Above Photo: Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks Wednesday, June 1, during an event in support of the ‘Raise the Bar’ ballot initiative at Aurora Municipal Center. He is flanked by Dan Ritchie, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan and Aurora Economic Development Council President/CEO Wendy Mitchell. (Rachel Sapin/Aurora Sentinel)
Hickenlooper told a kickoff event in Aurora on Wednesday that proposed Proposition 96 would ensure the constitution isn’t held captive by special interests
AURORA | Gov. John Hickenlooper helped launch a petition drive for a ballot initiative that would make it harder to amend Colorado’s Constitution.
Hickenlooper told a kickoff event in Aurora on Wednesday, June 1, that Proposition 96 would ensure the constitution isn’t held captive by special interests.
Supporters say it would encourage citizens to seek statutory law changes that can be modified, if needed, by the legislature, rather than amendments to a constitution that’s one of the easiest to change in the nation.
Some of the document’s 150-plus amendments conflict, including requirements directing how tax dollars should be spent.
Getting a proposed amendment to the ballot would require the signatures of at least 2 percent of voters in each of Colorado’s 35 state senate districts to ensure there is some statewide buy-in.
There’s no such requirement currently.
Right now, to amend the state constitution, a ballot measure needs a little over 98,000 signatures and a 51-percent majority to pass. Those signatures can come from anywhere in the state. Colorado’s constitution has been amended more than 150 times, and state lawmakers say special interest groups are benefiting the most from the current requirements.
“It has always been a problem that all somebody needed was enough money and enough time to go stand outside grocery stores in Denver to get signatures on petitions to amend the constitution,” said Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, who spoke at the Aurora Municipal Center event with Gov. Hickenlooper in support of the measure.
The measure would require a 55 percent yes vote, rather than a simple majority, to pass an amendment.
Nicole Johnston, an Aurora resident who serves on the city’s oil and gas advisory committee and has been involved with gathering signatures for the Colorado Community Rights Amendment, said average citizens would be hampered by the passage of a “Raise the Bar”-style initiative.
Backers with the nonprofit Colorado Community Rights Network are gathering signatures to put a measure on the ballot this fall that would give local residents more power to ban fracking in their neighborhoods.
“Collecting 98,000 signatures to be put on the ballot and getting a majority of the vote is already a challenge,” Johnston said. “Making the restrictions more difficult will only inhibit citizens’ involvement in our laws.”