Colorado lawmakers approved a last‑minute amendment Wednesday to a bill crafted as a defensive maneuver against a proposed November ballot measure that would restrict how the state can spend transportation revenues, setting up a high‑stakes clash over road funding and public services.

House Bill 1430, sponsored by Reps. Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, and Emily Sirota, D-Denver, and Sens. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield, and Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, would only go into effect if Initiative No. 175 passes in November.

That initiative would require that transportation-related revenues be spent only on building and repairing roads and bridges, safety improvements, transportation planning and engineering, and Colorado State Patrol operations. About 67% of the revenue affected already comes from funds dedicated to highways under the Highway Users Tax Fund.

To date, the initiative has gathered about 75% of the required signatures to qualify for the ballot.

House Bill 1430 would negate the initiative by reducing excise taxes on fuel, certain registration fees, and road usage fees from 2027 to 2030.

Supporters of the measure argue that Initiative No. 175 is too vague and could result in serious funding cuts to some of the state’s most critical services in order to cover infrastructure repair costs.

“Nobody would argue that we need to better fund roads in our state,” Boesenecker told Colorado Politics. “However, if you’re going to propose that the voters are being asked to do this for the price of nothing, of course, the voters are going to say yes.”

Lindstedt admitted that HB 1430 was not a bill he wanted to run, but believed it was “the best option given the circumstances we’re under, to protect public services in this state.”

Lindstedt and Amabile introduced a third-reading amendment to the bill on Wednesday, the final day of the legislative session, which they say the backers of Initiative No. 175 support.

The amendment would establish an enterprise, or government-owned business, to hold the funds intended for road maintenance. Enterprises are exempt from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights revenue limits.

Lindstedt and Amabile called the amendment a “showing of good faith,” but Republicans still contended the bill would override the will of the voters if they decided to pass 175.

“I think it will send a very bad message, not only about the lack of concern for the quality of the roads of this state, but it will also send a very bad message about this legislature’s view of the ability of the citizens of this state to make their views known on important issues and to vote on them,” said Sen. John Carson, R-Highlands Ranch. “Essentially, what this bill says is, ‘have your vote, have your discussion, but it’s not gonna mean anything in the end.’” 

Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, noted that the amendment would reallocate about $7 million in existing fees to the new enterprise, but would not generate additional revenue to fix the state’s roads.

“Creating an enterprise, to me, is not the way to be going about this either, because that’s still going against the initiative that is out there and it’s still infringing, in my mind, on people’s First Amendment rights to petition their government,” she said.

The bill passed on a 22-13 vote, with all Republicans and Democratic Sen. Dylan Roberts of Frisco voting against it.