Activists trying to put a constitutional limit on state services for illegal immigrants on the November ballot might first be forced to take another trip to the Colorado Supreme Court.
That’s where they went in 2004 after opponents challenged their ballot language. The state Supreme Court upheld the title, and the Defend Colorado Now campaign set its sights on November 2006.
Opponents launched another unsuccessful challenge Wednesday at the secretary of state’s office, where they asked the state Initiative Title Setting Review Board to rule that the proposal violated the state’s single-subject requirement for ballot questions. The board ruled that the question was framed narrowly enough, but the opposition group, Keep Colorado Safe, is likely to appeal, organizer Manolo Gonzalez-Estay said.
Defend Colorado Now activists expect that will happen, said former Gov. Dick Lamm, one of the group’s leaders.
“I guess it was a victory (today), but it’s a process that’s not going to end,” Lamm said. “I think they want very much to keep the people from voting on it, and we want very much for people to vote on it.”
Gonzalez-Estay said his group is only trying to keep a bad idea from being placed improperly before voters.
“There are rules and laws about how to get these things on the ballot,” he said. “All we’re doing is making sure they comply with that.”
Illegal immigrants already are barred from receiving most state services. The Defend Colorado Now proposal would not affect federal guarantees of access to emergency health care and public education. Still, Lamm and others tout it as a way to block state lawmakers from ever increasing services for illegal immigrants.
Keep Colorado Safe counters that the ballot question would hurt the economy and lead to racial profiling of Hispanics.
The group claims the ballot title violates the single-subject rule because it would affect more than just delivery of state services. It also would affect the jurisdictions of various courts and the authority of home-rule cities, the group says.
The board Wednesday also approved the title of a controversial ballot proposal on abortion, which asks voters to create a state statute making abortions of “viable fetuses” illegal. Doctors who violated the law could be charged with a felony.
The board also approved the titles of two tax-related constitutional amendments. One seeks to establish a constitutional 10-year sunset for any voter-approved measure that increases the tax burden or public debt. The other addresses so-called pay-to-play donations to campaigns for new taxes or bonds. It proposes a $500 cap for donations from people or companies that stand to profit if such a proposal passes.
Once titles are set, groups can begin collecting the 67,829 voter signatures needed to get the proposals on the ballot.
