Senate adopts changes to statewide ballot initiative process after multiple amendments

DENVER — The Colorado Senate on May 1 adopted House Bill 13-27, a bill the sponsor said is intended to “remove some inefficiencies in the ballot initiative process” and make petitioning clearer for voters and the Secretary of State’s office.

Senator Kipp, the bill sponsor, told the chamber, “This bill is focused on efficiency and transparency. What it does, is we are trying to remove some inefficiencies in the ballot initiative process because it is being used more and more. And it is hard for regular people to be able to track and follow.” He asked colleagues for an I vote on second reading.

The measure makes several procedural changes to how statewide ballot measures are processed. Among the provisions discussed on the floor: requiring the title board to indicate whether a proposed change modifies, extends or repeals existing law or creates new law; using the maximum dollar amount (rather than the median) on the fiscal statement; asking proponents who submit more than five similar ballot titles to provide a chart showing differences among them; and notifying the Secretary of State when petition circulation reaches a threshold that requires additional staffing to process incoming petitions.

Why it matters: supporters said these changes will make petition titles and fiscal information clearer for voters and reduce repeated rework by the title board and staff; opponents warned some changes could make it harder for ordinary citizens to qualify measures for the ballot.

Floor amendments and debate

Senator Pelton B offered multiple amendments that the Senate adopted. He described the first adopted amendment (L019) as returning the title board deadline “to the current…