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 However, any amendments adopted prior to 2013 could be repealed with a simple majority vote.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