The authority to legislate is delegated to the Legislature by the sovereign people of Colorado. The legislature has no duty or authority to subvert petitions. In fact the legislature is entrusted to protect, defend, and enlarge the process. Valuable public service can be provided by reforming procedures that encourage abuse. In particular, citizen initiatives are a good way to cure problems that the government has created in the initiative process itself.
Initiatives are an essential part of the system of check and balances in our state Constitution.
The legislature, instead of treating initiatives like a nuisance, ought to honor them, and enact reforms to simplify the process. This article, from the Independence Institute staff, fellows and research network, is offered for your use at no charge. Independence Feature Syndicate articles are published for educational purposes only, and the authors speak for themselves. Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily representing the views of the Independence Institute or as an attempt to influence any election or legislative action. Op-ed archive .