Campaign finance measure makes the ballot

DENVER, Sept. 4, 2018 -- Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams announced today that a proposed constitutional amendment that deals with campaign contributions has made the ballot.

It changes campaign-finance limitations so that if a candidate contributes or loans more than $1 million to his or her candidate committee, then all candidates in the same election who did not benefit from the contributions are entitled to accept aggregate individual contributions for a primary or a general election at five times the current rate.

Colorado law requires that ballot-measure backers turn in 98,492 valid voter signatures -- 5 percent of the total of votes cast for all candidates in the last Secretary of State general election, which was in 2014.

In addition, the voter-approved Amendment 71 in 2016 changed the requirements for proposed constitutional amendments. The campaign finance measure must pass with a 55-percent majority rather than a simple majority in November, and supporters were required to collect 2 percent of their signatures in each of the state's 35 Senate district. The attachment shows the breakdown in each Senate district.

All six other citizen-led initiatives have made the ballot. Four are statutory changes --

• A setback measure for oil and gas would mandate that new oil and gas development, including fracking, be a minimum distance of 2,500 feet from occupied buildings and other areas designated as "vulnerable."
• Payday loans would restrict the charges on payday loans to a yearly rate of 36 percent and would eliminate all other finance charges and fees associated with payday lending.
• A transportation measure that would increase sales tax, and
• Another transportation measure that would authorize bonds.

Two are constitutional amendments --

• One amendment requires that property owners be compensated for any reduction in property value caused by state laws or regulations.
• The other amendment boosts income taxes to raise money for education.

Also on the ballot are six measures referred by the Colorado General Assembly:

• Amendment V, age requirement for legislators,
• Amendment W, election ballot format for judicial retention elections,
• Amendment X, industrial hemp definition,
• Amendment Y, congressional redistricting,
• Amendment Z, legislative redistricting, and
• Amendment A, prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude.

Friday is the last day for proponents to withdraw their measures. Next Monday, Sept. 10, is when the ballot will be officially certified and be assigned numbers.

173 Statement of Sufficiency (PDF)

173 State Senate District Counts (PDF)

173 State Senate report (XLSX)