Spelts v. Klausing

649 P.2d 303, 1982 Colo. LEXIS 667
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedJuly 29, 1982
DocketNo. 82SA253
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 649 P.2d 303 (Spelts v. Klausing) 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
Spelts v. Klausing, 649 P.2d 303, 1982 Colo. LEXIS 667 (Colo. 1982).

Opinion

DUBOFSKY, Justice.

This is an original proceeding brought under section 1-40-102(3), C.R.S.1973 (1980 Repl.Vol. IB) by qualified electors, Richard J. Spelts and Walter J. Boigegrain (Petitioners). They challenge the denial of their motion for rehearing by the Initiative Title Setting Review Board (Board)1 regarding the titles, summary, and submission clause fixed by the Board for an initiative proposed by Robert C. Klausing and the Committee for Economic Development and Tax Relief (Proponents) to amend the Colorado Constitution to allow casino gaming.2

The Petitioners contend that the summary does not explain the fiscal impact of the initiative as required by section 1-40-101(2), C.R.S.1973 (1980 Repl. Vol. IB); that the references to Southern Colorado Eco[306]*306nomic Development District in the titles, submission clause, and summary are misleading; that the titles, submission clause, and summary do not accurately reflect the true meaning and intent of the initiative in several respects; and that the Board acted in excess of its jurisdiction by deleting a paragraph from the proposed initiative. We have reviewed each of the Petitioners’ contentions and conclude that the Board’s action in denying the motion for rehearing should be affirmed.

Article V, Section 1 of the Colorado Constitution reserves to the People the right of initiative, and section 1-40-101(2), C.R.S.1973 (1980 Repl. Vol. IB) establishes the duties of the Board. The Board sets an initiated measure’s title which shall correctly and fairly express the true intent and meaning of the proposed measure, be brief, and unambiguously state the principle of the proposal. The Board also prepares a summary of the initiative which shall be clear, concise, and a true and impartial statement of the intent of the proposal. The summary shall not be an argument, nor likely to create prejudice, for or against the measure. In the Matter of the Title, Ballot Title and Submission Clause, and Summary Pertaining to the Sale of Table Wine in Grocery Stores Initiative, Colo., 646 P.2d 916 (1982). If in the opinion of the Board the proposed initiative will have a fiscal impact on the State or any of its political subdivisions, the summary shall include an estimate and explanation of the fiscal impact. In re Second Initiated Constitutional Amendment Respecting the Rights of the Public to Uninterrupted Service by Public Employees of 1980, Colo., 613 P.2d 867 (1980).

This Court’s evaluation of the legal sufficiency of a ballot title is circumscribed by the following well-established principles:

(1) [W]e must not in any way concern ourselves with the merit or lack of merit of the proposed [initiative] since, under our system of government, that resolution rests with the electorate;
(2) All legitimate presumptions must be indulged in favor of the propriety of the Board’s action; and
(3)Only in a clear case should a title prepared by the Board be held invalid.

Bauch v. Anderson, 178 Colo. 308, 310, 497 P.2d 698, 699 (1972); In the Matter of the Title, Ballot Title and Submission Clause, and Summary Pertaining to the Sale of Table Wine in Grocery Stores Initiative, supra; In the Matter of the Title, Ballot Title and Submission Clause, and Summary Including the Estimate of Fiscal Impact and Explanation Thereof Pertaining to the Mineral Production Tax Initiative, 644 P.2d 20 (Colo.1982); In the Matter of the Title, Ballot Title, Submission Clause and Summary Pertaining to the Branch Banking Initiative, Colo., 612 P.2d 96 (1980); In the Matter of the Proposed Initiative on Transfer of Real Estate, Colo., 611 P.2d 981 (1980); In re An Initiated Constitutional Amendment Respecting Rights of the Public to Uninterrupted Service by Public Employees, 199 Colo. 409, 609 P.2d 631 (1980).

I.

The Petitioners first contend that the summary does not explain the fiscal impact of the initiative as required by section 1-40-101(2), C.R.S.1973 (1980 Repl. Vol. IB). Section 1-40-101(2) provides:

... [I]f, in the opinion of the board, the proposed law or constitutional amendment will have a fiscal impact on the state or any of its political subdivisions, [the board] shall request assistance in such matter from the division of budgeting or the department of local affairs.

. . . [T]he division of budgeting, and the department of local affairs, shall furnish any assistance so requested, and the summary shall include an estimate of any such fiscal impact, together with an explanation thereof.

The Petitioners maintain that the Board violated the statute by not requesting information on fiscal impact from the Department of Local Affairs. At the May 25, 1982, hearing on the Petitioners’ motion for rehearing, the chair of the Board stated that he had considered the issue before the title hearing and decided that the Office of [307]*307State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) could obtain the needed information. The decision of whether and from which of the two state agencies to request information is within the discretion of the Board, and the record does not indicate that the Board improperly exercised its discretion. See In the Matter of the Title, Ballot Title and Submission Clause, and Summary Including the Estimate of Fiscal Impact and Explanation Thereof Pertaining to the Mineral Production Tax Initiative, supra.

The estimate of fiscal impact prepared by OSPB relied on experience with casino gambling in Nevada and New Jersey gathered from telephone calls, and newspaper and magazine articles. The fiscal impact statement, based on the estimate, provided:

The fiscal impact of this measure would be indeterminate because the scope and nature of casino, gaming in Colorado could vary widely depending upon implementing legislation and upon actions by voters in local elections to approve casino gaming.

On May 10, 1982, the Petitioners, by letter, requested the Board to obtain fiscal impact estimates from the county commissioners, the district attorney, and the police chief in the county seat of those counties proposed to be initially eligible for the establishment of gaming casinos. At the Board’s hearing on May 25, 1982, the Petitioners renewed their request for supplemental information to estimate the fiscal impact of the initiative. The Board denied the request on the basis that responses from county officials would not eliminate the variables which made the fiscal impact indeterminate.

The situation here is similar to that in

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649 P.2d 303, 1982 Colo. LEXIS 667, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spelts-v-klausing-colo-1982.