Colorado
Denver deputies want to ask the voters to give them more power and allow them to enforce state, federal and local laws outside city buildings. But deputies are already facing opposition from City Council members who say giving them more responsibilities would cost Denver millions in new training and increased salaries.
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Marijuana laws could be coming up for a public vote in Breckenridge. A marijuana advocacy group is gathering signatures to put pot laws to voters in municipal elections this fall. The group wants to see an ordinance to remove all criminal penalties from the town code for the private use of marijuana, under 1 ounce, by adults 21 and older.
A true fire protection district covering the city and surrounding rural areas would be the best way to provide emergency fire and ambulance service in the future, in the opinion of Glenwood Rural Fire Protection District Board Chairman Bill Livingston. He’s not alone in that assessment, either. But selling voters on such a measure, including the necessary property tax mill levy required to fund an expanded fire district, would be a challenge, he said.
The Greeley-Evans School District 6 Board of Education reviewed the draft plan for a mill levy override Monday night, which would raise property taxes for those living inside the district to pay for a myriad of school programs if approved by voters in November.
With about 200 residents watching, Salida officials cut the ribbon Saturday opening renovated locker rooms at the Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center.
Boulder voters this November will likely be asked to extend a .15 percent sales tax to help fill a growing gap in the city’s budget. The City Council late Tuesday asked staffers to return during a July 7 meeting with preliminary ballot language asking voters to continue the tax that’s set to expire at the end of 2012.
Charitable causes in Denver will soon get a little help from their ”˜extraterrestrial’ UFO friends. Supporters of the ballot initiative to create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission have started the Welcome to Earth project. They will collect signatures at concerts and other events but will donate funds to community causes instead of paying petitioners.
Beginning next year, building a new home, an addition or a business in Boulder could cost a lot more if the City Council decides Tuesday to move toward changing the way new development is taxed.
Despite a series of ballot setbacks, Douglas Bruce isn’t giving up. The anti-tax crusader is shepherding two initiatives toward the November ballot, including a measure that’s nearly identical to one Colorado Springs voters rejected last fall.
Local business leaders are charging ahead with a proposed new lodging tax that would pump an expected $1 million-plus into marketing Aspen to tourists. They hope voters will pass the new tax as a November ballot initiative.
Last week, Face The State reported on the efforts of Englewood residents to place a “homeowner immunity” measure on this November’s ballot. State law and Englewood’s city charter guarantee residents the right to place issues on the ballot upon collecting voter signatures equal to at least 5 percent of the city’s last gubernatorial vote count. While activists are hitting the pavement collecting the nearly 1,000 signatures they’ll need for ballot access, Englewood’s city council is tweaking local law to clarify the initiative and referendum process.
Denver attorney and state Republican insider Scott Gessler appears to be building his campaign for secretary of state on opposition to ballot-initiative reform.
The Colorado General Assembly is currently reviewing a Democrat proposal (SB 291) designed to punish local school districts if local voters return to restrictions set forth in Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution (i.e., the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights or TABOR).  Unfortunately, SB 291 is yet another attempt by Democrats to dismantle TABOR and rip away control from local voters.
Earlier this week Paul Jacob in his daily commentary on ThisIsCommonSense.com discussed Colorado’s Referendum O.
The measure, created by the state legislature, aims at restricting the citizen petition initiative. Even though the measure was defeated by Colorado voters, members of the legislature are pushing through a fast tracked bill in hopes at curtailing the process.
Read more at ThisIsCommonSense.com
A group of citizens is considering a ballot initiative that would force Colorado Springs to sell city-run Memorial Health System, which ended last year in the red. The initiative must pass the city’s title-setting board. If it passes the board proponents will have 180 days to collect over 11,000 signatures.