DENVER – Colorado voters will have a lengthy ballot this November.
The Secretary of State’s office is currently in the process of finalizing the ballot. Voters will decide on a total of seven citizen-led ballot initiatives. Five are statutory changes and two are constitutional amendments.
Voters will decide on the following citizen-led questions:
Amendment 73: School funding
If passed, Amendment 73 would amend the state constitution to raise income taxes on corporations, those earning more than $150,000 every year, and those earning more than $500,000 annually.
- Those earning $150,000: Income taxes increase by .37 percent
- Those earning $500,000: Income taxes increase by 3.62 percent
- Corporate tax rate increases by 1.37 percent
The money brought in from the taxes would go into a new fund that would be distributed to school districts. The districts would then decide how to spend money received from this plan.
The proposal would also freeze the property tax assessment rate for homeowners and businesses from 7.2 percent to 7.0 percent and 29 to 24 percent respectively.
If you’d like to see how it would impact your property taxes, click here.
If passed, the proposal would bring in $1.6 billion annually for school districts around the state.
CLICK HERE for the full text.
Read News5’s report from Alasyn Zimmerman on Amendment 73
Proposition 112: Setback requirement for oil and gas development
If passed, the measure would mandate that all new oil and gas development locations be a minimum of 2,500 feet away from occupied buildings and “vulnerable areas”
The measure restricts exploration, fracking, drilling, production, processing, flowlines and treatment of waste from oil and gas activities.
The vulnerable areas refer to places like playgrounds, sports fields, amphitheaters, public parks, open spaces, drinking water sources, irrigation canals, lakes, rivers, creek and “any additional areas designated by the state or local government.”
It would also apply the 2,500-foot buffer zone to the re-entry of an oil and gas well that was previously plugged or abandoned.
CLICK HERE for the full text.
Read News5’s report from Alasyn Zimmerman on Proposition 112
Amendment 74: Just Compensation for Reduction in Fair Market Value by Government Law or Regulation
This initiative calls for property owners in Colorado to be compensated for any reduction in property values caused by state laws or regulations.
The question says the compensation would be determined by a board of commissioners or by a jury.
CLICK HERE for more more information and access to original filings.
Read News5’s report from Alasyn Zimmerman on Amendment 74
Proposition 111: Payday loan regulation
If passed, Proposition 111 calls for the state to cap the maximum interest rate that payday lenders can charge at 36 percent and would regulate the charging of fees from payday lenders.
At this time, payday lenders can charge a maximum interest rate of 45 percent. According to the most recent data from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, some 448,792 people borrowed money from payday lenders in 2015. For an average $400 loan, borrowers paid approximately $30 in interest, $35 in origination fees and $45 in monthly maintenance fees. By the AG’s calculation, that $111 in finance charges amounts to an effective annual percentage rate of 117 percent.
The initiative also outlines a requirement that the lender would refund a prorated portion of the finance charge based on the amount of time left before the loan reaches maturity.
CLICK HERE for the final text.
Read News5’s report from Alasyn Zimmerman on Proposition 111
Proposition 109:”Fix our Damn Roads”
If passed, Proposition 109 known as “Fix our Damn Roads” would call for the state to borrow $3.5 billion in bonds to fund the highest priority construction projects on CDOT’s list. The proposal also calls for state lawmakers to dedicate a minimum of 2 percent of general fund spending to repay debt from the project until it is paid in full.
The proposal details the following projects that would be funded in southern Colorado:
- Construction of continuous flow intersection (similar to intersection of Woodmen and Union) on Powers Boulevard from Constitution to North Carefree
- Drainage and intersection improvements on Highway 24 from I-25 to Woodland Park
- Widen I-25 south from S. Academy Boulevard to the Lake Avenue exit to six lanes total
- Construct new interchange at Powers Boulevard and Reseach Parkway
- Widen U.S. Highway 50 to four lanes with shoulders, passing lanes and other safety improvements to the Kansas border
- Widen U.S. Highway 50 west of Pueblo from two lanes to three lanes
- Widen shoulders and provide safety improvements on Highway 67 from Divide to Victor
- Replace and widen Rock Creek Bridge on Highway 115
CLICK HERE for a link to the full text and full list of projects that would be funded around Colorado.
Read News5’s report from Alasyn Zimmerman on Proposition 109
Proposition 110: Increase sales tax to fund transportation projects
If passed, Proposition 110 would increase Colorado’s sales and use tax from 2.9 percent to 3.52 percent for the next 20 years to fund transportation projects around the state.
Under the proposal, the state would incur $6 billion in debt to provide funding for the project. The sales tax would collect approximately $766.7 million annually to pay it off.
Forty-five percent of the money would go toward safety, maintenance and projects to reduce congestion. Forty percent of the money would help fund municipal and county transportation projects. Fifteen percent would go to “multimodal” projects for pedestrians, biking and transit projects.
CLICK HERE for the full text.
Read News5’s report from Alasyn Zimmerman on Proposition 110
CDOT also provided an analysis comparing Initiative 167 (Proposition 109), 153 (Proposition 110) and other transportation funding measures approved by the state legislature.
Amendment 75: Campaign Finance Reform
If passed, Amendment 75 would change campaign finance rules in Colorado to allow candidates to raise more money from individual contributions if their opponent donates $1 million or more to their own campaign committee.
The initiative would allow candidates who run against an opponent who donates $1 million to accept individual contributions for a primary or general election at five times the current rate.
In order for this to pass, 55 percent of the Colorado voters must approve the measure.
CLICK HERE for the full text.
The 2018 Blue Book is the most recent blue book published by the Legislative Council Staff.
