Dennis Polhill

Opinion Editorial

By Dennis Polhill

When was the last time that the Colorado legislature admitted to an error? Being that no one can recall any such admission ever happening before, the vote of May 2, 1996, may have been an historical first. An effort to reverse the 1995 legislative sessions action to kill the right of initiative, failed by votes of 39 yes to 26 no, only six short of the two-thirds needed.
SCR-6 passed the Colorado House on April 21, 1995, by a vote of 50 to 15. It will appear on the November 5, 1996, ballot as Referred Measure A. If passed by simple majority of voters, it would amend the Colorado constitution to repeal simple majority rule on all future constitution votes by imposing a sixty percent vote hurdle. Colorado would become the first state to repeal majority rule. Because 81% of legislatively referred measures pass, but only 31% of initiated amendments receive voter approval, this infringement upon the constitutionally reserved powers of the people is particularly ominous. It would essentially kill citizen initiatives leaving exclusive power to amend the Colorado constitution at the discretion of the legislature.

Referred Measure A was sold as a reform to the initiative process whereby more initiative would change statutes and fewer would change the state constitution. Its scope was to create a signature differential, 4% and 6% respectively. Currently each requires 5% of the total votes for the office of the Secretary of State in order to appear on the ballot. However, in the waning days of the 1995 legislative session, and under the crush of bills awaiting action, its scope was suddenly and drastically changed and quickly passed. With hundreds of bills to dispose of, neither legislators nor the public had an opportunity to comprehend or to respond. Some suggest that these events were orchestrated for the very purpose of denying public input. The amended Referred Measure A passed the Senate with a 26 to 9 vote within a few days and with 3 days remaining in the session.

The failed 1996 proposal would have amended Referred Measure A back to its original scope. Twenty-four House members (37%) changed their votes. Referred Measure A would not have passed in 1995 except for the unusual tactics used. Legislators may recognize that their conduct may exact a price in the next election. Questionable tactics were again used in 1996 to delay the vote, and then to insure that the vote failed.

The practice of passing large numbers of bills in the last days of the session is clearly a formula for producing bad laws and should be changed. Perhaps each legislator should be allowed to introduce fewer bills. Perhaps bills passed in the last thirty days should be reaffirmed in the next session. Legislative reform is clearly a greater need than initiative reform.

A failed effort to change Referred Measure A gives the legislature the best of both worlds. It will be on the ballot to kill the initiative, and most legislators can claim to have been mislead into voting to subvert the Colorado constitution and the rights of the people. The prospect is great that the 1996 vote was motivated by the need for political cover. The 50 House and 26 Senate members who voted for Referred Measure A must be held accountable. To cleanse themselves of their vote they must insure the defeat of A in November.

Not to worry. The Colorado Legislature has insulated itself from accountability. The election system is non-competitive. In the 1994 election, only 6 incumbents (9%) were defeated in 65 House races. Only 3 of the 49 (6%) incumbents re-elected had to survive primary challenges. None were defeated. Of the 65 races, 54 (83%) won with more than 55% of the vote. Only 11 races (17%) were competitive. The Colorado Senate numbers are similar. Clearly, the fear of losing ones seat in the legislature is less real than rhetorical.

In 1998, once term limits begins to produce a citizen legislature as the founders envisioned, the arrogance of an entrenched political elite class will diminish and blatant attacks on the most fundamental rights of citizens will diminish. In the meantime citizens will have to be alert and to work hard to insure that the damage done by the legislature is limited.

Dennis Polhill is a Senior Fellow with the Independence Institute