By Chris Richardson

There is something profoundly wrong with a legislature that sees a citizen-led constitutional amendment gaining momentum and responds not by making its case to the public, but by passing a law designed to neutralize it before voters ever cast a ballot.

That is exactly what happened with House Bill 26-1430.

Initiative 175 asks a straightforward question: Should revenue generated from vehicles, fuel and transportation-related purchases be constitutionally dedicated to roads, highways and bridges?

Colorado voters are fully capable of considering that question. They can examine the benefits, weigh the budget consequences, listen to both sides and decide for themselves.

But rather than trust the people, the legislature moved preemptively to frustrate the result.

HB26-1430 was crafted so that, if Initiative 175 passes, the state would reduce transportation taxes and fees, divert newly dedicated revenue to replace obligations the General Fund already pays, and effectively erase nearly all of the additional road funding voters thought they had approved during the measure’s first several years.

In other words, voters could amend the Colorado Constitution to dedicate more money to roads, and the legislature’s response would be to rearrange the books, so roads receive almost nothing more.

That is not respecting the will of the people. It is an end run around it.

I argued against this legislation, and I voted against it, because the principle involved is far larger than one transportation proposal. It was rammed through legislature by the majority with final votes taken on the last day of the session.

The legislature does not own the Colorado Constitution. The governor does not own it. The political majority does not own it.

The people do.

If lawmakers believe Initiative 175 is bad policy, they should say so openly. They should explain which programs might be affected, defend their spending priorities, and persuade voters to reject the amendment. That is how representative government and direct democracy are supposed to work.

What lawmakers should not do is quietly build a statutory trapdoor beneath a citizen initiative — one designed to preserve the technical wording of a constitutional amendment while defeating its obvious purpose.

The arrogance is breathtaking.

HB26-1430 assumes legislators know better than the voters and that, if the public makes the “wrong” decision, the legislature should be prepared to undo it through tax reductions, fund transfers, accounting maneuvers and statutory sleight of hand.

Supporters will call this responsible budgeting. It is nothing of the sort.

Responsible budgeting means honestly confronting tradeoffs. It means setting priorities, controlling spending and making the case for those choices to the public. It does not mean sabotaging a prospective vote because the political establishment fears the outcome.

Nor is this simply a disagreement over roads. It is a question of whether the consent of the governed still means anything.

Colorado’s citizen-initiative process exists precisely because the people retain legislative authority independent of the General Assembly. It allows citizens to act when their elected officials will not. Preemptively nullifying the practical effect of an initiative strikes at the heart of that constitutional right.

Even people who oppose Initiative 175 should be alarmed.

Today, the target is road funding. Tomorrow, it could be a tax limitation, a criminal justice reform, an election measure, or any other citizen proposal the legislative majority dislikes.

Once government accepts the principle it may preemptively evade the voters’ decision, no citizen initiative is secure.

HB26-1430 sends a contemptuous message to Coloradans: You may vote, but we will decide whether your vote is allowed to matter.

I reject that message.

I voted no because the people deserve an honest choice, not a rigged outcome. They deserve a legislature that respects their constitutional authority, even when lawmakers disagree with how they may use it.

The General Assembly should trust the voters. Instead, it is attempting to outmaneuver them.

That is bad policy, corrosive politics, and an affront to every Coloradan who believes government derives its authority from the consent of the governed.

Chris Richardson represents Colorado House District 56 and serves on the House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee. A retired U.S. Army colonel, combat veteran and former Elbert County commissioner, he focuses on rural Colorado, local control, infrastructure, public safety and protecting the freedoms of Colorado families.