Pursuant to C.R.S. 1-1-107(2)(a) and 1-40-132 (1), and the rulemaking provisions of the State Administrative Procedure Act, C.R.S. 24-4-103, I, Donetta Davidson, Colorado Secretary of State, do hereby adopt and give NOTICE of the adoption this  21st  day of December, 2001, of new Rules 23 and 24 of the Election Rules of the Colorado Secretary of State.

Donetta Davidson
Secretary of State

signed
By William A. Hobbs
Deputy Secretary of State

Statements of Basis, Purpose and Specific Statutory Authority

Office of the Secretary of State
Election Rules of the Colorado Secretary of State

Basis and Purpose

These rules are adopted to implement the provisions of Article V, Section 1 (3), concerning referendum petitions, and Article XVIII, Section 12a, concerning congressional term limit declarations, of the Colorado Constitution.  There are no current rules regarding the filing of referendum petitions and term limits pledges.

Rule 23:

The purpose of new Rule 23, Rules Concerning Referendum Petitions, is to prescribe the mechanism for the filing of such referendum petitions with the Office of the Secretary of State.

The purpose of new Rule 23.1 is to define the applicability of new Rule 23.

The purpose of new Rule 23.2 is to define the relationship of new Rule 23 to statutory and constitutional provisions and to clarify that where there is a conflict between the new Rule 23 and any statutory or constitutional provisions, said statutory or constitutional provisions shall prevail.

The purpose of new Rule 23.3 is to generally apply statutory or constitutional provisions on initiatives to referendum petitions with the exceptions of procedural steps of review and comment by legislative staff on the text of the proposed initiated constitutional amendments and initiated laws and the setting of titles by the title setting review board.

The purpose of new Rule 23.4.1 is to prevent the printing, publishing or circulation of a referendum petition prior to approval by the secretary of state.

The purpose of new Rule 23.4.2 is to set out the time in which a referendum petition format may be submitted to the secretary of state.

The purpose of new Rule 23.4.3 is to outline the requirements regarding the heading, the designation of petition representatives, the ballot and submission clause, the text of the Act on which the referendum is demanded, warning, signature lines and circulator affidavit.

The purpose of new Rule 23.5 is to set forth the specific requirements regarding the ballot title and submission clause of the referendum petition.

The purpose of new Rule 23.6 is to establish when an Act will be voted upon if a referendum petition has a sufficient number of signatures.  Since by law the ballot must be certified at least 55 days before an election, and since there needs to be some period of time allowed to check the sufficiency of the petition before determining whether to certify the question to the ballot, Rule 23.6 adopts the same 3-month minimum that applies to initiative petitions pursuant to Article V, Section 1 (2).  If a referendum petition is timely submitted later than three months before the next general election, it is considered too late for that general election, and it will instead be voted upon at the next general election after the upcoming general election.

Rule 24:

The purpose of new Rule 24, Rules Concerning Congressional Term Limits Declaration, is to address certain issues relating to the implementation of Article XVIII, Section 12a of the Colorado Constitution.

The purpose of new Rule 24.1 is to ensure that candidates are provided an opportunity to consider and submit the Congressional Term Limits Declaration

The purpose of new Rule 24.2 is to allow candidates to file a Term Limits Declaration, Part A, without executing an authorization and request that the secretary of state place such declaration on the ballot and in all government-sponsored voter education material, Part B.

The purpose of new Rule 24.3 is to provide that candidates for United States House of Representatives and United States Senate who have qualified to be placed on the ballot for a term that would exceed the number of terms set forth in the Affirmative Term Limits Declaration shall not have the designation placed after their name on the ballot or in government-sponsored voter education material.

Statutory Authority

Additions to the “Election Rules of the Colorado Secretary of State” are adopted pursuant to the following statutes:

Section 1-1-102(2)(a), C.R.S., which authorized the Secretary of State “to promulgate, publish, and distribute…such rules as the secretary of state finds necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of the election laws…”

Section 1-40-132 (1), C.R.S., which authorizes the secretary of state “to promulgate rules as may be necessary to administer and enforce statutory provisions that relate to initiated or referred measures and state constitutional amendments.”