Colorado Tobacco and Nicotine Tax Increase Initiative (2020)
| Colorado Tobacco and Nicotine Tax Increase Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Taxes and Tobacco | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Colorado Tobacco and Nicotine Tax Increase Initiative (#292) was not on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.
The initiative would have increased taxes on tobacco and create a new tax on nicotine products such as e-cigarettes.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Initiative #292 would have been as follows:[1] {[Quote|SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED BY $334,400,000 ANNUALLY BY A CHANGE TO THE COLORADO REVISED STATUTES INCREASING TAXES ON PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN NICOTINE, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH: (1) INCREASING THE CIGARETTE TAX BY TEN CENTS PER CIGARETTE, ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION, AND INCREASING THE TOBACCO PRODUCTS TAX BY 22% OF THE MANUFACTURER'S LIST PRICE; (2) CREATING A TAX ON NICOTINE AND VAPING PRODUCTS THAT IS EQUAL TO THE TOTAL STATE TAX ON TOBACCO PRODUCTS; (3) USING THE NEW REVENUE FOR PRESCHOOL ACCESS FOR CHILDREN IN THE YEAR BEFORE KINDERGARTEN, AND TO EXPAND TOBACCO EDUCATION, PREVENTION, AND CESSATION PROGRAMS; (4) REQUIRING LICENSING OF NICOTINE AND VAPING PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS; (5) REQUIRING STATE AUDITS OF THE NEW REVENUE USED FOR PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS; AND (6) AUTHORIZING THE STATE TO KEEP AND SPEND ALL THE NEW REVENUE AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE?}}
Full text
The full text of the initiative can be found here.
Path to the ballot
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 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 124,632 valid signatures
- Deadline: August 3, 2020[2]
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
- Anna Haynes and Healthier Colorado board member James Garcia filed versions #233-241 of the initiative. Ballot titles were issued for them on February 5, 2020.[3]
- Katherine Stigberg and Chelsea Stallings of Healthier Colorado filed versions #287-292. Ballot titles were issued for them on March 25, 2020. Initiative #292 was cleared for signature gathering on May 19, 2020, with signatures due by August 3, 2020.[3]
- Proponents did not submit signatures by the deadline.[3]
See also
External links
- Colorado Secretary of State: Initiative Filings, Agendas & Results
- Initiatives filed with the Legislative Council Staff
- Initiative 292 full text
Footnotes
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Results for Proposed Initiative #292," accessed June 1, 2020
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Colorado Secretary of State, "2019-2020 Initiative Filings, Agendas & Results," accessed February 10, 2020
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