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Ballot-initiative measure signed

Law requires fiscal impact statements
Gov. John Hickenlooper signs a bill that will require the state to prepare fiscal impact statements for proposed ballot questions. He is joined by Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, left, Rep. Lois Court, D-Denver, and Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver.

DENVER – The estimated cost a proposed ballot initiative would have on the state must soon be disclosed after Gov. John Hickenlooper signed legislation Monday.

Accompanied by bill sponsors and representatives of the business world, who advocated for the law, the governor said the measure will lead to greater transparency.

“This is not about a Republican or Democrat bill, or a liberal or conservative bill; this is about making sure, if we’re going to strengthen democracy, people have the real information,” said Hickenlooper, who made passage of the legislation a priority.

The bill faced an uphill climb in the Legislature, where it died toward the end of the session earlier this month but was resurrected in the last days. It saw opposition from all sides of the political spectrum, including both left- and right-leaning special-interest groups who worry the law will have a chilling effect on the citizens’ ballot process.

Supporters, however, say the law is just a small hurdle to cross in an effort to shine a light on the fiscal impact certain initiatives could have on the state. With looming initiatives over oil and gas regulation – including discussions about banning hydraulic fracturing – supporters say the new law will highlight potential catastrophic costs.

Under the new law, the state will need to prepare “initial fiscal impact statements” for proposed ballot measures, which will appear online when proponents are gathering signatures. It also requires proponents to attend all official review hearings concerning a proposed initiative. The law takes effect in March 2016.

But opponents point out that the state already prepares a cost analysis of ballot initiatives in a voter guide, known as the Blue Book, though that doesn’t appear until just before the vote. Critics of the new law worry that it will be confusing to voters because the average voter isn’t familiar with fiscal statements.

Opponents also suggest that lawmakers would like to make it harder for citizens to place an initiative on the ballot because those initiatives have been known to tie the hands of governments, such as was the case with the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR. It only takes 86,500 valid signatures to place a question before voters.

“Legislators, by their very nature, despise the initiative process because it bring things that often hold them accountable,” said Jon Caldara, president of the right-leaning Independence Institute, which joined with other interest groups to fight the bill. “They will do everything they can to make initiatives more difficult.”

pmarcus@durangoherald.com



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