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 third Wednesday in April” to give petitioners more time. “This amendment returns the deadline for the title board to have its last meeting to the current third Wednesday in April,” Pelton said when moving the amendment, and the amendment was accepted by the sponsor.

Pelton’s second adopted amendment (L022) clarified that “failure to report signature collection status does not disqualify the petition for the ballot.” Pelton described the change as ensuring the bill would not deny access to the ballot for failure to meet an administrative reporting requirement; the sponsor responded, “It was never our intent to deny people access to the ballot, so we would ask for an I vote on this amendment.”

A third adopted amendment (L024) modified signature thresholds: as Pelton described it on the floor, the amendment “takes out the 25, 50, 50 percent 25%, 50%, and only leaves the 75% of the required signatures.” Senator Kipp said the revised threshold of 75% would be adequate for the bill’s purpose and asked colleagues to support it.

Pelton moved a later amendment (L016) that would have removed the bill’s safety clause and added a petition clause (a provision allowing a post-enactment voter referendum). Pelton explained the intent was to give voters a chance to accept or reject the change after enactment. Senator Kipp opposed the petition-clause amendment, noting timing concerns for the 2025 and 2026 election cycles; the amendment failed.

A separate amendment (L015) from Senator Rich would have required ballot titles to be written in plain, easy-to-understand language. Rich said, “This amendment requires ballot measures [title] to be easy to understand language.” Opponents pointed out existing statutory clarity requirements and the blue book process; that amendment was not adopted.

Another amendment (L014) sought to require the title board to explain in writing when it determines a petition contains more than one subject; proponents argued it would increase transparency for would‑be petitioners, while opponents said it would lengthen hearings and counter the bill’s aim to streamline the process. L014 failed on the floor.

Final passage and related actions

After debate and the adopted amendments, the Senate adopted House Bill 13-27 on second reading and ordered it placed on the calendar for third reading and final passage; later in the session the body voted that “the ayes have it, and the bill is adopted.”

Votes at a glance (selected bills acted on May 1, 2025)

- House Bill 13-27 (modifications to processes for statewide ballot measures): adopted after floor amendments (see body for details). (Action: passage/adopted.) - House Bill 13-30 (exempting quantum computing equipment from consumer repair bill of rights): amendment L004 adopted; bill adopted. (Action: passage/adopted.) - House Bill 10-13 (social visitation rights in correctional facilities): amendment L005 adopted; bill adopted. (Action: passage/adopted.) - Senate Bill 3-16 (requirements for money appropriated to Department of Higher Education): amendment L003 adopted; bill adopted. (Action: passage/adopted.) - A set of additional bills were taken on second reading and placed on the calendar for third reading (examples from the session include House bills 10-98, 11-98, 10-61, and 11-53), and multiple bills were laid over or formally repassed later in the day. (Action: varied; see official minutes and House/Senate journals for roll calls and final engrossed versions.)

What was not decided on the floor

Several proposed changes failed on the floor, including the petition-clause amendment (L016) and the plain‑language-title requirement (L015). The record shows the Senate adopted core procedural clarifications (deadlines, notification, signature reporting protections, and a 75% threshold in one provision) but rejected other transparency or referendum-style changes.

Context and next steps

Under the bill as amended, the title board and Secretary of State’s office will apply the new procedures if the legislation is enacted. Some amendments specifically referenced administrative timelines and Secretary of State staffing needs; others were framed as protections for petitioners. The bill will continue through the legislative process (third reading and any final actions required before enrollment and transmittal to the governor).

Reporting note: quotations and attributions in this story are drawn from the Senate floor debate May 1, 2025. Recorded roll‑call tallies for some bills and committee reports were entered later in the session and are available in the official Senate journal and the clerk’s record for May 1, 2025.

Ending

The Senate completed a packed calendar May 1, taking up a mix of election‑related process changes, technology and consumer issues, criminal‑justice visitation rules, education and higher‑education appropriations changes, and a slate of bills on second and third reading. Several items were laid over to the session’s next day; other measures were repassed or transmitted as amended to the appropriate next steps in the legislative process.