C.R.S. § 1-40-124.5: Ballot information booklet.

(1) (a) The director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly shall prepare a ballot information booklet for any initiated or referred constitutional amendment or legislation, including a question, as defined in section 1-41-102 (3), in accordance with section 1 (7.5) of article V of the state constitution.

(b) The director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly shall prepare a fiscal impact statement for every initiated or referred measure, taking into consideration fiscal impact information submitted by the office of state planning and budgeting, the department of local affairs or any other state agency, and any proponent or other interested person. The fiscal impact statement prepared for every measure must be substantially similar in form and content to the fiscal notes provided by the legislative council of the general assembly for legislative measures pursuant to section 2-2-322. A complete copy of the fiscal impact statement for the measure must be available through the legislative council of the general assembly. The ballot information booklet must indicate whether there is a fiscal impact for each initiated or referred measure and must abstract the fiscal impact statement for the measure. The abstract for every measure must appear after the arguments for and against the measure in the analysis section of the ballot information booklet and must include, but is not limited to:

(I) An estimate of the effect the measure will have on state and local government revenues, expenditures, taxes, and fiscal liabilities if such measure is enacted;

(II) An estimate of the amount of any state and local government recurring expenditures or fiscal liabilities if such measure is enacted;

(III) For any initiated or referred measure that modifies the state tax laws, if the measure would either increase or decrease individual income tax revenue or state sales tax revenue, a table that shows the number of tax filers in each income category, the total change in the amount of tax owed for each income category, and the average change in the amount of tax owed for each filer within each income category. If the change in the amount of tax owed shown in the table is an increase, the change must be expressed as a dollar amount preceded by a plus sign. If the change in the amount of tax owed shown in the table is a decrease, the change must be expressed as a dollar amount preceded by a negative sign. The table must use the following income categories:

(A) Federal adjusted gross income of fourteen thousand nine hundred ninety-nine dollars or less;

(B) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to fifteen thousand dollars and less than thirty thousand dollars;

(C) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to thirty thousand dollars and less than forty thousand dollars;

(D) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to forty thousand dollars and less than fifty thousand dollars;

(E) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to fifty thousand dollars and less than seventy thousand dollars;

(F) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to seventy thousand dollars and less than one hundred thousand dollars;

(G) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to one hundred thousand dollars and less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars;

(H) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to one hundred fifty thousand dollars and less than two hundred thousand dollars;

(I) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to two hundred thousand dollars and less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars;

(J) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to two hundred fifty thousand dollars and less than five hundred thousand dollars;

(K) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to five hundred thousand dollars and less than one million dollars; and

(L) Federal adjusted gross income greater than or equal to one million dollars;

(IV) If the measure contains a proposed tax change, as defined in section 1-40-106 (3)(i)(II), that reduces state tax revenue, a description of the measure's likely effect on the three largest areas of program expenditure, as defined in section 1-40-106 (3)(i)(I);

(V) For an initiated measure that will result in increased state expenditures, except for de minimis and administrative expenditures, and that does not identify and provide for a sufficient source of revenue or sufficient reductions in state spending to account for the increased expenditures, a description of the measure's likely effect on the three largest areas of program expenditure, as defined in section 1-40-106 (3)(i)(I); and

(VI) For an initiated measure that requires existing revenue sources to be reallocated and spent in a particular way, a description of the measure's likely effect on the three largest areas of program expenditure, as defined in section 1-40-106 (3)(i)(I).

(c) Repealed.

(d) The director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly may update the initial fiscal impact statement prepared in accordance with section 1-40-105.5 when preparing the fiscal impact statement required by this subsection (1).

(e) When preparing the fiscal impact statement required by this subsection (1) for a measure that includes a proposed tax increase, the director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly shall, pursuant to section 20 (3)(b)(III) of article X of the state constitution, include an estimate of the maximum dollar amount of both:

(I) The change in state and local government revenue and fiscal year spending, as defined in section 20 (2)(e) of article X of the state constitution, for the first full fiscal year of the proposed tax increase; and

(II) State and local government fiscal year spending, as defined in section 20 (2)(e) of article X of the state constitution, without the proposed tax increase.

(f) When preparing the fiscal impact statement required by this subsection (1), the director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly shall include the information required in the abstract as set forth in subsections (1)(b)(V) and (1)(b)(VI) of this section.

(1.5) The executive committee of the legislative council of the general assembly is responsible for providing the fiscal information on any ballot issue that must be included in the ballot information booklet pursuant to section 1 (7.5)(c) of article V of the state constitution and shall consider the fiscal impact statement required by subsection (1) of this section in doing so.

(1.7) (a) After receiving written comments from the public in accordance with section 1 (7.5)(a)(II) of article V of the state constitution, but before the draft of the ballot information booklet is finalized, the director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly shall conduct a public meeting at which the director and other members of the legislative staff have the opportunity to ask questions that arise in response to the written comments. The director may modify the draft of the booklet in response to comments made at the hearing. The legislative council may modify the draft of the booklet upon the two-thirds affirmative vote of the members of the legislative council.

(b) (I) Each person submitting written comments in accordance with section 1 (7.5)(a)(II) of article V of the state constitution shall provide the person's name and the name of any organization the person represents or is affiliated with for purposes of making the comments.

(II) Each analysis section of the ballot information booklet must include an explanation of how to access information from the secretary of state about issue committees that support or oppose the measures on the ballot and the website address to access this information.

(2) Following completion of the ballot information booklet, the director of research shall arrange for its distribution to every residence of one or more active registered electors in the state. Distribution may be accomplished by such means as the director of research deems appropriate to comply with section 1 (7.5) of article V of the state constitution, including, but not limited to, mailing the ballot information booklet to electors and insertion of the ballot information booklet in newspapers of general circulation in the state. The distribution shall be performed pursuant to a contract or contracts bid and entered into after employing standard competitive bidding practices including, but not limited to, the use of requests for information, requests for proposals, or any other standard vendor selection practices determined to be best suited to selecting an appropriate means of distribution and an appropriate contractor or contractors. The executive director of the department of personnel shall provide such technical advice and assistance regarding bidding procedures as deemed necessary by the director of research.

(3) (a) There is established in the state treasury the ballot information publication and distribution revolving fund. The general assembly shall appropriate money to the fund each year in the annual general appropriation act. All interest earned on the investment of money in the fund is credited to the fund. Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the legislative council of the general assembly to pay the costs of publishing the text and title of each constitutional amendment, each initiated or referred measure, or part of a measure, and the text of a referred or initiated question arising under section 20 of article X of the state constitution, as defined in section 1-41-102 (3), in at least one legal publication of general circulation in each county of the state, as required by section 1-40-124, and the costs of distributing the ballot information booklet, as required by subsection (2) of this section. Any money credited to the fund and unexpended at the end of any given fiscal year remains in the fund and does not revert to the general fund.

(b) to (e) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2026.)