ballot initiative
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Colorado justices say group that spent $4M on ballot initiatives does not have to disclose donors
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that an organization that spent $4 million to advocate on ballot initiatives in the 2020 election is not required to disclose its donors and spending. The Supreme Court acknowledged that multiple factors suggested Unite for Colorado was a group whose “major purpose” was ballot issue advocacy. However, because…
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Colorado justices walk back appeals court’s expansion of rezoning via ballot box
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that rezonings of planned-unit developments cannot occur through a vote at the ballot box, reversing an appellate decision that found such changes were fair game for a popular vote. In contrast to traditional, or “Euclidean,” zoning, which separates land uses by type, planned-unit developments are based on negotiated…
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Colorado justices weigh constitutionality of unique disclosure requirement for ballot measures
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether a unique feature of the state’s campaign finance system categorically violates the First Amendment by requiring the disclosure of a ballot measure committee’s legal representative on advertisements. No on EE — A Bad Deal for Colorado was an issue committee in 2020 that opposed Proposition EE,…
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Colorado Supreme Court blocks ballot initiative defining ‘fees’
The Colorado Supreme Court blocked a proposed ballot initiative on Monday that would have required voter approval for new fees above a certain threshold, while also enshrining a definition of “fee” into the state constitution for the first time. Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez wrote in the March 9 opinion that a ballot measure could…
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Colorado justices wary of expanding rezoning by ballot initiative
The Colorado Supreme Court appeared wary on Wednesday of allowing rezonings of planned-unit developments to occur through a vote at the ballot box, rather than a municipality’s detailed review process that accounts for specific factors. In contrast to traditional, or “Euclidean,” zoning that separates land uses by type, planned-unit developments are based on negotiated agreements on…
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Colorado justices weigh disclosure requirements for ballot initiative spending
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether an organization that spent $4 million to advocate for ballot initiatives in the 2020 election was required to disclose its donors and spending. The organization, Unite for Colorado, advanced a straightforward argument: It spent 10% or less of its money on a single ballot measure.…
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Here’s how this graduated income tax proposal would affect Colorado residents’ take-home pay
The measure that seeks to eliminate Colorado’s flat rate in favor of a graduated income tax contains a dozen brackets, with the highest levels set to accrue tens of thousands more in liabilities, while cutting them for individuals at the lower ends of the proposed spectrum. How it would impact individuals will depend on their…
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Ballot measure seeks tax hike for higher income earners in 2026
A coalition led by a Colorado think tank will file a ballot initiative on Wednesday to raise state income tax rates on annual household incomes and corporations with earnings above $500,000. The ballot measure, which sets up a “graduated” income tax, would also provide a tax break for households with incomes below the $500,000 threshold.…
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County voters cannot pursue referendum on land-use change, appeals court says
Colorado’s second-highest court told a collection of Delta County voters on Thursday that they cannot file a referendum to repeal a zoning change, as the state constitution does not allow it. After Delta County’s commissioners adopted a resolution updating the land-use code in 2024, a group of landowners tried three times to file a referendum…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases on rezoning via ballot box, defaulting defendants
The justices may also intervene in two ongoing criminal cases