This story by Chase Woodruff appeared on Colorado Newsline on April 22, 2024. We are sharing it in two parts.
A major set of election reforms, constitutional protections for abortion rights and a series of tit-for-tat battles over property taxes and environmental regulation top the long list of measures that may appear on Colorado ballots in November.
Anti-LGBTQ measures
Two measures sponsored by Erin Lee, a Fort Collins anti-LGBTQ activist who since 2022 has made a string of appearances in conservative media crusading against what she calls the “indoctrination” of children by “predators” at public schools, have been approved by the Title Board. One would require Colorado public schools to notify parents when their child shows signs of “experiencing gender incongruence” at school, and another would codify a parent’s “legal right to review their child’s school records.”
Lee, her husband and two other parents sued the Poudre School District in federal court last year, alleging that her daughter’s experience with an after-school Genders and Sexualities Alliance club, which “introduced concepts of gender fluidity and various types of sexual attraction,” violated their constitutional rights as parents. Their characterization of some of the club’s discussions and materials has been disputed, and their lawsuit was dismissed.
Another set of ballot measures targeting transgender Coloradans has attracted high-profile support from prominent Republican politicians. One would prohibit transgender athletes from competing in “a sport or athletic event designated as being for females, women or girls.” The other proposes a sweeping ban on medical procedures and hormone treatments for transgender people under the age of 18.
The Title Board, however, ruled that both measures violate the single-subject rule, and upheld their decisions again last week, prompting criticism from Greg Lopez, the GOP’s nominee for a 4th Congressional District special election in June, and former state Sen. Kevin Lundberg.
“I believe it is doing a great disservice to we the people in Colorado, who reserve the right to make law independent of the General Assembly,” Lundberg said. “I’m saying this to you very directly, because I guarantee I’m going to say this publicly — you need to know that if … you’re going to say this is not a single subject, that’s a violation of our Constitution.”
Hearings on the anti-transgender initiatives have been marked by unusually tense scenes at the normally tranquil Title Board, including a session last month during which supporters of the initiatives shouted at board members while filming the hearing with their phones. Conley, the board chair, told Lundberg that his comments about speaking “publicly” were part of a pattern she found “unnerving.”
“We have put in a tremendous amount of effort, we are doing our best, we are seeking to be consistent. I am constantly concerned about being doxxed online,” Conley said. “People can always comment on public processes. It is in the news all the time. But to be reminded and directed at it, I can’t help but think that there’s a little bit of a hidden message there that is not appreciated and won’t be tolerated.”
Oil and gas wars
In an echo of past Colorado elections, the stage is set once again this year for a ballot clash between the oil and gas industry and environmental advocates, both of which have have filed multiple proposed initiatives.
One industry-backed proposal seeks to ban state and local governments from restricting “energy choice,” a move that would halt efforts to phase out the use of natural gas in homes and businesses, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. A separate, broader measure would amend the Constitution to prohibit restrictions on gas-powered vehicles, appliances, lawn equipment or any other “products or services currently in common use based on the energy source of that product or service.”
Other measures backed by the same proponents include limitations on what rules the state can pursue to reduce ozone-forming pollutants; a transformation of the state’s Air Quality Control Commission into an “independent” body; and a constitutional requirement that any bill passed by the Legislature with an estimated negative economic impact totaling $100 million in gross domestic product over five years be referred to a statewide vote.
In response, environmental groups filed three initiatives of their own. One, creating a broad “right to a healthy environment,” was rejected by the Title Board on single-subject grounds. But two others, which would hold oil and gas companies strictly liable for damages and create a private right of action to enforce environmental regulations, were approved last week.
‘Dark money’-backed agenda
Besides Thiry’s camp, the most active initiative proponents at the Title Board this cycle have been a small group of Republican operatives, including Fields and former state Senate candidate Suzanne Taheri, who represent interests that in many cases are unknown to the public. Advance Colorado, which has spent lavishly on conservative candidates and causes in recent elections, is a so-called “dark money” nonprofit that does not disclose its donors.
As Democrats have cemented their hold on Colorado’s state government, the initiative process has emerged as one of the only remaining avenues for conservative groups to influence state policy, and several ballot measures filed this year aim to protect and expand that power.
Currently, any changes to state law made by a statutory initiative — in contrast to a proposed constitutional amendment — may be amended or even reversed by a simple majority vote of the Legislature. A measure proposed this year by conservative groups would instead require a three-fourths majority of lawmakers to alter any initiated statute. The Title Board initially approved the measure but reversed itself last month after a lengthy re-hearing, siding with objectors who argued it violated the single-subject rule.
The board also denied an initiative filed by Fields and Taheri seeking to eliminate the Title Board altogether, empowering legislative branch staff to make single-subject and title determinations, excluding the representatives of the secretary of state and attorney general and ending the Title Board’s open public meetings on proposed initiatives.
Another measure would drastically reduce the length of Colorado’s legislative session, shrinking the current 120-day session to 60 days in odd-numbered years and just 30 days in even-numbered years, and was approved for a title by the board.
Other measures
In addition to the battle over property taxes, the clash between Gov. Jared Polis and local governments over Colorado housing policy may be headed to the November ballot in the form of a constitutional amendment affirming the right of “local control over land use.”
Three different versions of the proposed amendment were approved by the Title Board last week. The proponents, former Republican state Sen. Kevin Grantham and former Democratic state Sen. Cheri Jahn, were represented before the board by Jason Dunn, a Republican former U.S. attorney during the Trump administration who is now an attorney at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
The measure would severely restrict efforts by Polis and some lawmakers to force cities to allow the construction of more housing units and higher-density neighborhoods, adding a clause in the state Constitution that gives local governments “plenary and exclusive control over land use regulations or decisions within their jurisdictions, such that the state government may not specify more or less restrictive land use requirements than the local government specifies.”
Meanwhile, conservative activist Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute has filed another proposed income tax cut, which would reduce the state’s current income tax rate from 4.4% to 4%. The cut would be the third incremental reduction passed by voters in consecutive two-year election cycles, as part of an effort Caldara’s group calls a “Path to Zero” for state income taxes.