Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
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The statewide ballot for Colorado is set. This past week,
Secretary of State Jena Griswold officially certified the
state’s ballot for the Nov. 8, 2022, election. In addition to
the candidates for state and local offices, Colorado voters will
have the opportunity to weigh in on six voter-initiated ballot
measures (in a prior post, we detailed the process by which
initiatives reach the ballot) and five measures referred to the
ballot by the state legislature.
Historically, Colorado ballot initiatives have given voters the
chance to register their opinions on topics as diverse as
marijuana, women’s rights, annexation of property by cities and
counties, and state revenue and spending. So, along with the names
of candidates for over 150 state and local races, Coloradans will
see on their ballots the following newly named propositions:
State-Wide, Voter-Initiated Ballot Initiatives:
- Proposition 121, State Income Tax Rate
Reduction: Voting “yes” on this proposition means
supporting a decrease of Colorado’s state income tax from 4.55%
to 4.40%. Republican state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg and libertarian
Independence Institute’s Jon Caldara, who filed this
proposition, also led a successful campaign to decrease the state
income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.55% last year. Organizations in
support include Coloradans for Civil Liberties, Colorado Rising
Action, Defend Colorado and the Independence Institute. The
opposition is led by Scott Wasserman, president of the Bell Policy
Center and the Bell Action Network.
- Proposition 122, Access to Natural Medicine: A
“yes” vote on this question backs the establishment of
legal and regulated access to “natural medicines,”
defined as dimethyltryptamine, ibogaine, certain forms of
mescaline, peyote, psilocybin and psilocyn for adults over the age
of 21. This proposition would decriminalize the personal use of
these natural medicines, such as mushrooms, and create
state-licensed “healing centers” where eligible
participants can purchase, consume and experience the effects of
natural medicines under the supervision of a facilitator. This was
one of several proposed natural medicines measures, but it was the
only one to make it on the ballot. Natural Medicine Colorado, which
has reported nearly $3 million in contributions, is sponsoring the
initiative. Just over 99% of those contributions have come from New
Approach PAC.
- Proposition 123, Dedicated State Income Tax
Revenue for Affordable Housing Programs: Voting “yes” on
this proposition endorses the allocation of roughly $300 million a
year of state tax revenue (the equivalent of 0.1% of state income
tax) to affordable housing programs, including financing programs
that reduce rent, purchasing land for affordable housing
developments, debt financing for housing builders and supporting
people experiencing homelessness. The measure does not raise taxes
but rather allocates money for these programs out of the TABOR
refund pool. Coloradans for Affordable Housing Now is leading the
campaign in support of the initiative. The campaign’s main
backer, Gary Community Ventures, is led by former gubernatorial
candidate Mike Johnston and has raised nearly $4 million.
- Proposition 124, Concerning Liquor Licenses: A
“yes” vote indicates approval for increasing the number
of liquor stores one person or business can operate from three to
eight immediately, then to 13 in 2027, 20 in 2032, and entirely
removing the limit in 2037. Coloradans for Consumer Choice and
Retail Fairness, the campaign behind this proposition, has raised
over $2.6 million thus far.
- Proposition 125, Sales of Alcohol Beverages:
Supporting this proposition facilitates the sale of wine at grocery
stores and convenience stores. Wine in Grocery Stores, the campaign
supporting Propositions 125 and 126, has raised $11.4 million
through donors such as DoorDash, Instacart, Target, Albertsons
Safeway and Kroger.
- Proposition 126, Third-Party Delivery of
Alcohol Beverages: A “yes” vote supports allowing third
parties (like Uber Eats and DoorDash) to deliver alcoholic
beverages in Colorado. Keeping Colorado Local is leading the
campaign in opposition to the three alcohol initiatives:
Propositions 124, 125 and 126. The committee has raised nearly half
a million dollars thus far, and donors include the Colorado
Licensed Beverage Association and the local Boulder liquor store
Hazel’s Beverage World.
State-Wide Issues Referred by the State Legislature
- Amendment D, New 23rd Judicial District
Judges: A “yes” vote here endorses directing the governor
to designate judges from the 18th Judicial District to serve in the
newly-created 23rd Judicial District. As this provision would amend
the state constitution, it must receive 55% of the vote to pass.
Supporters include state Sens. Rhonda Fields (D) and Bob Gardner
(R) and state Reps. Mike Weissman (D) and and Kevin Van Winkle
(R).
- Amendment E, Extend Homestead Exemption to
Gold Star Spouses: Voting “yes” on this issue supports
extending the property tax exemption currently for qualifying
senior and disabled veterans to the surviving spouses of U.S.
service members who died in the line of duty or passed away from
service-related injuries or disease. As this provision would amend
the state constitution, it must receive 55% of the vote to pass.
Supporters include state Sens. Jeff Bridges (D) and Paul Lundeen
(R) and state Reps. Tim Geitner (R) and Cathy Kipp (D).
- Amendment F, Charitable Gaming Constitutional
Amendment: Backing this question supports repealing the current ban
on paying managers and operators of charitable gaming activities
and decreasing, from 5 years to 3 years, the time an organization
must exist before obtaining a charitable gaming license. For
purposes of regulations after 2024, it would delegate to the state
legislature to decide how long an organization must exist before
obtaining such a license. As this provision would amend the state
constitution, it too must receive 55% of the vote to pass.
Supporters include state Sens. Robert Rodriguez (D) and Jim
Smallwood (R), state Reps. David Ortiz (D)and Perry Will (R), and
the Colorado Charitable Bingo Association.
- Proposition FF, Healthy Meals for all Public
School Students: A “yes” vote on this measure supports
creating a program to provide free, healthy lunches to all public
school students. The program would be funded by capping tax
deductions for individuals with annual adjusted gross incomes over
$300,000 to provide grants to participating schools to purchase
Colorado-grown, -raised or -processed products and cover wages for
those employees preparing and serving the meals. Healthy School
Meals for All Colorado Students and Hunger Free Colorado are
leading the campaign in support of the measure. Supporters include
state Sen. Rhonda Fields (D) and numerous education organizations
throughout the state. State Rep. Richard Holtorf (R) opposes the
measure.
- Proposition GG, Amount of Tax Owed for
Initiatives: Voting “yes” on this proposition supports a
requirement that ballot initiatives that change state income tax
rates include a table showing the average change for taxpayers
based on income. Coloradans for Ballot Transparency is leading the
campaign in support of the measure. Supporters include state Sens.
Dominick Moreno (D) and Brittany Pettersen (D) and state Reps.
Chris Kennedy (D) and Mike Weissman (D). Michael Fields, president
of the Advance Colorado Institute, is leading the opposition.
In addition to the statewide measure, voters are also likely to
encounter local initiatives on their ballots. For example, Denver
residents will also be asked how they feel about:
- Initiative Ordinance 305, No Eviction Without
Representation: Whether landlords should be taxed ($75 per rental
unit, per year) to establish a free legal advice and defense
program for renters facing eviction in Denver.
- Initiative Ordinance 306, Waste No More:
Whether Denver should require apartments and condo buildings to
offer recycling and composting services to residents. The ordinance
also applies to nonresidential buildings contributing to food
waste, such as restaurants and sports arenas.
- Initiative Ordinance 307, Denver Deserves
Sidewalks: Whether to establish a program funded by an annual fee
paid by property owners whereby Denver would take responsibility
for sidewalk installation and maintenance, replacing the current
system where property owners are responsible.
- Referred Question 2I, the Denver Public
Library Tax: Whether property taxes should be increased (roughly
$50 per year for the average Denver homeowner) in order to expand
public library branch hours, grow collections of books and other
media, improve resources for patrons, and increase pay for
staff.
- Referred Question 2J, Lifting TABOR Limits on
the Climate Tax: Whether to allow Denver to keep the revenue
collected from the voter-approved 2020 sales tax increase and
utilize it, as approved by voters, to fund climate action
initiatives.
- Referred Question 2K, Lifting TABOR Limits on
Homeless Resolution Tax: Whether to allow Denver to keep the
revenue collected from the voter-approved 2020 sales tax increase
and utilize it, as approved by voters, to fund efforts to combat
homelessness.
- Referred Question 2L, Denver Ballot
Modernization: Whether the following measures should be instituted
with regard to the way Denver handles elections: (1) installing a
“single subject” requirement for ballot initiatives; (2)
moving up deadlines by which candidates have to be certified for
the ballot; (3) delegating to the clerk and recorder the way titles
of initiatives, referendums, and recalls are set; and (4) changing
ballot question wording to be governed by city ordinance rather
than by the charter.
Colorado ballots will be mailed to registered voters from Oct.
17–21.
But it is not too late to register to vote. Through Oct. 31,
Coloradans can register to vote at GoVoteColorado.gov. And after that, individuals
can register in person until 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8,
2022.
Over 400 drop boxes and 350 voting centers will be available for
voters by Oct. 24. More information about locations, opening dates
and hours can be found at GoVoteColorado.gov.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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