STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado General Assembly

Mike Mauer, Director	Dan L. Cartin, 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

May 24, 2013

TO:	Patrick Davis and Tom Lucero

FROM:	Legislative Council Staff and Office of Legislative Legal Services

SUBJECT:	Proposed initiative measure 2013-2014 #41, concerning the repeal of certain recently enacted statutory provisions prohibiting the sale, transfer, or possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine

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 purpose of the proposed amendment to the Colorado constitution appears to be:

1. To repeal entirely the provisions of House Bill 13-1224, which bill was enacted by the General Assembly during the 2013 regular legislative session and signed into law by the governor on March 20, 2013, and which provisions concern a prohibition on the sale, transfer, or possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine.

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.	Section 1 (8) of article V of the state constitution states, "The style of all laws adopted by the people through the initiative shall be, 'Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado'." To conform to this constitutional requirement, the proponents should capitalize the word "state" in the enacting clause.

2.	The proponents have included an amending clause that reads as follows: "SECTION 1. Part 3 in article 12 of title 18, Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:". Because the proponents intend to repeal, and not amend, the provisions of House Bill 13-1224, this amending clause should read as follows: "SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, repeal part 3 of article 12 of title 18." [emphasis added].

3.	The proponents have included the entire text of House Bill 13-1224, indicated in strike-type and small caps. It is not necessary to include this text. If the proponents use an amending clause that reads "SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, repeal part 3 of article 12 of title 18.", then the proponents can omit this text.

If the proponents wish, nonetheless, to include the entire text of House Bill 13-1224, then the proponents should:

•	Draft the amending clause to read as follows: "SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, repeal part 3 of article 12 of title 18 as follows:" [emphasis added];

•	Render the text in strike-type but not in small caps because the language is now law;

•	Not include the phrase "LARGE-CAPACITY AMMUNITION MAGAZINES" or the effective date and safety clause sections; and

•	Not strike through the section numbers or the bold headnotes, so that each section number and headnote of each section that is being repealed takes the following form: "18-12-301. Definitions. ".

Substantive Comments and Questions

The substance of the proposed initiative raises the following question:

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?