Opinion ID: 1162724
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the 1989 amendments ... create an unconstitutional hindrance to the exercise of the constitutional right of the people to initiate their own laws....

Text: A. The 1989 Statutory Amendments hinder rather than facilitate, the exercise of the Initiative. B. It is not necessary to have petition sections notarized to protect against fraud. C. The decision in Clark v. Aurora, is not d[is]positive .... This review of the issues articulated in the petition for review filed in the district court and in the Committee's brief filed here and in that court reveals that the constitutional questions to be resolved in this appeal are few in number and limited in scope. In its complaint for review filed with the district court the Committee's constitutional challenges to the 1989 amendments were based on article V of the Colorado Constitution and on due process concerns. However, the Committee's argument to the district court that the time constraints contained in the 1989 amendments violate due process protections has not been asserted here. References in its trial and appellate briefs to First Amendment rights were stated in conclusionary form, were not accompanied by citations to any authority, and appeared solely in the context of arguments relating to rights afforded the Committee by article V of the Colorado Constitution. [7] In these circumstances, we conclude that questions concerning the applicability of federal First Amendment and due process standards are not properly presented by this appeal. See BQP Indus., Inc. v. State Bd. of Equalization, 694 P.2d 337, 342 (Colo.App.1984). In terms of constitutional challenges, then, this appeal requires us to determine only whether certain of the 1989 amendments on their face violate article V of the Colorado Constitution. In its brief submitted on appeal the Committee also argues that the following acts of the Secretary constitute arbitrary and capricious conduct: (1) the determination that the 1989 amendments apply to the Committee's initiative efforts; (2) the adoption of an administrative process of rigorously examining all petitions for compliance with all requirements of the 1989 amendments; (3) the adoption of a presumption that petitions with extra staple holes have been disassembled and are therefore invalid; (4) the adoption of a policy or standard that disallows a petition because the date of signature appearing on the circulator affidavit differs from the date of signature appearing on the corresponding notarization statement; and (5) the adoption of a presumption that a circulator or petition signer who lists multiple addresses or whose address as listed on a petition differs from that person's address as recorded on the Secretary's master voting list is not a registered elector. Our review of the propriety of the Secretary's conduct is limited to those issues.