Colorado TABOR Repeal Initiative (2020)
| Colorado Amendments to the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Taxes | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Colorado Amendments to the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights Initiative (#3) was not on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
The initiative would have repealed Section 20 of Article X of the Colorado Constitution, also known as the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR).
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title and submission clause for the initiative is below:[1][2]
| “ | Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning the repeal of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado constitution?[3] | ” |
Full text
The full proposed text of Initiative #3 was as follows:[4]
| “ |
Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In the constitution of the state of Colorado, repeal section 20 of article X.[3] |
” |
Support
The initiative was filed by Carol Hedges, executive director of the Colorado Fiscal Institute.
Opposition
Americans for Prosperity Colorado Issue Committee reported in-kind contributions/expenditures spent on opposing the initiative.[5]
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Colorado, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment 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. For initiated constitutional amendments, signature gathering must be distributed to include signatures equal to 2 percent of the registered voters who live in each of the state's 35 senate districts.
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.
Constitutional amendments in Colorado require a 55% supermajority vote to be ratified and added to the state constitution. This requirement was added by Amendment 71 of 2016.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 124,632 valid signatures
- Deadline: August 3, 2020[6]
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
- Steve Briggs and Executive Director of the Colorado Fiscal Institute Carol Hedges filed the initiative.[7]
- Proponents submitted multiple versions of the initiative. The different versions were designed to repeal and/or make amendments to Section 20 of Article X of the Colorado Constitution, also known as the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR). Each version is different. To read the different versions of the initiative, you can find them here.[7] As of June 17, 2019, versions #84-101 were awaiting a rehearing with the state title board after title setting was denied for each version.[1]
- Version #3 was filed with the Colorado Secretary of State's office on January 4, 2019. Version #3 was designed to repeal Section 20 of Article X of the Colorado Constitution, also known as the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR). On January 16, 2019, the title setting was denied after the state title board decided the measure did not constitute a single subject.[1] On June 17, 2019, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed the title board's ruling, instead declaring that the initiative did constitute a single subject and directed the title board to set a ballot title and submission clause for the initiative.[8]
- Proponents did not submit signatures by the deadline on August 3, 2020.[1]
Challenges to the ballot language
The ballot language was set for the initiative on July 17, 2019. The ballot title as set by the title board was as follows:
| “ | An amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning the repeal of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado constitution.[3] | ” |
Proponents filed a motion for a rehearing on the title, seeking to have "Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights" and "TABOR" removed from the ballot language. The rehearing was denied on August 21, 2019. Initiative sponsor Carol Hedges argued that references to the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights would confuse voters and said, "We need to keep a simple title that allows voters to know what they are voting on. And it's very clear from a title that says repeal Article X, Section 20, what is happening. Any voter that doesn't know what Article X, Section 20 is, will go to the Colorado Constitution and learn what it's about."
Douglas Bruce, author of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), argued in favor of keeping "Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights" and "TABOR" in the ballot language. Bruce also said the ballot language should include a description of what TABOR does.
Both Carol Hedges and Douglas Bruce said they would file petitions with the Colorado Supreme Court on the matter.[9][10][11]
On December 23, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the ballot language was clear and not misleading.[12]
See also
External links
- Colorado Secretary of State: Initiative Filings, Agendas & Results
- Initiatives filed with the Legislative Council Staff
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Colorado Secretary of State, "2019-2020 Initiative Filings, Agendas & Results," accessed August 1, 2019
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Results for Proposed Initiative #3," accessed January 3, 2020
- ↑ 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, "Initiative 3 full text," accessed June 17, 2019
- ↑ Colorado TRACER, "Americans for Prosperity Colorado Issue Committee," accessed July 3, 2019
- ↑ On May 17, 2020, Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) signed Executive Order D 2020 065, which temporarily suspended the state law requiring signatures to be submitted six months after ballot language finalization. Under the order, signatures for 2020 Colorado initiatives were due by August 3, 2020.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Colorado General Assembly, "Initiatives filed with the Legislative Council Staff," accessed November 27, 2018
- ↑ Colorado Supreme Court, "2019 CO 57, No. 19SA25, In re Ballot Title #3—Title Setting—Single Subject Requirement—Ballot Initiatives," accessed June 17, 2019
- ↑ Colorado Public Radio, "The Proposal To Repeal TABOR Could Go Back To The Supreme Court — Again," accessed August 21, 2019
- ↑ Colorado Public Radio, "TABOR Repeal Supporters Don’t Want To Call It That," accessed August 21, 2019
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Ballot Title Setting Board Results for Proposed Initiative #3," accessed August 21, 2019
- ↑ Lexology, "Proposal to Repeal Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (“TABOR”) Heading to the Ballot in November 2020," accessed December 26, 2019
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