§ 1-40-106. Title board - meetings - ballot title - initiative and referendum

CO Rev Stat § 1-40-106 (2018) (N/A)
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(1) For ballot issues, beginning with the first submission of a draft after an election, the secretary of state shall convene a title board consisting of the secretary of state, the attorney general, and the director of the office of legislative legal services or their designees. The title board, by majority vote, shall proceed to designate and fix a proper fair title for each proposed law or constitutional amendment, together with a submission clause, at public meetings to be held at the hour determined by the title board on the first and third Wednesdays of each month in which a draft or a motion for reconsideration has been submitted to the secretary of state. To be considered at such meeting, a draft shall be submitted to the secretary of state no later than 3 p.m. on the twelfth day before the meeting at which the draft is to be considered by the title board, and the designated representatives of the proponents must comply with the requirements of subsection (4) of this section. The first meeting of the title board shall be held no sooner than the first Wednesday in December after an election, and the last meeting shall be held no later than the third Wednesday in April in the year in which the measure is to be voted on.

(2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 95, p. 431, § 4, effective May 8, 1995.)

(3) (a) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2000, p. 1620, § 1, effective August 2, 2000.)

(b) In setting a title, the title board shall consider the public confusion that might be caused by misleading titles and shall, whenever practicable, avoid titles for which the general understanding of the effect of a "yes/for" or "no/against" vote will be unclear. The title for the proposed law or constitutional amendment, which shall correctly and fairly express the true intent and meaning thereof, together with the ballot title and submission clause, shall be completed, except as otherwise required by section 1-40-107, within two weeks after the first meeting of the title board. Immediately upon completion, the secretary of state shall deliver the same with the original to the designated representatives of the proponents, keeping the copy with a record of the action taken thereon. Ballot titles shall be brief, shall not conflict with those selected for any petition previously filed for the same election, and, shall be in the form of a question which may be answered "yes/for" (to vote in favor of the proposed law or constitutional amendment) or "no/against" (to vote against the proposed law or constitutional amendment) and which shall unambiguously state the principle of the provision sought to be added, amended, or repealed.

(c) In order to avoid confusion between a proposition and an amendment, as such terms are used in section 1-5-407 (5)(b), the title board shall describe a proposition in a ballot title as a "change to the Colorado Revised Statutes" and an amendment as an "amendment to the Colorado constitution".

(d) A ballot title for a statewide referred measure must be in the same form as a ballot title for an initiative as required by paragraph (c) of this subsection (3).

(3.5) For every proposed constitutional amendment, the title board shall determine whether the proposed constitutional amendment only repeals in whole or in part a provision of the state constitution for purposes of section 1 (4)(b) of article V of the state constitution. The secretary of state shall keep a record of the determination made by the title board.

(4) (a) Each designated representative of the proponents shall appear at any title board meeting at which the designated representative's ballot issue is considered.

(b) Each designated representative of the proponents shall certify by a notarized affidavit that the designated representative is familiar with the provisions of this article, including but not limited to the prohibition on circulators' use of false addresses in completing circulator affidavits and the summary prepared by the secretary of state pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (4). The affidavit shall include a physical address at which process may be served on the designated representative. The designated representative shall sign and file the affidavit with the secretary of state at the first title board meeting at which the designated representative's ballot issue is considered.

(c) The secretary of state shall prepare a summary of the designated representatives of the proponents' responsibilities that are set forth in this article.

(d) The title board shall not set a title for a ballot issue if either designated representative of the proponents fails to appear at a title board meeting or file the affidavit as required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection (4). The title board may consider the ballot issue at its next meeting, but the requirements of this subsection (4) shall continue to apply.

(e) The secretary of state shall provide a notary public for the designated representatives at the title board meeting.