Folks in Colorado will be voting on a few things this November, including Amendment 71.
The ballot title and submission clause as designated and fixed by the Board is as follows:
Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution making it more difficult to amend the Colorado constitution by requiring that any petition for a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment be signed by at least two percent of the registered electors who reside in each state senate district for the amendment to be placed on the ballot and increasing the percentage of votes needed to pass any proposed constitutional amendment from a majority to at least fifty-five percent of the votes cast, unless the proposed constitutional amendment only repeals, in whole or in part, any provision of the constitution?
The Amendment has been backed and created by very big money interests. But it has bipartisan support. It promises to make the process of getting citizen-backed state constitutional amendments onto Election Day ballots much more difficult. On the one hand, the promise is that only super important things will make it onto the ballot. On the other hand, who will have the capital needed to get those things onto the ballot?
But Doug Flanders, spokesman for the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, said, "This is a much larger business community effort than just oil and gas. It's about protecting the constitution for those issues that are constitutional-worthy." Flanders said his group has joined with an array of businesses concerned about constitutional amendments aimed at issues better dealt with in land-use code or other statutes and regulations.
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In addition, it would require a 55 percent majority, instead of a simple majority, for a constitutional referendum to become law. That's a tough bar in a state closely divided politically. Colorado's voter-initiated renewable energy law—the first in the nation—passed in 2004 with only 53 percent of the vote. Florida requires that constitutional amendments receive 60 percent of the vote; some states set other special conditions for passage beyond a simple majority vote.
The argument on both sides is that “special interest” groups are able to clutter up the system as it is right now. The argument against is that upping the majority percentage is a way to ensure that only well-funded “special interests” will be able to get ballot initiatives through. Looking at how this ballot is being promoted is quite distressing.
According to the Secretary of State, 71 has raised, $2,698,813.00 while the opposition has raised zero dollars. The largest contributors to the campaign in favor of 71 are Protecting Colorado’s Environment, Economy and Energy Independence, an oil and gas PAC, Colorado Concern, a pro-business lobby, and Colorado Association of Realtors. Vital for Colorado, an oil and gas lobby, is coordinating much of the campaign. These powerful corporate interests, all based in the Denver Metro area, would have us believe they have rural interests at heart.
The “zero dollars” quoted above is not entirely the case. But, the real story is not much different, and in many respects is the precise point that opponents of Amendment 71 are trying to make. Jessica Goad is the communications director for Conservation Colorado. She spoke with The Gazette about her organization’s feelings concerning Amendment 71.
"Not at all," Goad said. "It's because we believe it is an intent by wealthy special interests to make it impossible for anyone else to have a say in amending the constitution. But I do think we're seeing a real-world example play out here with the donations pouring in."
Contributions to the opposition campaign lag far behind, but include $11,000 from the Colorado League of Responsible Voters, which includes $2,000 from the AFL-CIO, and $4,823 from the Vote No on 71 committee, with $2,400 from the Independence Institute.
There have been attempts to get anti-fracking bans into the state constitution and the oil and gas industry unsurprisingly wants that to end. But regardless of what your feelings are, here’s an important fact that cannot be denied—the incredibly well-funded campaign to push Amendment 71 into the state’s constitution was not able to reach the threshold it expects any subsequent ballot measures to reach.
An Independence Institute analysis found that the campaign didn't get 2 percent in at least four districts, with the lowest percentages - 1.2 and 1.4 - coming from Fort Collins and Boulder districts.
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"I think that's what's scaring a lot of folks," said Scott Wasserman, executive director of The Bell Policy Center. "Even this well-financed campaign couldn't meet that threshold . it shows how expensive it's making efforts to amend the constitution."
Colorado has districts that are decidedly red and districts that are decidedly blue. What is being proposed here is creating the same powerful logjam that has gridlocked our Congress for the past six years.