Colorado Referendum O (2008)

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Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, which appeared on the ballot as Referendum O, was approved by the Colorado state legislature May 7, 2008, and appeared on the November ballot for voter approval. The measure would have altered the requirements for initiatives in Colorado. The measure would have made it harder for citizens to place constitutional amendments on the Colorado ballot for voter approval, but easier to call a vote on state statutes.

This measure is a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment.

Election results

Colorado Referendum O:
Votes Percentage
Yes 960,323 48%
NO 1,058,216 52%
Total votes 2,018,539 100%

Results according to the Denver Post[1]

Specific Provisions

If passed, the measure would have:

  • Increase the signature requirement for constitutional amendments by more than 15,000
  • Reduce the signature requirement for placing a new state law on the ballot
  • Add a distribution requirement, requiring at least 8% of petition signatures to be gathered in each congressional district
  • Establish an earlier deadline for filing initiatives.

Supporters

The measure was supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The committee campaigning for the measure is called Citizens for Constitutional Common Sense.

Supporters include:

  • Governor Bill Ritter[2]
  • Former Governor Bill Owens[2]
  • Club 20[3]
  • Action 22[2]
  • Progressive 15[2]
  • AARP[2]
  • Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce[2]
  • Colorado Municipal League[2]
  • Colorado Association of School Boards[2]
  • Green Industries of Colorado[4]


Editorial Support:

  • Rocky Mountain News[5]
  • Aspen Times[6]
  • Reporter Herald[7]


Arguments in Support

Notable arguments made in support included:

  • Referendum O encourages citizens to propose statutory rather than constitutional initiatives. Statutory initiatives preserve the citizens' right to initiate laws, while giving the legislature flexibility to react when laws require clarification or when problems or unforeseen circumstances arise.
  • Because the requirements for proposing constitutional initiatives are no different than the requirements for proposing statutory initiatives, the constitution is susceptible to detailed provisions that cannot be changed without another election.
  • Requiring more signatures for constitutional initiatives makes it more difficult to initiate constitutional amendments, which may make the Colorado Constitution a more enduring framework for state government.
  • Requiring that signatures for constitutional initiatives be gathered from each congressional district ensures that citizens from across the state support measures before they are placed on the ballot, not just those in highly populated areas.
  • Allowing the public and state legislators to comment on an initiative at a public meeting early in the process makes the review process more open and helps citizens gain a better understanding of the measure, as well as avoid unintended consequences.
  • The two-thirds legislative approval requirement is stringent enough to protect voter intent, but still allows for non-controversial changes that clarify, correct, or improve a statute.[8]

Funding

Citizens for Constitutional Common Sense raised $19,100 in August 2008 to promote the measure.[9] The group raised an additional $79,000 in the first two weeks of September. The Colorado Dairy Farmers and Rocky Mountain Prestress each gave the group $10,000.[10]

Opponents

Opponents included:

Arguments in Opposition

Notable arguments made in opposition included:

  • Referendum O makes it more difficult and expensive for citizens to exercise their right to initiate constitutional changes.
  • Requiring more signatures to qualify for the ballot restricts the public's ability to address issues that the legislature, courts, and executive branch have not addressed to the public's satisfaction or in which government officials have a vested interest.
  • The protections in Referendum O for statutory initiatives may not be sufficient to preserve voter-approved statutes from changes by the legislature.
  • The requirement to collect a certain number of signatures from each congressional district could enable one part of the state to block a change favored by the rest of the state.
  • The geographic diversity requirement would also make petitions too difficult for grassroots groups, while wealthy out-of-state campaigns could afford it.
  • It becomes more difficult to meet the signature requirement if the number of congressional districts increases.
  • Requiring constitutional initiatives to be filed halfway through the legislative session limits the ability of citizens to respond to action, or inaction, by the legislature on issues of importance to the voters.
  • Referendum O is an attempt to fix a perceived problem where none actually exists. In the past 50 years, voters have rejected almost two-thirds of all citizen-initiated constitutional amendments.[8]

Status

The measure was officially on the November 2008 ballot, after passing both the House and the Senate by the required two-thirds majority.[13]


See also


External links

References

  1. ↑ The Denver Post: "Election '08"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Yes on Ref O: "FAQs"
  3. ↑ Delta County Independent: "Club 20 takes positions on 11 of 18 ballot measures," Sept. 17, 2008
  4. ↑ ReporterHerald.com: "Referendum O seeks to make it harder to amend state constitution," Sep 23, 2008
  5. ↑ Rocky Mountain News: "Editorial: A better ballot measure," April 3, 2008
  6. ↑ Aspen Times: "Referendums L,M,N, and O deserve your support," Oct 1, 2008
  7. ↑ ReporterHerald.com: "Changing the state’s Constitution should be harder to do," Sep 28, 2008
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Coloradoan.com: "Decide for yourself on Referendum O," Oct 9, 2008
  9. ↑ Rocky Mountain News: "Union's Aug. ballot fight fund: $160,000," Sept. 3, 2008
  10. ↑ Rocky Mountain News: "Local union gives $3 million to fight right-to-work measure," Sept. 15, 2008
  11. ↑ KRDO-TV: "Lawmakers delay vote on voter initiative changes," April 7, 2008
  12. ↑ Durango Herald: "Panel: Make it tougher to amend constitution," April 10, 2008
  13. ↑ Durango Herald: "Voters to decide on constitution," May 7, 2008
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