The Colorado Initiative Title Setting Review Board on Wednesday set the ballot titles for nearly two dozen proposed measures, including the local control of gambling in three jurisdictions, paid family and medical leave, and a reintroduction of sweeping changes to the petitioning process.

The three-member Title Board decides whether initiatives adhere to the legal requirement to cover only one subject. If so, the board sets the ballot title that appears before voters, clearing the way for circulators to gather petition signatures.

With Initiative 257, the voters of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek would gain the ability to expand gambling offerings. The $100 single bet limit would also go away, subject to local control. Amendment 50 in 2008 gave those jurisdictions some control over their operations, and the proposed constitutional amendment would further remove constraints. The designated representatives are Bruce Brown, the former mayor of Cripple Creek, and Bill Cadman, a former state senator from Colorado Springs.

“It makes sense that the people in these communities should be allowed to decide on this issue directly,” said Cadman. “If they choose to extend their limits and game options, the modest boost to revenue would be a win-win-win for all the businesses and employees in these small towns, the players who are asking for more gaming options, and the community colleges that receive the taxes.”

Twenty-three states have commercial betting, and Colorado is one of two with limits on bets, according to the American Gaming Association. The Colorado Department of Revenue describes its approach to casino-style gambling as “limited gaming.”

The board took up anew the Petition Rights Amendment, a measure from Natalie Menten of Lakewood and Donald L. “Chip” Creager III of Denver. The initiative, numbered 245, was similar to a previous version that the Title Board rejected in January after it concluded that the proposal covered multiple subjects.

Under the constitutional amendment, the right to ballot initiative would exist in virtually all state and local units of government. In addition to other revisions to the petitioning process, the legislature would be restricted in the number of bills they can exempt from referendum. In a departure from the previous version, the proponents clarified that their amendment does not eliminate the single-subject requirement, nor does it give the governor new veto power over bills referred to the ballot.

“We have tried to listen to the Title Board,” said Menten.

David Powell, representing Attorney General Phil Weiser, and Jason Gelender, representing the Office of Legislative Legal Services, both acknowledged that Menten and Creager had ameliorated their concerns from the previous iteration. Some of those concerns, such as the governor’s veto, came to light only during the Title Board hearing and seemed to surprise even the proponents.

Theresa Conley, the representative of Secretary of State Jena Griswold, did not sit on the board when the Petition Rights Amendment was first heard. Although she voted with the others to approve the initiative’s title, she was less comfortable with describing the measure to voters.

“This feels like a very complicated initiative and a very, very simple title, and I am worried about whether it is misleading and confusing for the voter to read,” she said.

In other business, the Title Board greenlit two proposals to create a paid family and medical leave program based on employer-collected premiums. Employees would be eligible for between 12 and 16 weeks of leave, and would be protected against employer retaliation from using the benefit. In one version, local governments could opt out of the program. The designated representatives are Timothy Tyler and Wendy Howell of Denver.

Lawmakers in the General Assembly are working separately on a legislative program for paid leave. The Denver Post reported that Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, called the two initiatives a “backup plan” if her bill falters.

The board also approved 12 initiatives from Carol Hedges and Steve Briggs of Denver that would create a graduated income tax system, raising approximately $2 billion to $2.4 billion dollars. The money would go toward education and addressing “the impacts of a growing population and a changing economy.”

Proponents of nine initiatives to increase cigarette taxes pulled their proposals from consideration at this meeting. “Several of those will be officially withdrawn, but the withdrawal has to take place in writing,” said Mark Grueskin, the lawyer for designated representatives Anna Haynes and James Garcia.

Finally, the board set the title for a proposal to give a state income tax credit to individuals who drive their primary vehicle fewer than 12,000 miles per year.