In re the Proposed Initiated Constitutional Amendment Concerning Unsafe Workplace Environment

830 P.2d 1031, 16 Brief Times Rptr. 916, 1992 Colo. LEXIS 500
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedJune 1, 1992
DocketNo. 92SA92
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 830 P.2d 1031 (In re the Proposed Initiated Constitutional Amendment Concerning Unsafe Workplace Environment) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re the Proposed Initiated Constitutional Amendment Concerning Unsafe Workplace Environment, 830 P.2d 1031, 16 Brief Times Rptr. 916, 1992 Colo. LEXIS 500 (Colo. 1992).

Opinion

Chief Justice ROVIRA

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

This review proceeding was initiated by petitioners, Margaret W. Carpenter, Thomas Lew Jackson, and Maureen A. Sullivan, to challenge the title, ballot title and submission clause, and summary prepared by the Title Setting Board (Board)1 on the initiative for a constitutional amendment concerning liability for knowing maintenance of an unsafe workplace.2 Petitioners assert that the title, ballot title and submission clause, and summary are vague, misleading and fail to express the true meaning and intent of the proposed initiative. Petitioners Jackson and Carpenter further assert that upon rehearing, the Board was improperly constituted because one of the three members was absent. We disagree and accordingly affirm the Board.

I

In September 1991, Craig C. Eley and Jack Hawkins, proponents of the initiative, submitted the initiative to the directors of the legislative council and the office of legislative legal services in the following form:

Anyone who, in the course of business, knowingly maintains an unsafe work environment shall not be immune from suit for a resulting injury or death by a worker and his or her survivors for any and all damages and losses.

A comment and review meeting took place in October 1991, before the legislative council and the office of legislative legal services. At that meeting, Eley stated that he did not think that the amendment would apply to governmental entities, charities, or homeowners. The initiative was then delivered to the secretary of state who convened the Board.

In response to a request from the Board, the Office of State Planning and Budget (OSPB) and the Department of Local Affairs (DLA) submitted statements of fiscal impact to the state and local governments. The measure was then submitted to the Board which held a public meeting. Eley was questioned by Board members about whether he intended the measure to apply to the public sector. He responded that it was his intent to include the public sector only to the extent that the entity is engaged in business and further testified that “any clarification could give an incorrect impression, coming down either one way or the other. This certainly does not by its terms exclude, specifically, governmental agencies, and to the extent that the term ‘in the course of business’ includes them, I suppose it would.” Upon suggestion by the secretary of state that the words “private sector” be inserted before “business,” Eley stated that such a change would express his intent and he would not object to either the use of “private sector” or “non[1033]*1033governmental.” Later, again discussing amendments to the language of the title, ballot title and submission clause, and summary, and the reasons for Eley’s concern about amending the measure to reflect its exclusion of the public sector, Eley stated that he did not want to alter the language of the initiative because of the delay that would result and that he wanted to “keep the amendment as simple as possible so it could be understood by the man in the street.” Later, a Board member commented that he was not inclined to insert the words “private sector” because such addition expresses an interpretation of the measure which Eley was not willing to reflect upon it. Eley responded: “Whether the amendment expresses my general intent is open to question someday.” The Board designated and fixed the following title:

AN AMENDMENT TO THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION TO PROVIDE THAT ANYONE WHO, IN THE COURSE OF BUSINESS, KNOWINGLY MAINTAINS AN UNSAFE WORK ENVIRONMENT SHALL NOT BE IMMUNE FROM SUIT FOR A RESULTING INJURY OR DEATH BY A WORKER AND HIS OR HER SURVIVORS FOR ANY AND ALL DAMAGES.

The ballot title and submission clause as designated and fixed by the Board is as follows:

SHALL THERE BE AN AMENDMENT TO THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION TO PROVIDE THAT ANYONE WHO, IN THE COURSE OF BUSINESS, KNOWINGLY MAINTAINS AN UNSAFE WORK ENVIRONMENT SHALL NOT BE IMMUNE FROM SUIT FOR A RESULTING INJURY OR DEATH BY A WORKER AND HIS OR HER SURVIVORS FOR ANY AND ALL DAMAGES?

Lastly, the summary as prepared by the Board stated:

This measure adds a provision to the Colorado Constitution to provide that anyone who, in the course of business, knowingly maintains an unsafe work environment shall not be immune from suit for a resulting injury or death by a worker and his or her survivors for any and all damages and losses.
The adoption of this measure would result in fiscal impact on state and local governments which are indeterminate.

Petitioners moved for rehearing. The original date scheduled for rehearing was vacated because two of the Board members were unable to attend. A rehearing was held with two of the three Board members present. The secretary of state was unable to attend the rescheduled rehearing. At the rehearing, the discussion again focused on whether the proponent intended application of the measure to the public sector. Eley stated, “My intent simply is that if you are not in the course of business, this initiative does not apply to you. And anyone can take a pot shot as to what they think that applies to and doesn’t apply to. I think a fair restatement of the amendment has been done.” A Board member questioned Eley about whether it was his intent that the wording remain vague so that the courts would interpret it and he answered affirmatively, declaring: “My intent is that the wording stay just the way it is, obviously; and if it’s vague in some respects, I apologize but I’m not going to change it.” The two Board members present at the rehearing voted not to change the language of the title, ballot title and submission clause, and summary.

II

The petitioners argue that the proposed amendment was not intended to apply to the public sector, and the title, ballot title and submission clause, and summary, as fixed by the Board, therefore, contain an ambiguity rendering them infirm under section 1-40-102(2), IB C.R.S. (1991 Supp.), for failure to state the true meaning and intent of the proposed amendment. Petitioners also argue that failure to enact more exacting definitions of such terms as “knowingly,” “unsafe,” “environment,” “maintains,” and “any and all damages” renders the descriptions of the initiative as fixed by the Board vague and unclear and the title, ballot title and submission clause, [1034]*1034and summary, therefore, fail to clearly inform the voters of the content of the proposed initiative.

The Colorado Constitution grants the people the authority to initiate constitutional amendments or propose laws. Colo. Const. art. V, § 1. We have recently set out the procedure by which such proposals are then set for inclusion on the general election ballot so that the people are apprised of the nature of the initiative and ultimately determine whether such initiative becomes part of the constitution or laws of the state. In re the Title, Ballot Title and Submission Clause, and Summary Adopted February 19, 1992, Pertaining to the Proposed Tobacco Tax, 830 P.2d 984, 988-989 (Colo.1992). Our review of the Board’s actions is guided by the standards recently set forth in

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Bluebook (online)
830 P.2d 1031, 16 Brief Times Rptr. 916, 1992 Colo. LEXIS 500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-proposed-initiated-constitutional-amendment-concerning-unsafe-colo-1992.