Gov. Hickenlooper Signs Change To Ballot Initiative Process
DENVER (AP) - Colorado citizens have a new hurdle to petition for new provisions in the state constitution.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill into law Monday to require that citizen petitions have estimates of the fiscal impact when organizers are gathering signatures. That's a change from the current practice of having those estimates available right before the vote.
Colorado has one of the easiest processes for residents to amend the state constitution, in big part because of a low signature requirement to put a proposal on the ballot. Just over 86,000 signatures are needed from the state's nearly 3.5 million registered voters.
The legalization of marijuana for recreational use in 2012 and pot for medical use in 2000 both were citizen amendments to the constitution.
LINK: House Bill 1057
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