Easier petition rules at issue

2006 ballot measure will let voters decide

Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 12, 2005 at midnight

Text size

More Colorado Government

Over the years, Coloradans have placed a variety of measures on the ballot, from abortion to taxes and even hog operations.

Next year, voters will decide whether to make the process much more sweeping and a whole lot easier.

The Petition Rights Amendment is meant, as supporters put it, to eliminate "government hostility and petty technicalities" that now discourage citizen initiatives.

But one opponent shudders at the idea, calling it "democracy by chaos."

The initiative was written by Doug Campbell, a Jefferson County resident active in pro-Taxpayer's Bill of Rights and anti-abortion efforts; Douglas Bruce, author of the 1992 TABOR; and Dennis Polhill, a senior fellow at the Independence Institute who has been active in initiative education efforts nationally.

"It's the job of government to implement initiatives, not to stand in the way," Campbell said.

The Petition Rights Amendment covers both initiatives and referendums. An initiative is a measure put on the ballot by citizens that amends the state constitution or changes laws. A referendum is a measure put on the ballot by citizens that allows voters to change a law passed by the legislature.

The Colorado secretary of state's Web site describes the initiative/referendum process as "complex and lengthy," though doable if rules are followed. The process includes hearings and, sometimes, court challenges. If a measure survives that, backers must collect the necessary number of valid voter signatures.

Polhill said the Petition Rights Amendment is "pretty benign."

"We tried to design it that way so people don't go crazy about opposing it," he said.

But opponents say the initiative would dramatically affect government - and not in a good way.

"What they're doing is getting rid of representative government, which is what our forefathers wanted," said state Sen. Norma Anderson, R-Jefferson County.

"It's absolutely ridiculous, and it destroys democracy. It's democracy by chaos."

She pointed to the problems created when voters in 1992 approved TABOR, restricting government spending, and then in 2000 approved Amendment 23, requiring more government spending for education. When a recession hit, the competing amendments aggravated the budget crisis.

Of the 24 states that allow citizen ballot measures, Colorado, California, Oregon and Arizona are the most active, according to the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures.

The secretary of state last week announced that backers of the Petition Rights Amendment had gathered enough signatures to get it on the ballot. It's the first initiative effort to make it on the 2006 ballot.

What it would do

The Petition Rights Amendment on the ballot next year, in part:

• Requires all initiatives, even local ones, be voted on during November general elections.

• Removes the odd/even year restriction that determines when issues can appear.

• Extends the petition circulation period from six months to a year.

• Transfers the authority to invalidate a signature from an elections employee to a district court judge.

• Shortens the time limit for challenging an initiative.

• Limits governments from enacting so-called safety clauses, which prevent citizens from overturning laws by use of a referendum.

• Extends citizen initiatives to all levels of government, including counties.

• Limits language on the ballot to 75 words or less.

• Restricts government resources from being used in any way to fight or support a measure; imposes a minimum $3,000 fine on any government entity and all employees involved; and forbids tax dollars from being used to reimburse or defend any employee involved.

• Requires a citizen vote to change any portion of the petition process.

• Allows petition organizers to describe their initiative in their own words in any government-distributed ballot information booklet.Source: Dennis Polhill And Doug Campbell; Colorado Secretary Of State

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News