Conservative activists start 2026 Colorado ballot measure blitz with immigration, fentanyl and fees ...Middle East

Two conservative activists with access to a deep well of funding from hidden donors filed 11 ballot initiatives with Legislative Council Staff in recent days that would, among other things, require voter approval for new fees, increase criminal penalties around fentanyl and require state and local law enforcement to work with federal immigration agents.

The measures were submitted by Michael Fields, who leads the conservative political nonprofit Advance Colorado, and Suzanne Taheri, a Republican lawyer who formerly served as Colorado’s deputy secretary of state.

Remember: Submitting a ballot initiative to Legislative Council Staff is the first in a string of steps to get a measure on the ballot. Proposals then must be vetted by the state’s Title Board, and then proponents must gather some 125,000 voter signatures to make the ballot. For measures amending the constitution, those signatures must include at least 2% of the total voters in each of Colorado’s 35 state senate districts.

Keep in mind these initiatives would be for the 2026 election.

The initiatives filed by Fields and Taheri were:

Initiatives 14 and 15 would make it a Level 1 drug felony, punishable by up to 32 years in prison, to distribute, manufacture or sell any amount of drug or drug compound that contains fentanyl, carfentanil, benzimidazole opiate or an analog of one of those drugs. Right now, it’s only a Level 1 drug felony if someone distributes, manufactures or sells more than 50 grams of those drugs. Initiative 15 would also make it a Level 4 drug felony to knowingly possess more than 6 milligrams of fentanyl, carfentanil, benzimidazole opiate or an analog of one of those drugs, or a compound containing those drugs. That would be down from 4 grams. Initiative 16 would amend the state constitution to require voter approval for any fee with projected revenue more than $100 million total in its first five fiscal years, starting in 2027. Initiatives 17 and 18 would amend the state constitution to require, starting in 2027, that any bills passed by the legislature “with a projected negative impact to the state gross domestic product” of more than $100 million in its first five calendar years to be put to a statewide vote. Initiative 19 would amend the state constitution to declare that government regulations “restricting or banning common use products and services, such as gas-powered vehicles, stoves, heaters and lawnmowers,” create a severe financial burden. It would block those kinds of bans, based on energy source, from being imposed by state and local governments. Initiative 20 would reduce Colorado’s individual and corporate income tax rates to 4.35% in 2027 and 4.2% in 2028, down from 4.4%. Initiative 21 would drop the rates to 4.2% starting in 2027. Initiative 22 would amend the state constitution to declare that families and students have a right to school choice. It’s similar to Amendment 80, which voters rejected in November. Initiative 23 would declare that “state and local law enforcement must cooperate with federal requests to notify the Department of Homeland Security” before releasing inmates charged with a “crime of violence” as defined in state law or if the inmate has been convicted of a prior felony. It’s targeted at people living in the U.S. illegally as a way to facilitate their deportation. Initiative 24 would amend the state constitution to require voter approval for any new enterprise with projected fee revenue in excess of $100 million in its first five fiscal years.

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INITATIVES AS A NEGOTIATING TOOL

In a news release this week, Fields hinted that the measures are aimed at prompting legislative action. It’s a playbook he’s used before with success on property taxes.

“We urge the legislature to pass a law mirroring our ballot measure so that Colorado statute mandates cooperation with federal authorities to detain and deport violent criminals and repeat felons who endanger our communities and families,” Fields said in a written statement. “It shouldn’t be optional to take criminals who are here illegally out of our state. It should be mandatory.”

Democrats in the legislature in recent years have passed laws prohibiting state and local law enforcement in Colorado from assisting federal immigration agents beyond the scope of their criminal investigations. They’re unlikely to budge given the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.

Fields declined to comment further on any of the measures he filed.

These measures are probably just Fields’ opening salvo. We’re a long way out from 2026.

OTHER BALLOT MEASURES

A few other notable ballot measures have been filed with Legislative Council Staff.

Initiative 25 would repeal the state’s retail delivery fee, which raised funds for transportation projects. Initiative 13 would end wolf reintroduction in 2026, while Initiative 10 would repeal the 2020 ballot measure to reintroduce wolves. The measures were filed by former El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf and Spencer Thomas of Garfield County. Initiative 12 would make Colorado a right-to-work state, meaning that all employees at a company couldn’t be forced to pay representation fees, whether they are in a union or not. It was filed by conservative activist Jon Caldara, amid legislative negotiations to change the state’s Labor Peace Act.

THE NARRATIVE

The curious case of TABOR’s vanishing people

A vanishing “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign. (Photo illustration by Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

Nearly 24,000 Coloradans are set to disappear from the state’s population this year — at least as far as the state budget is concerned.

It’s no mere illusion.

The vanishing act will have real consequences for public services, to the tune of $77 million in required cuts, if lawmakers don’t take action to prevent it.

The issue dates all the way back to when the legislature first implemented the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in 1993, the year after voters added it to the state constitution.

Obligatory TABOR refresher: The state constitution generally limits state revenue to the combined rate of consumer inflation and population growth. TABOR requires the state to use U.S. Census Bureau estimates to determine the population, but the legislature ultimately decides exactly how the growth rate should be calculated.

For the past 32 years, the state has used a formula that leads to undercounts in some years and overcounts in others, a Colorado Legislative Council staff analysis found. And it doesn’t necessarily even out.

Next budget year, the formula will result in the state losing 24,000 people to an undercount, trimming the TABOR growth rate by 0.4 percentage points. That has the Joint Budget Committee considering a once-in-a-generation change to how the state calculates the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights revenue cap.

The current calculation, said Rep. Shannon Bird, a Westminster Democrat and vice chair of the JBC, “isn’t really reflective of reality.”

Math warning: We’re going to walk you through the numbers, so bear with us for a second.

Each December, the Census Bureau releases new estimates for what the population was on July 1 of any given year. So for 2024, Colorado had an estimated population of 5,957,493.

The 2023 population estimate used in last year’s TABOR cap was 5,877,610. So from one budget year to the next, the population grew by 79,883 people, or 1.4%.

That’s the rate the JBC wants to use in next year’s budget. But that’s not how population growth is calculated under state law today.

Each December, the Census Bureau tries to correct mistakes from previous years. Under the most recent estimates, the state’s population was actually 5,901,339 in 2023 — about 24,000 more than last year’s estimate. That means that from 2023 to 2024, the state’s population only grew by 56,154 people — a 1% growth rate for TABOR purposes.

On the surface, that seems like a reasonable way to calculate growth. After all, why wouldn’t you use the most current estimates available?

The problem is, the state can’t go back and correct this year’s TABOR cap to reflect higher growth. Colorado didn’t get credit for those 24,000 people in this year’s budget, because the cap was set with the smaller estimate from December 2023. And it won’t get credit for them in next year’s budget either, because the state’s population is growing off the new, higher population estimate.

“I actually think the 1% (growth rate under current law) is a better reflection of how much Colorado’s population grew in 2024,” Greg Sobetski, the chief economist for Colorado Legislative Council staff, told the JBC this week. “The issue is that the 1% misses people who ought to have been included in the count of Colorado’s population in 2023. They weren’t, and our current methodology never lets them be counted at all.”

In other words, unless state law changes, TABOR will make those 24,000 people disappear.

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THE POLITICAL TICKER

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet questions Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s choice to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as he testifies before the Senate Finance Committee during his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

MICHAEL BENNET

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat who isn’t up for reelection until 2028, sent out a fundraising email Wednesday night touting his questioning of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a confirmation hearing for Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

“I pressed RFK Jr. on his long history of spouting conspiracy theories, which is disqualifying for anyone seeking public office, but especially for someone nominated to be the highest health official in America,” Bennet wrote in the email. “If you stand with common sense and against RFK Jr.’s conspiracy theories, please stand with me today. I’m doing everything in my power to make sure he does not become our next Secretary of Health and Human Services.”

COLORADO GOP

The Colorado GOP central committee meeting Thursday night was nothing short of a cluster.

Chairman Dave Williams called the meeting to vote on a number of party bylaw amendments aimed at making it easier for the party to endorse candidates and opt out of the state’s primary elections, as well as make it harder to remove party officers. The proposals drew a major rebuke from the four Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation, who accused Williams of being “divisive” and attempting to consolidate power.

The gathering was held virtually over Zoom, and immediately drew a parliamentary challenge.

A central committee member complained that the party’s meeting rules were violated because the government-issued ID’s of participants weren’t checked as required. Williams rejected the challenge, but, on appeal, the central committee narrowly voted to overrule the chairman, at which point he abruptly ended the meeting after an hour and a half.

Before the meeting ended, Williams clashed with U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and state Rep. Ron Weinberg. Williams accused his opponents of trying to disrupt the gathering and played down the parliamentary challenge.

ELECTION 2026

State Rep. Manny Rutinel says his campaign to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District raised $400,000 in its first 24 hours this week from more than 4,000 individual donors.

Rutinel also announced a number of endorsements, including from:

State Reps. Chad Clifford, Javier Mabrey, Elizabeth Velasco, Meg Froelich, Andrew Boesenecker and Jennifer Bacon State Sen. Mike Weissman Former state Rep. Adrienne Benavidez, who is serving as Rutinel’s campaign treasurer

Colorado’s cities, counties could be required to limit the amount and type of grass allowed around homes by 2028 Colorado legislature begins debate over paying college athletes, with transparency questions looming large— Colorado Public Radio via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance Colorado health insurance enrollment hits a record, as a threat to federal subsidies looms Colorado Springs voters will vote on recreational marijuana — again — after city leaders approve “re-do” Colorado bill that would ban manufacture, sale of semiautomatic guns with detachable magazines clears first hurdle— KUNC via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance Trump’s plan to freeze federal spending causes widespread chaos, confusion in Colorado Trump administration launches investigation into Denver Public Schools over all-gender bathroom Colorado nonprofit offering immigrant legal aid ordered to stop work by feds Sen. Bennet accuses RFK Jr. of “peddling in half-truths”— NBC News Colorado’s Michael Bennet poses sharp questions to Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to oversee U.S. spy agencies— The Associated Press Trump’s targeting of transgender rights creates uncertainty about Colorado laws protecting students— Chalkbeat

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COLORADO LEGISLATURE

Where things stand with the Labor Peace Act bill

Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, addresses the Senate on the first day of the 2025 legislative session Jan. 8 at the Colorado Capitol in Denver. He is a lead sponsor of the Labor Peace Act bill. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

Gov. Jared Polis has made it clear that Senate Bill 5, the Labor Peace Act measure, is a nonstarter as introduced. But what’s unclear is whether the Colorado labor movement is willing to amend the legislation to get it to a place where Polis may be willing to sign it.

Senate Bill 5 would eliminate a requirement that 75% of workers at a company sign off before a union can negotiate with an employer on union security, which is when workers are forced to pay collective bargaining representation fees regardless of their union participation. Business groups are fighting the change.

Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, a Denver Democrat and a lead sponsor of the measure, said “there are some conversations happening” between proponents of the bill, but that “formal offers have not been (made) at this point.”

“I’m optimistic that at least conversations have started happening,” he said.

Rogridguez said the governor’s office has not been involved with his discussions with the business community. He said Polis’ representatives told him the two sides should work it out among themselves.

“Where we’ll get to is what both sides are probably going to hate, which is sometimes a good thing,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t know that anything that’s offered will even get the governor (to a point where he could sign it).”

The governor has said he’s open to reducing the 75% threshold, but Rodriguez said it’s not clear to him that the labor movement would be willing to go there in exchange for dropping the union security vote altogether.

Purplish: The embattled Labor Peace Act — Colorado Public Radio and The Colorado Sun

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Deb Haaland “preparing” to run for NM governor— Source NM To pay for Trump tax cuts, House GOP floats plan to slash benefits for the poor and working class— ProPublica Federal workers ponder an existential question: Do I pack up and quit? — The Wall Street Journal ? Trump kicks Congress to the curb, with little protest from Republicans — The New York Times ? The Trump executive orders and actions that are having immediate impacts— The Washington Post ?

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