A measure that would dedicate all transportation-related revenue to Colorado’s roads and bridges has officially qualified for the November ballot after Initiative No. 175 cleared the state’s signature threshold, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Backed by the coalition Restore Our Roads, Initiative 175 would require that all transportation-related revenue be used exclusively for building and repairing roads and bridges, improving safety, conducting transportation planning and engineering and supporting Colorado State Patrol operations.

Proponents of the measure submitted about 189,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office for review last month. About 143,000 of those signatures were declared valid, surpassing the required threshold of 124,000 signatures.

Initiative 75 has stirred up controversy even before qualifying for the ballot. Late in the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers introduced a bill to essentially nullify the initiative by reducing excise taxes on fuel, certain registration fees and road usage fees from 2027 to 2030, should voters pass the road initiative.

The legislative response also establishes an enterprise, or government-owned business, to hold funds intended for road maintenance. Enterprises are exempt from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights revenue limits. It would only apply if voters approved Initiative 175.

The bill’s sponsors argued that the initiative would divert more than $700 million in state funds from areas and agencies like K-12 and higher education, health care and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

“Nobody would argue that we need to better fund roads in our state,” bill sponsor Speaker Pro Tempore Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, 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.”

“But if you ask, ‘What if it may close the hospital?’ That’s a very big question,” Boesenecker said.

The bill was signed into law with a provision setting a June 15 deadline for legislators and Restore Our Roads to reach a consensus on what to do about Initiative 175.

A few days before that deadline, the coalition announced it had declined lawmakers’ request to withdraw the measure but said they were willing to continue discussions to find a mutual solution.

“Road transportation money should fund roads, and Initiative 175 finally does that — without raising taxes,” said Tony Milo, president and CEO of the Colorado Contractors Association. “It’s unfortunate Governor Polis is forcing Coloradans to wait three more years to fix the roads, but in the meantime, they will get a much-needed break at the pump and, over the long haul, safer, better-maintained roads.”

In a joint statement released by the House and Senate Democrats, lawmakers said they had made “several good-faith efforts” to reach a compromise with Restore Our Roads, including proposals to create a working group to address road funding and establish a new $7.5 million enterprise, but they all were rejected.

Should any kind of compromise come to fruition, Restore Our Roads has until Sept. 3 to withdraw the initiative.