HomeMy Public PortalAboutResolution 2006-10-02 Resolution in Opposition to Ballot Issue "Petitions" Amendment 38
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TOWN OF FRASER
RESOLUTION NO. iO-()~-C<"';'
A RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO THE 2006 BALLOT ISSUE KNOWN AS
"PETITIONS", AMENDMENT 3 8 TO THE COLORADO CONSITUTION, THAT WOULD
MAKE CHANGES TO THE PETITIONING PROCESS AND ADVERSELY IMP ACT
OPERA nONS OF THE TOWN OF FRASERAND ALL ITS ENTERPRISES, AUTHORITIES
AND RELATED GOVERNMENT ENTITIES TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE CITIZENS OF
FRASER.
WHEREAS, an initiated constitutional amendment, Amendment 38 to the Colorado
Constitution, has been certified for consideration by the voters of the State of Colorado at the
coordinated election to be held on November 2006; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 proposes to supersede and overrule all conflicting
provisions of the Colorado Constitution, Colorado Statutes and Town Code of Fraser to
implement a new petitioning process in Colorado; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 proposes to refute the rule oflaw applied by many courts
and reflected in many statutes that "substantial compliance" is required with technical election
requirements and replace it with a "strictest compliance" standard that will not allow for any
mitigating remedy in the election process; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 proposes to change all existing law to have a jury make all
findings of law, fact and damages - a dramatic change from existing law in which a jury makes
findings as to facts based on evidence and the judge makes all legal findings; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 contains an exceedingly broad definition of "districts" that
appears to include all enterprises of the Town of Fraser; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 apparently grants authority to petition certain governmental
entities that have never before held elections; such as enterprises and authorities, and if they have
never conducted an election, it is unclear how anyone will be able to compute the 5% signature
requirement for Secretary of State; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 will override single-subject requirements for ballot titles to
be clear and of one subject and will dramatically change law by requiring that anyone who
disputes a title can take it to the Colorado Supreme Court which must decide the matter within
seven days or it automatically becomes an authorized title; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 requires the use of 1988 state petition forms without a
summary of the petition which will make it very difficult for citizens to know what they are
signing for the ballot and the omission of the requirement to list a county of residence will
complicate signature validation; and
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WHEREAS, Amendment 38 would constitutionally bar ordinances from taking effect
until 91 days after publication, and if a referendum provision is filed before the 91 sl day, will
further delay the effective date of an ordinance and make a referendum the preferred device for
citizens opposed to local government decisions and will bring the provision of services to
citizens to a standstill; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 would limit the Board of Trustees to only twelve (12)
"emergency" ordinances per year that would make government unworkable in the event of a
natural or manrnade disaster; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 requires all elections to be held in November and therefore
deprives the citizens of holding their own municipal election in April in accordance with the
State Statutes and the Town Code; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 eliminates the "blue book" that includes a fair and impartial
analysis of each measure and a summary ofthe major arguments both for and against the
measures for the education of citizens, together with a factual summary of the ballot issue with a
1,000 word statement by petition proponents and presents the voters with only a summary of
statements by opponents thereby depriving the voters of sufficient factual information; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 prohibits the mere discussion of a pending ballot issue by an
employee and if an employee answers a question about a pending ballot issue, both the employee
and the Town must each pay the State general fund $3,000, which is a complete aberration of
law concerning penalties designed to restore the treasury of the government whose funds were
improperly spent; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 provides that initiated ordinances could only be amended by
voters and could not be changed or referred to voters by the Board of Trustees but only by
another initiated petition which would mean that mistakes or errors would likely never be
corrected resulting in a very in efficient operation; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 is a very bad choice for the citizens of Fraser and the State
of Colorado for all the reasons set forth above.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN
OF FRASER:
The Board of Trustees opposes the ballot question known as "Petitions", Constitutional
Amendment 38, that will appear on the November 7, 2006 coordinated election ballot.
PASSED, ADOPTED AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN
OF FRASER, COLORADO, THIS J:3f= day of 0 c.:;to b e r ' 2006.
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(SEAL)
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE
TOWN OF FRASER, COLORADO
BY: ~cti'\ t~
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Mayor
ATTEST:
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