Opinion ID: 162002
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Structure of the Colorado Initiative.

Text: 3 In 1910, the people of Colorado adopted article V of the Colorado Constitution and reserved the powers of initiative and referendum. Byrne v. Title Bd., 907 P.2d 570, 576 (Colo.1995) (en banc) (Mullarkey, J., dissenting). Article V, subsection 1(2) of the Colorado Constitution provides in part that [t]he first power hereby reserved by the people is the initiative. Article V, subsection 1(9) further clarifies the scope of this reserved power: The initiative and referendum powers reserved to the people by this section are hereby further reserved to the registered electors of every city, town, and municipality as to all local, special, and municipal legislation of every character in or for their respective municipalities. 4 The Colorado Constitution does not explicitly reserve the right of initiative at the county level. In general, counties in Colorado are simply political subdivisions of the state government that possess only those functions that are granted to them by the constitution or by statute, along with implied powers necessary to carry those functions out. Pennobscot, Inc. v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 642 P.2d 915, 918 (Colo.1982) (en banc); Dellinger v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 20 P.3d 1234, 1237 (Colo.Ct.App.2000). Colorado courts have rejected any argument that the general reservations of power in article V, subsections 1(1) and 1(2) might be construed to grant county governments the power to provide for initiatives. Dellinger, 20 P.3d at 1237-38 (considering, and then rejecting, various arguments that would authorize and require counties to provide for initiatives); see also County Rd. Users Ass'n v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 987 P.2d 861, 863 (Colo.Ct.App.1998) (noting in dicta that the power of initiative and referendum is not generally reserved to the electors as to county governments), rev'd on other grounds, 11 P.3d 432 (Colo.2000) (en banc). 1 5 The constitutional scheme is complicated, however, by statutory grants of the initiative power to the electors of county governments in limited contexts. In some instances, this grant is given to the electors of all counties with respect to specific types of legislation. 2 Colorado also distinguishes between statutory counties and home rule counties with respect to the power to initiate general legislation, and this distinction is the central focus of this litigation. 6 All counties in Colorado are initially created as statutory counties. These counties perform basic governmental functions such as managing the property of the county, maintaining streets and street lighting, creating mass transit, and making limited contracts for the fulfillment of these functions. Colo.Rev.Stat. § 30-11-101(1). A statutory county is governed by a board of county commissioners, who are constitutional officers elected in accordance with article 14, section 6 of the Colorado Constitution. The board has several specifically enumerated powers, such as levying taxes and providing for the maintenance of county buildings. Colo. Rev.Stat. § 30-11-107. It also has the power to control the zoning of land not incorporated into cities. Colo.Rev.Stat. § 30-28-102. 7 However, the Colorado Constitution provides a procedure for statutory counties to become home rule counties and thereby assume a greater degree of self-government. Colo. Const. art. XIV, § 16. To become a home rule county, a statutory county must adopt a home rule charter, which must be approved by a vote of the electors in the county. Id. While statutory counties have government structures that are specifically delineated in the state constitution, home rule counties are largely freed from these constitutional dictates. Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Andrews, 687 P.2d 457, 458 (Colo.Ct.App. 1984) (noting that article XIV, section 16 frees home rule counties from the provisions of sections 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 15 of article XIV of the constitution, which set forth the type of officers who shall be elected in each county and how to choose and compensate them). While a home rule county still must do the things that all counties must do and must provide the services all counties must provide, id., there are numerous provisions in the Colorado statutes that either allow home rule counties to expand upon the powers already granted to statutory counties or grant home rule counties new powers altogether. For example, home rule counties have broader powers to incur indebtedness than statutory counties have. Compare Colo.Rev.Stat. § 30-35-201(6) (specifying procedures for home rule counties to incur general debt), with Colo.Rev.Stat. § 30-11-107(1)(dd) (allowing statutory counties to incur debt to finance energy-saving measures). Home rule counties have the power to provide for public concerts and entertainments and may advertise to attract tourists, id. § 30-35-201(3), (4), while statutory counties have no similar powers. These are but examples, and many other differences are apparent from even a cursory comparison of sections 30-35-201 and 30-11-107. 8 Among these many differences is the scope of the power of initiative. The electors of statutory counties in Colorado may only initiate legislation with respect to a very limited range of issues. E.g., Colo. Rev.Stat. 29-2-104. Home rule counties, by contrast, are statutorily required to provide for the initiative and referendum of all measures under the same strictures required for statewide ballot measures. Col.Rev.Stat. § 30-11-508. The difference in this grant of powers is what gives rise to this litigation.