Colorado Roads and Bridges Bonds Initiative (2018)
| Colorado Roads and Bridges Bonds Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Bond issues and Transportation | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Colorado Roads and Bridges Bonds Initiative (#172) was not on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.
This measure would have required the Colorado Department of Transportation to issue $3.5 billion in bonds, also known as revenue anticipation notes, to be used exclusively for the repair, maintenance, expansion, and construction of roads and bridges. The measure was also designed to prohibit bonds from being spent on bus or rail transit, multi-modal transportation, or administrative costs. Under the initiative, the legislature would have been required to repay the bonds without raising taxes by reallocating funds in the state budget.[1]
Two other versions of the initiative were proposed. Initiative #21 was written to issue $2.5 billion in bonds. Initiative #22 would have issued $3.5 billion in bonds. Both initiatives expired in August and October of 2017, respectively.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for version #172 is as follows:[2]
| “ | Shall state debt be increased $3,500,000,000, with a maximum repayment cost of$5,200,000,000, without raising taxes or fees, by a change to the Colorado revised statutes authorizing the issuance of transportation revenue anticipation notes, and, in connection therewith, any note proceeds shall be retained as a voter-approved revenue change and used exclusively to fund specified road and bridge expansion, construction, maintenance, and repair projects throughout the state?[3] | ” |
The ballot title for version #21 was as follows:[4]
| “ | Shall state debt be increased $2,500,000,000, with a maximum repayment cost of $4,000,000,000, without raising taxes, by a change to the Colorado revised statutes requiring the issuance of transportation revenue anticipation notes, and, in connection therewith, shall note proceeds be retained as a voter-approved revenue change and used exclusively to fund specified road and bridge expansion, construction, maintenance, and repair projects throughout the state?[3] | ” |
The ballot title for version #22 was as follows:[5]
| “ |
Shall state debt be increased $3,500,000,000, with a maximum repayment cost of $5,200,000,000, without raising taxes, by a change to the Colorado revised statutes requiring the issuance of transportation revenue anticipation notes, and, in connection therewith, shall note proceeds be retained as a voter-approved revenue change and used exclusively to fund specified road and bridge expansion, construction, maintenance, and repair projects throughout the state?[3] |
” |
Full text
- The full text of the initiative is available here.
- The full text of version #21 is available here.
- The full text of version #22 is available here.
Support
Jon Caldara and Mike Krause of the Independence Institute filed the initiative. Supporters refer to the measure as the Fix Our Damn Roads Initiative.[6][1]
Path to the ballot
The number of signatures required for a successful petition is equal to 5 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of secretary of state in the preceding general election. The same number of signatures is required for constitutional amendments, statutes, and referendums. In 2018, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is 98,492. In Colorado, petitioners have six months to collect signatures after the ballot language and title are finalized. The Colorado Constitution says that signatures must be filed three months before the election at which the measure would appear. For the 2018 general election ballot, signatures were due on August 6, 2018.
The initiative versions #21 and #22 were proposed for the election on November 7, 2017, but on June 28, 2017, Jon Caldara said his group would hold off on the initiatives until 2018. He stated, "The reality of the situation was we just didn’t have the time to get the signatures with the comfort zone that we really needed." Both initiatives expired in August and October of 2017, respectively. [7]
Caldara and Krause submitted initiative #172 to the secretary of state on April 6, 2018.[8]
The measure did not qualify for the November 2018 ballot because it had either (a) never been cleared for signature gathering, (b) was abandoned by sponsors, or (c) otherwise reached a certain stage in the initiative process, but did not make the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Colorado 2018 Secretary of State, "Initiative 172 full text," accessed April 19, 2018
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Ballot Title," accessed April 20, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Ballot Title," accessed October 10, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Initiative #22 Ballot Title," accessed January 18, 2018
- ↑ Denverite, "“Fix Our Damn Roads” ballot measure would force the state to put money into roads, without the tax increase," March 10, 2017
- ↑ The Denver Post, “Fix Our Damn Roads?” Maybe next year. Conservative group pulls ballot measure," June 28, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2018 ballot measures," accessed April 19, 2018
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