Amending Colorado’s Constitution

by Shiloh Tillemann-Dick

COLORADO – Register to vote by October 6. If you want one, ask for a mail-in ballot by October 28. Or go to the polls on November 4. Hopefully, somewhere between registering to vote and voting, you will pull up a chair and start reading. This year’s ballot, in addition to presidential options, is full of amendments to Colorado’s constitution. As a helpful guide for our readers, we have put together this short cheat sheet about the amendments. In addition to this guide, readers should go to  http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/lcsstaff/bluebook/2008EnglishVersionforInternet.pdf to download a copy of the Blue Book to read the exact language of the ballot as well as short arguments for and against these proposed amendments.

Amendment 46 is designed to prevent the government from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, or public contracting. Carefully written so it does not apply retroactively, it is also not an “equal rights amendment”-esque piece of legislation because it still maintains sexual discrimination based in some areas such as ones with privacy related concerns. (i.e hiring female prison guards to search female inmates.). Amendment 46 is not an all-encompassing piece of anti-discrimination legislation as still gives the government the right to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and its costs to the taxpayers are currently unknown as most of the costs are likely to come from lawsuits levied against the state.

Amendment 47 prohibits requiring an employee to join and pay any dues or fees to a labor union as a condition of employment; and makes doing so a misdemeanor offense. A classic “right to work” amendment 47 would make unions “opt-in” instead of mandatory as they often are for trades such as construction, machinists, etc. Amendments like these make states that have them more “business-friendly “ and more welcoming to large employers. However, states with right to work amendments are often seen as less worker-friendly and the collective bargaining tools of unions to which modern society owes so much are quite effectively neutered.

Amendment 48 defines a fertilized egg as a person. A de-jure ban on abortion Amendment 48 defines a fertilized egg as a person despite the fact that nobody knows exactly when fertilization occurs. Amendment 48 would give Colorado the strictest abortion laws in the country. It also does not allow for an abortion under any circumstances whatsoever, including rape, incest, or risk to the health of the mother. This amendment will outlaw several forms of birth control including the Intrauterine Device, (IUD), an option used predominantly by married women who already have the children they want. The costs to taxpayers related to amendment 48 are not reported by the Colorado Election Commission’s Blue Book, but are likely to include legal fees from the legal challenges that will doubtlessly materialize.

Amendment 49 prohibits public employees from making paycheck deductions, except for tax withholdings, court-ordered liens and garnishments, health benefit and other insurance deductions; deductions for savings, investment, and retirement plans; and deductions for charitable, religious, educational, and other tax-exempt organizations (a bit of a mouthful). Its pluses are that it prevents unwanted deductions by employers and allows employees to keep a larger share of their paycheck. The negatives are that politically active organizations would probably suffer dramatic drops in funding and it limits the authority of local governments to regulate paycheck deductions.

Amendment 50 allows residents of Colorado’s gambling districts (Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek) to vote to extend casino hours, approve additional games, and increase the maximum single bet limit, give most of the gaming tax revenue that results from new gaming limits to Colorado community colleges and to the gaming cities and counties; require statewide voter approval for any gaming tax increase if new gaming limits are adopted by any gaming town; and exempt the revenue raised from new gaming limits from state and local revenue and spending limits.

Amendment 51 increases the state sales and use tax from 2.9 percent to 3.0 percent on July 1, 2009, and from 3.0 percent to 3.1 percent on July 1, 2010 and directs the new money be used to pay for services for people with developmental disabilities and to help eliminate the waiting lists for services. It prohibits the legislature from reducing the current level of state funding for services for people with developmental disabilities; and exempt the new money from state spending limits.

Amendment 52 requires the state legislature to spend a portion of state severance tax collections on highway projects.

Amendment 53 holds a business executive criminally responsible for the business’s failure to perform a duty required by law if the official knew of the duty and the business’s failure to perform it.

Amendment 54 prohibits certain government contractors from contributing to a political party or candidate for the contract’s duration and two years thereafter; prohibits contributors to ballot issue campaigns from entering into certain government contracts relating to the ballot issue; applies the prohibitions on campaign contributions and ballot issue contracts to any contractor with a government contract or contracts that does not use a public and competitive bidding process soliciting at least three bids and with a total value greater than $100,000 in a single year; and‚ applies the prohibitions on campaign contributions and ballot issue contracts to a labor organization holding a collective bargaining agreement with a state or local government.

Amendment 55 prohibits private-sector employers from firing or suspending full-time employees except for specific reasons; and‚ allows an employee who believes he or she was improperly fired or suspended to sue the employer.

Amendment 56 requires private employers with 20 or more employees to either provide health insurance for employees and their dependents or pay for insurance through a new state authority; limits the amount the employee must pay to 20 percent for employee-only coverage and to 30 percent for dependent coverage; and requires the state legislature to implement the measure, including establishing the new state authority and minimum standards for health insurance plans.

Amendment 57 requires every private employer in Colorado with ten or more employees to provide a safe and healthy workplace; and allow an injured employee to seek damages in court, beyond workers’ compensation benefits, if the employee believes that the employer failed to provide a safe and healthy workplace.

Amendment 58 increases the amount of state severance taxes paid by oil and natural gas companies, primarily by eliminating an existing state tax credit allocate the increased severance tax revenue to college scholarships for state residents, wildlife habitat, renewable energy projects, transportation projects in energy-impacted areas, and water treatment grants; and exempt all oil and gas severance tax revenue from state and local spending limits.

Amendment 59 eliminates rebates that taxpayers receive when the state collects more money than it is allowed, and spends the money on preschool through 12th grade (P-12) public education; eliminates the required inflationary increase for P-12 education spending; and sets aside money in a new savings account for P-12 education.

Referndum L lowers the age requirement for serving in the state legislature from 25 to 21.

Referendum M removes archaic language from the constitution.

Referendum N removes archaic language from the constitution.

Referendum O increases the number of signatures required for constitutional amendments and lowers the number of signatures for legislative amendments. Pros: Prevents misguided ideas like Kristi Burton’s from getting onto the ballot. Cons: Prevents my ideas from getting onto the ballot.

http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/lcsstaff/bluebook/2008EnglishVersionforInternet.pdf