fees for school funding. |
A “no” vote opposed creating fees for water pumped from aquifers under state trust lands in the Rio Grande Water Conservation District and using such fees for school funding. |
Election results
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Colorado Amendment 16 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 297,872 | 24.23% | ||
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931,566 | 75.77% | ||
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- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Amendment 16 was as follows:
| “ | Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution requiring the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, which is located in whole or in part in Conejos, Alamosa, Rio Grande, Mineral, and Saguache counties, to pay fees for all water that has been, is being, or will in the future be pumped from aquifers underlying state trust lands pursuant to Water Decree W-3038 in Water Division 3 (including all or part of Conejos, Alamosa, Rio Grande, Mineral, Saguache, and Costilla counties) for purposes of the "Closed Basin Project", and, in connection therewith, setting such fees at thirty dollars per acre-foot, payable to the state's public school fund, and ten dollars per acre-foot, payable to the school districts in Water Division 3, based upon the State Department of Educations's student count for such districts; directing the State Auditor to determine the amounts of such fees payable each year and requiring payment of such amounts within thirty days after such determination, subject to interest at eighteen percent on late payments; requiring the Rio Grande Water Conservation District to assess those irrigators with water rights in the Rio Grande River, in proportion to their water right, an amount equal to the amount of water used and attributable to the water pumped from beneath such state trust lands; and providing that monies paid to the school districts in Water Division 3 shall be in addition to monies made available for public school children and shall not be considered by the general assembly when determining such amount? | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
In Colorado, proponents needed to collect a number of signatures for an initiated constitutional amendment.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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