Dear Legislator:
On
behalf of the National Taxpayers Union’s 7,300 members in Colorado, I strongly
urge you to oppose Senate Concurrent Resolution 1 (SCR 1), an amendment to the
Colorado Constitution that would severely undermine the process for
citizen-initiated laws.
Under SCR 1, amendments to the state constitution would
need to cross a 60 percent threshold, rather than a simple majority, for
passage. However, any amendments adopted prior to 2013 could be repealed with a
simple majority vote. Additionally, initiative petitions must gather 5 percent
of the vote recorded in the previous election in each congressional district;
currently there is no such geographic distribution requirement.
Although proponents of this bill claim that the $177
million spent on initiative campaigns in the last decade is evidence that the
system is broken, it is actually a sign of our vibrant democratic system at
work. SCR 1 is not an attempt to clean up the initiative and referendum process
in Colorado, but rather an attempt by well-financed special interests to
prevent everyday citizens from having real input on issues their elected officials
may be reluctant to confront. Curiously, even as SCR 1’s advocates complain
about “crowded ballots” and other imagined horrors of citizen lawmaking, the
legislation imposes no new restrictions on the powers of these very same
elected officials to propose amendments.
SCR
1’s agenda is also nakedly apparent in its contradictory provisions. A 59
percent majority of Colorado citizens could be thwarted in enacting a measure,
yet a simple majority could undo what Colorado voters have overwhelming
demanded, from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights to immigration enforcement. While
we may not agree with every change sought at the ballot box, we believe that
everyone has a right to at least present their issues to the people. It is
strange that proponents who say they seek balance to the initiative process
would begin by creating a new imbalance. Supermajority requirements should
protect the people from excessive government, not empower excessive government
at the people’s expense.
By
raising the threshold for passage, SCR 1 ensures that only multimillion-dollar
campaigns will be successful at the ballot box. Further, by requiring a
geographic distribution for signatures to get initiatives on election slates,
SCR 1 effectively denies the ability of small, citizen volunteer groups to
qualify measures, thereby giving a decisive advantage to paid signature-
gathering operations.
For the preceeding reasons, we believe
that SCR 1 is a cynical exercise aimed at silencing the voices of ordinary
people in the political process. The citizens whom you considered intelligent
enough to elect you deserve better. Please reject this bill.
Sincerely,
John
Stephenson
State
Government Affairs Manager
Letter
