STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado General Assembly

Mike Mauer, Director	Charles W. Pike, Director

Legislative Council Staff	Office of Legislative Legal Services

Colorado Legislative Council	Office Of Legislative Legal Services

029 State Capitol Building	091 State Capitol Building

Denver, Colorado 80203-1784	Denver, Colorado 80203-1782

Telephone (303) 866-3521	Telephone (303) 866-2045

Facsimile (303) 866-3855	Facsimile (303) 866-4157

TDD (303) 866-3472	E-Mail: olls.ga@state.co.us

E-Mail: lcs.ga@state.co.us

MEMORANDUM

June 27, 2010

TO:	Page Penk and Chester Penk

FROM:	Legislative Council Staff and Office of Legislative Legal Services

SUBJECT:	Proposed initiative measure 2011-2012 #6, concerning a funding mechanism for sealing underwater pipes

Section 1-40-105 (1), Colorado Revised Statutes, requires the directors of the Colorado Legislative Council and the Office of Legislative Legal Services to "review and comment" on initiative petitions for proposed laws and amendments to the Colorado constitution. We hereby submit our comments to you regarding the appended proposed initiative.

The purpose of this statutory requirement of the Legislative Council and the Office of Legislative Legal Services is to provide comments intended to aid proponents in determining the language of their proposal and to avail the public of knowledge of the contents of the proposal. Our first objective is to be sure we understand your intent and your objective in proposing the amendment. We hope that the statements and questions contained in this memorandum will provide a basis for discussion and understanding of the proposal.

Purposes

The major purpose of the proposed amendment appears to be to amend the Colorado constitution to create a method for sealing a leaking underwater pipe.

Technical Comments:

The following comments address technical issues raised by the form of the proposed initiative. These comments will be read aloud at the public meeting only if the proponents so request. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about these comments at the review and comment meeting. Please consider revising the proposed initiative as suggested below.

1.	In order to specify where the text of the proposed initiative would be located in the Colorado constitution, a proposal should include an amending clause that states which article or section would be modified or added. For example:

Section ___ of article ___ of the constitution of the state of Colorado is amended to read:

Or:

[Article ___ of ] [T]he constitution of the state of Colorado is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW [SECTION]/ARTICLE to read:

The proponents should add an amending clause to the beginning of the proposed initiative.

2.	The proposal does not consist of complete sentences. It is standard drafting practice to write constitutional language in complete sentences, to use small capital letters to indicate new language being added to the Colorado constitution, and to not use illustrations. The proponents should change the proposed initiative to conform to these practices.

3.	Should the word "exists" be the word "exits" in paragraph E in the text box?

Substantive Comments and Questions

The substance of the proposed initiative raises the following comments and questions:

1.	Article V, section 1 (5.5) of the Colorado constitution requires all proposed initiatives to have a single subject. What is the single subject of the proposed initiative?

2.	What do the proponents believe would be the effect of this initiative?

3.	How do the proponents believe that this initiative would be implemented and enforced?

4.	Do the proponents intend the illustration or the language in the text box lettered A through E to be part of the substance of the proposed initiative? If so, how would the illustration and the text box be incorporated into the Colorado constitution?

5.	How would a reduction in a free speech tax result in revenues sufficient to enable the proponents to purchase up to 1,000 miles of steel cable and iron chain?