Court Opinion

ID: 9537961
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 07:27:58.928989+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:57:13.823098
License: Public Domain

Justice MULLARKEY
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent from the court’s construction of subsection 24-65.1-107(l)(b), 10B C.R.S. (1988), which exempts a “development or activity [which] has been approved by the electorate” as of May 17, 1974 from the operation of the Land Use Act. Although the term “electorate” is not qualified or defined by the Act, the majority construes the electorate to mean “the electorate of the local government authorized by the Land Use Act to regulate the activity.” Maj. op. at 765. In this case, the majority’s interpretation means that the Denver water diversion projects could qualify for the exemption only if the voters of Grand and Eagle counties had approved the Denver projects prior to May 17, 1974. Clearly that was impossible. Grand and Eagle counties voters could not authorize Denver to undertake the expenditure of its funds for a water project or any other purpose. See Four-County Metro. Capital Improvement Dist. v. Bd. of County Comm’rs of Adams County, 149 Colo. 284, 295, 369 P.2d 67, 72 (1962). Only the Denver electorate could and did authorize these projects by approving the bond issue to fund these projects.
To limit the term “electorate” as the majority has done makes the exemption meaningless. The only project in Grand or Eagle county which would qualify for the exemption would be a project which the voters of that county had approved. Surely if the Grand or Eagle county electorate had authorized its own project prior to 1974, the county would not then use its powers under this Act to prevent the project from going forward. No exemption would be needed.
In construing statutes we first look to their plain and ordinary meaning. Parrish v. Lamm, 758 P.2d 1356 (Colo.1988); People v. District Court, 713 P.2d 918, 921 (Colo.1986). It is, thus, significant that the term “electorate” in subsection (l)(b) is used alone and it is the only subsection where the words “appropriate local government” or “appropriate government authority” are omitted. The majority asserts that since the specific wording of section 24-65.-1-107(1) is replete with references to “local government,” the entire focus of the statutory exemption is on projects already approved by the “appropriate local government.” Accordingly, the majority claims that it is consistent with the statutory context to interpret the term “electorate” as referring to the local electorate.
I find this argument of statutory construction unpersuasive. Courts are generally hesitant to insert words and clauses into statutes in order to effectuate the legislative intent or statutory meaning. “It is always a dangerous business to fill in the text of a statute from its purposes, and ... it is utterly unwarranted unless the omission from, or corruption of, the text is plain.” 2A N. Singer, Sutherland Statutory Construction, § 47.38 (4th ed. 1984). Furthermore, words should not be inserted in a statute “where the court simply would think it wise to do so,” or “where the omission is not plainly indicated,” or “where words are purposely omitted.” Id. Therefore, I think the majority has overstepped its bounds in inserting the term “local government” where it is likely that such language was purposefully omitted and where the insertion is not clearly necessary.
The legislative history of this Act shows that the legislature did not take the narrow position which the majority adopts. Subsection 24-65.1 — 107(l)(c)(III), for example, was amended in the Senate committee to expressly exempt projects approved by entities such as the Regional Transportation District and the Metropolitan Water and Sanitation District. Transcript of the April 11, 1974 hearing of the Senate State Affairs Committee on H.B. 1041. Neither of these entities is a “local government authorized by the Land Use Act to regulate the activity,” as the majority’s interpretation requires. The same legislative hearing contains references to the 1973 Denver bond election and Denver’s future water *769diversion projects in these counties. This discussion indicates to me that the legislators were aware of these projects and intended them to come within the exemptions. See also Birmingham, 1974 Land Use Legislation in Colorado, 51 Den.L.J. 467, 480 (1974) (noting the possible exemption from the Land Use Act of the Denver water projects now before us).
Thus, I would interpret the term electorate to mean the electorate of the governmental unit which was paying for the project and would be its owner. In my view, these Denver water projects are exempt from the Land Use Act.
Because of my disposition of this issue, I would not reach the constitutionality of the .statute.