Court Opinion

ID: 9543558
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:46:32.51254+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:10:35.263088
License: Public Domain

Justice ERICKSON
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I respectfully concur in part and dissent in part. I would affirm the district court.
The appellant, Committee for Better Health Care for all Colorado Citizens (Committee), filed an action in the District Court, City and County of Denver (district court), appealing a final decision of the Secretary of State (Secretary). In the decision, the Secretary rejected petitions submitted for the Tobacco Products Tax Initiative (Initiative), pursuant to section 1-40-101(1), IB C.R.S. (1980 & 1991 Supp.). The district court reviewed the case pursuant to section 24-4-106, 10A C.R.S. (1988 & 1991 Supp.), which permits judicial review of final agency action. The district court, after reviewing the record, affirmed the Secretary’s decision and this appeal followed pursuant to section l-40-109(2)(a), IB C.R.S. (1980 & 1991 Supp.), which authorizes a direct appeal to this court.
A reviewing court may reverse an administrative determination only if the court finds that the agency exceeded its constitutional or statutory authority, made an erroneous interpretation of law, acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, or made a determination that is unsupported by the evidence in the record. See § 24-4-106(7), 10A C.R.S. (1988 & 1991 Supp.). The district court’s examination of the record found none of the statutory grounds for reversal. It is the function of the Secretary and the administrative law judge, not the reviewing court, to weigh the evidence and determine the credibility of witnesses. *901See Board of Assessment Appeals v. Arlberg, 762 P.2d 146, 151 (Colo.1988).
The constitution, as well as the statute governing the initiative and referendum process, provide a critical role for the Secretary of State. Section l-40-109(l)(b)(I) provides, in part, that:
“Upon submission of the petition, the secretary of state shall examine each name signature on the petition.... The secretary shall assure that the information required by section 1-40-106 is complete, that the information on each signature line was written by the person making the signature, that no signatures have been added to any sections of the petition after the affidavit required by section l-40-106(2)(b) has been executed, and that such person is a registered elector.”
§ l-40-109(l)(b)(I), IB C.R.S. (1991 Supp.). Similarly, the Colorado Constitution requires the Secretary to prepare the petition forms and to place on the ballot all measures that meet the requirements of article V, section 1(6), of the Colorado Constitution. Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(6) & (7).
In Clark v. City of Aurora, 782 P.2d 771 (Colo.1989), we addressed a municipal ordinance granting the right to referendum that had requirements similar to the controlling statute in this case. We held that “the Colorado Constitution charges the General Assembly with the responsibility to pass laws to secure the purity of elections and guard against the abuses of the elective franchise.” Id. at 777. Also in Clark, we held that the requirements of the statute governing the initiative and referendum process were consistent with that constitutional charge. Id.
The Secretary’s enforcement and interpretation of the statute in the instant case is consistent with the powers granted under the statute and the Colorado Constitution. Absent a finding that the Secretary’s decision was arbitrary and capricious or that the Secretary acted in violation of the constitution, the statute, or our case law, the ruling of the Secretary should be affirmed.