In re the Title, Ballot Title & Submission Clause

872 P.2d 689, 18 Brief Times Rptr. 643, 1994 Colo. LEXIS 340, 1994 WL 136041
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedApril 18, 1994
DocketNo. 93SA345
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 872 P.2d 689 (In re the Title, Ballot Title & Submission Clause) 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 Title, Ballot Title & Submission Clause, 872 P.2d 689, 18 Brief Times Rptr. 643, 1994 Colo. LEXIS 340, 1994 WL 136041 (Colo. 1994).

Opinion

Justice ERICKSON

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

Petitioner Pat R. Stealey (Stealey), a registered elector of the State of Colorado, challenges the validity of the title, submission clause,1 and summary set by the Initiative [691]*691Title Setting Board (Board)2 for a proposed initiated amendment to the Colorado Constitution (Initiative).3 The Initiative would increase state taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products, repeal the state sales and use tax exemption on cigarettes, and grant municipalities and counties the authority to impose their own cigarette and/or tobacco taxes. The revenue derived from the measure would be used for health care, educational programs to reduce tobacco use, and research concerning tobacco use and tobacco-related illnesses.4

Stealey contends that the title, submission clause, and summary set by the Board are infirm because they do not reflect the true intent and meaning of the Initiative. After the Board’s initial hearing, Stealey filed a motion for rehearing and, at the conclusion of the rehearing, the Board refused to adopt Stealey’s proposed amendments to the title, submission clause, and summary. We affirm the ruling of the Board.

I

As required by statute, the proponents of the Initiative, Arnold Levinson and Marianne Neifert, submitted a draft of the Initiative to the directors of the legislative council and the office of legislative legal services for review and comment. The proponents modified the Initiative, and after comments were received and a public meeting held, a draft of the Initiative was presented to the secretary of state. The secretary of state convened the Board to designate and fix a title and submission clause and to prepare a summary. The Board held its initial hearing on December 1, 1993.

Prior to the hearing, the Board requested and received information from both the Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) and the Department of Local Affairs (DLA) regarding the fiscal impact of the proposed initiative. The OSPB estimated that in fiscal year 1996 the proposed amendment would generate maximum potential revenues to the state of 132.1 million dollars. Letter, OSPB to secretary of state, November 26, 1993. The DLA stated: “A large tax increase such as that proposed [by the Initiative] ... will probably be a disincentive .to the market and result in a decrease in tobacco sales. This would result in a decrease in revenue to local governments of an indeterminate amount.” Letter, DLA to secretary of state, November 23, 1992. The DLA also stated that local governments would have increased revenues from the repeal. of the sales and use tax exemption on cigarettes but concluded that the amount of such increase is indeterminate. Id. The DLA addressed the grant of authority to municipalities and counties to levy their own taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products and concluded: ■ “This would result in increased revenues, but would be subject to the limitations of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, and cannot be estimated.”

At the close of the hearing, the Board set the title, submission clause, and summary for the proposed amendment:

Title
STATE TAXES SHALL BE INCREASED $132.1 MILLION ANNUALLY BY AN AMENDMENT TO THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION TO INCREASE TOBACCO TAXES 2.5 CENTS PER CIGARETTE AND 50% OF THE MANUFACTURER’S LIST PRICE OF OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS, AND TO REPEAL THE STATE SALES AND USE TAX EXEMPTION FOR CIGARETTES, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 1995; TO REQUIRE APPROPRIATION OF THE REVENUES PRIMARILY FOR HEALTH CARE, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO REDUCE TOBACCO USE, AND RESEARCH CONCERNING TOBACCO USE AND TOBACCO-RELATED ILLNESSES; AND TO AUTHORIZE MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES TO IMPOSE CIGARETTE AND TOBACCO TAXES, SUBJECT TO ARTI-[692]*692OLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION.
Submission Clause
SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED $132.1 MILLION ANNUALLY BY AN AMENDMENT TO THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION TO INCREASE TOBACCO TAXES 2.5 CENTS PER CIGARETTE AND 50% OF THE MANUFACTURER’S LIST PRICE OF OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS, AND TO REPEAL THE STATE SALES AND USE TAX EXEMPTION FOR CIGARETTES, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 1995; TO REQUIRE APPROPRIATION OF THE REVENUES PRIMARILY FOR HEALTH CARE, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO REDUCE TOBACCO USE, AND RESEARCH CONCERNING TOBACCO USE AND TOBACCO-RELATED ILLNESSES; AND TO AUTHORIZE MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES TO IMPOSE CIGARETTE AND TOBACCO TAXES, SUBJECT TO ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION.
Summary
This measure increases state tobacco taxes by 2.5 cents per cigarette (50 cents per standard pack of 20 cigarettes) and 50% of the manufacturer’s list price of other tobacco products.
The measure requires the General Assembly to appropriate the revenues as follows: 50% for health care for people who cannot pay for care; 30% for school and community educational programs to reduce tobacco use; 10% for research on tobacco-related illnesses and the prevention of tobacco use; 5% for economic development including health-related business activities; 4% for municipalities and counties, and 1% for administration.
The measure establishes a citizens’ commission to administer the uses of the revenues.
It repeals state laws that exempt cigarettes from sales and use taxes and provides that municipalities and counties receive 27% of the revenues from the repeal. It provides authority to municipalities and counties to regulate, and to tax in accordance with the provisions of Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, the sale, use or consumption of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
The measure requires that existing taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products not be reduced or repealed. The measure’s own tobacco tax rates will be reduced by up to 50% if any other amendment to the Colorado constitution is adopted at the same time that also increases tobacco taxes and uses the revenues for health care.
The fiscal impact of this measure is variable depending on the elasticity of sales of cigarettes and tobacco products. This measure is estimated to increase state cigarette and tobacco tax revenues and state sales and use tax revenues by $132.1 million annually. A portion of these increases could by offset by reductions in sales of cigarettes, other tobacco products and associated items. The net effect of these changes on state and local government revenues is not known.

After the Board’s initial hearing, Stealey filed a motion for rehearing contesting the validity of the title, submission clause, and summary fixed by the Board. At the rehearing, Stealey presented the report of Dr. Dwight Lee, a professor of economics at the University of Georgia. Dr. Lee’s report indicated that the Initiative would result in a first year loss to the state general fund of approximately 14.5 million dollars. At the conclusion of the rehearing, the Board rejected Stealey’s proposed amendments.5

Subsequently, Stealey filed for review in this court.

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872 P.2d 689, 18 Brief Times Rptr. 643, 1994 Colo. LEXIS 340, 1994 WL 136041, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-title-ballot-title-submission-clause-colo-1994.