Colorado
A proposed constitutional amendment that would protect the rights of embryos is advancing. On Thursday, the personhood amendment proposal got the approval of legislative staffers assigned to review and make recommendations on all ballot measures. Next it must be reviewed by the state title board, which makes sure that all voter initiatives only address a single topic.
The Breckenridge marijuana reform group, Sensible Breckenridge, turned in a petition Wednesday with almost three times the required number of signatures to place a measure on this November’s ballot. The measure, if passed, would remove local penalties for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and paraphernalia by adults 21 and older. “There was overwhelming support for it,” said Breckenridge attorney and chairman of Sensible Breckenridge Sean McAllister.
A sales tax increase intended to generate a cash flow to support Telluride’s plays, festivals, art programs, social services and events infrastructure is sailing toward November’s ballot. The Telluride Town Council on Tuesday voted 5-1 to put the tax, dubbed the CARE Tax (Community Support, Arts, Recreation and Events) before the voters next fall.
A proposed ballot initiative would guarantee Colorado workers a secret ballot in union elections. The measure is a response to proposed federal legislation that would eliminate secret ballot elections in favor of a “card check” system. Critics of the federal plan say that without a secret ballot workers would face intimidation from union leaders to join a union.
Unions have challenged the language of a ballot initiative that would amend the Colorado Constitution to guarantee employees’ right to a secret ballot in unionization elections. Meanwhile, legislation is pending before Congress that would remove that requirement from federal law. “The purpose for this amendment is to guarantee the fundamental right of an individual to vote by secret ballot,” said Patrick Davis, a Colorado Springs political consultant backing the measure.
A citizen’s initiative to abolish the current Estes Park Urban Renewal Authority and require voter approval to create another authority took another step forward Wednesday as organizers submitted petitions with more than 360 names to the town clerk. The clerk’s office will proceed to verify the petition before issuing a statement indicating if a sufficient number of valid voter signatures were present. The petition organizers need 226 valid signatures. The statement of sufficiency will be issued no later than 30 days from July 8.
If petition circulators are successful, Colorado voters will have the usual menu of controversial proposals to pore over on the November 2010 ballot. The four measures, ranging from recognizing same-sex marriage to barring the state from borrowing, have been OK’d for circulation by state officials.
Until its trees started dying, the Colorado ski resort town of Breckenridge stayed out of the business of telling residents how to defend their homes against wildfire. But with trees ravaged by a mountain pine beetle epidemic that has left large rust-tinged swaths of forest vulnerable to a catastrophic fire, town officials decided this year they had to act.
Bill Van Horn of Estes Park Citizens for Responsible Government announced this week that their citizen’s initiative petition drive is nearing the finish line. “With the help of good volunteers, we’ve gathered more than the minimum required to reach the ballot,” said Van Horn. “We want to continue gathering more signatures than required to ensure that the town does not again reject our right to access the ballot.”
Two anti-abortion groups, Colorado Right to Life and Personhood USA, will submit a new “personhood” initiative to the Colorado Legislative Council on Thursday in hopes of getting a measure on the 2010 state ballot. Colorado voters soundly defeated a similar measure, Amendment 48, in the 2008 election. But initiative sponsors say things will be different in 2010 because they will be better-funded and better able to articulate their message and will introduce a measure that’s more accurately worded.
Political fundraising in Colorado had an end-of-2008 rush, then slowed dramatically as 2009 brought a voter-approved ban on contributions from certain government contractors and their kin. A comparison of the first quarters of 2009 and 2005 ”” the most recent similar cycle ”” shows a decline in fundraising by anywhere from a fifth to two- thirds since the ban took effect.
A ballot measure that would create a commission to study the existence of UFOs and extraterrestrials is gaining steam in Colorado.
Proponents of a scientific and cultural facilities district that would cover Loveland and Fort Collins are back to work after a yearlong intermission. Supporters of the proposed district, which would fund nonprofit organizations that offer arts, scientific and cultural programming, have begun petition drives to place measures creating a district on the November ballot.
Former Congressman and 2008 Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo plans to push at least two Colorado ballot initiatives for the 2010 ballot. One initiative will deal with immigration reform and the other with energy policy. His non-profit think tank also plans to pursue future efforts to legalize drugs through the ballot initiative.
Former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo’s 2008 presidential bid was an admitted opportunity to speak against current immigration policy. And while immigration reform remains in Tancredo’s sights, his new policy stomping ground may come as a surprise: marijuana legalization. Tancredo said he is looking into placing one, or possibly two, initiatives on the 2010 ballot dealing with immigration and energy policy. He is hoping to collaborate with Caldara and the Independence Institute on future ventures.