Colorado Oil and Gas Severance Taxes Initiative (2019)

Colorado Oil and Gas Severance Taxes Initiative
Election date November 5, 2019
Topic Energy and Taxes
Status Not on the ballot
Type State statute	Origin Citizens
List of Colorado measuresColorado Proposition CCColorado Proposition DDSubmit

The Colorado Oil and Gas Severance Taxes Initiative (#22) was not on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated state statute on November 5, 2019.

This initiative was designed to change the tax structure for oil and gas severance taxes. Proposed changes included eliminating a tax credit given to oil and gas producers for property taxes paid. The stated purpose of the initiative was to increase funding for public schools and medical care for "individuals suffering negative health impacts caused by oil and gas production."

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot question for the initiative is below:

Initiative 22 ballot title

Shall state taxes be increased $703,900,000 annually by a change to the Colorado revised statutes concerning the severance tax on oil and gas extracted in the state, and, in connection therewith, increasing each of the graduated severance tax rates by 5 percentage points; eliminating a credit against the severance tax based on property tax paid by producers; reducing the maximum amount of oil or gas that a severance tax-exempt well may produce without all production from the well becoming taxable; exempting the severance tax revenue and related investment income from the state fiscal year spending limit; and requiring 44% of the severance tax revenue to be credited in equal shares to the severance tax trust fund and the local severance tax trust fund and up to 56% of the severance tax revenue to be spent in equal shares for the purposes of providing all-day kindergarten and public school funding and providing medical care and treatment for people experiencing health impacts proximately caused by oil and gas production?

Full text

• The full text of Initiative #22 is available here.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Colorado

The state process

In Colorado, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of Colorado secretary of state in the preceding general election. State law provides that petitioners have six months to collect signatures after the ballot language and title are finalized. State statutes require a completed signature petition to be filed three months and three weeks before the election at which the measure would appear on the ballot. The Constitution, however, states that the petition must be filed three months before the election at which the measure would appear. The secretary of state generally lists a date that is three months before the election as the filing deadline.

The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2019 ballot:

• Signatures: 124,632 valid signatures were required.
• Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was August 5, 2019.

The secretary of state is responsible for signature verification. Verification is conducted through a review of petitions regarding correct form and then a 5 percent random sampling verification. If the sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required valid signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If the sampling projects more than 110 percent of the required signatures, the initiative is certified. If less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.

Details about this initiative

• Andrew O'Connor and Mary Henry filed three versions of the initiative, #1-2 and #22, with the Colorado Legislative Council Staff, but withdrew version #1. On January 9, 2019, proponents filed version #22 with the Colorado secretary of state's office.
• The measure was approved for circulation on March 5, 2019.
• Sponsors did not submit signatures by the August 5, 2019, deadline.

See also

2019 measures

• 2019 ballot measures
• Energy on the ballot
• Taxes on the ballot
• 2019 petition deadlines

Colorado

• Colorado ballot measures
• Colorado initiative laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls
• Ballot measure signature costs

External links

• Colorado Secretary of State: Initiative Filings, Agendas & Results
• Initiatives filed with the Legislative Council Staff
• Initiative #2 Text
• Initiative #22 Text