[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: BACKGROUND FOR TONIGHT'S NOD OF 5 ON STATEWIDE MEASURES

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Jones, Suzanne

Dear all—

With apologies for not sending this out sooner, below is background from the Legislative Committee for tonight’s Matter requesting a Nod of 5 for staff to prepare resolutions on the following statewide ballot measures.  Each of these measures are in keeping with our existing legislative agenda. The resolutions would then be discussed (briefly, we hope) by Council at an upcoming Council meeting, assuming the measures are found to have enough valid signatures to make the ballot.
Preparing resolutions represents a small amount of staff time, but we wanted a Nod of Five to get the ball rolling.

Cheers,
Suzanne

Proposed initiative 102: Increase minimum wage
Summary: Proposes an initial minimum wage increase from $8.31 to $9.30 with $.90 annual increases on January 1st until the wage reaches $12 by 2020.  Annual increases for inflation would be made thereafter.
Against: Argue the increased labor costs will force businesses to hire less or lay off employees. In the Colorado Springs Gazette, Alfredo Ortiz, CEO of the Jobs Creator Network, and Toni Gagliardi, Colorado State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business, argued, “Only about 3 percent of Coloradans earn the minimum wage, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So raising the minimum wage would do little to help the working poor. And 60 percent of minimum-wage earners fall between the ages of 16 and 24 - when people are just entering the workforce and earning entry-level wages.”
For: Colorado Families for a Fair Wage, a coalition of small business owners, community partners, working families and faith organizations, state that, “Currently, the minimum wage in Colorado is $8.31. That comes out to about $300 per week and just over $17,000 per year. A raise in the minimum wage will affect nearly half a million workers in Colorado. Of those workers who would benefit, 86% are over the age of 20.”
City Interests: Council’s legislative agenda supports a raise in the minimum wage to $10.10. The City of Boulder is also considering raising the living wage of city staff, including full-time, part-time and temporary employees, as well as requiring the same living wage of city contractors.
Status: Likely to qualify. Proponents reported to be delivering 200,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State’s office on Monday. Opposition led by Colorado Restaurant Association and other business interests.
Council’s Legislative Committee Recommendation: Support

Proposed Initiative #75: Local government authority to regulate oil and gas development
Summary: Would allow communities to ban, limit or impose moratoriums on drilling and fracking within their boundaries.
Against: See the measure as a threat to responsible oil and gas development in Colorado. Some groups also argue that the initiative will face legal challenges. In a Durango Herald article, John Straayer, a political science professor at CSU, stated that, “One thing I’m not clear about is how this will run headlong in a collision (course) with the whole business of property rights. How far can they go in the name of local control, or state control? ... I’m not sure you can amend a state constitution to obliterate a property right.”
For: Gives local communities the ability to control oil and gas operations in their boundaries and minimize the potential impacts to public and environmental health.
City Interests: Council’s legislative agenda indicates support for legislation that clarifies and strengthens the authority of local governments to use their existing land use authorities to manage and tailor oil and gas activities within their borders to ensure public health, safety and welfare, and to protect the environment.
Status: Signatures submitted.
Council’s Legislative Committee Recommendation: Support, consistent with legislative agenda.

Proposed Initiative #78: Mandatory setbacks for oil and gas
Summary: Changes statewide setback requirements to require any new oil and gas development in the state to be located at least 2,500 feet from the nearest occupied structure or other specified or locally designated area.
Against: The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission believe 78 will cripple oil and gas development. By their estimates, it would ban oil and gas development in 85% of Weld County, the state’s largest oil and gas producer.
For: Yes! For Health and Safety Over Fracking believes, “unlike the current setback of 500’ from homes, 2500’ is based upon objective measures such as health studies that show increased health risks within ½ mile of “fracked” wells and the perimeters of real-life explosion, evacuation, and burn zones.”
City Interests: Council’s legislative agenda indicates support for better protect homes and communities by increasing the minimum distance between wells and occupied buildings from the current 350’ setback to 1000’, 1,500’ for schools, giving local governments an effective role in controlling the pace and footprint of development in their jurisdictions.
Status: Signatures submitted.
Council’s Legislative Committee Recommendation: Ask council to discuss

Proposed Initiative #96: Requirement for initiated constitutional amendments
Summary: Making it more difficult to amend the constitution by requiring that any petition for a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment be signed by at least 2 percent of registered voters who reside in each of the state’s 35 senate district. Also, increases the percentage of votes needed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment from a majority to at least 55 percent.
Against: Argue this will make the process of amending the state constitution more expensive and unattainable for some groups.
For: According to Colorado Water Congress the current framework, “has made Colorado's ballot and Constitution among the most easily changed in the country. This leads to the proposal of a number of amendments that, at times, conflict with one another.” The Durango Herald further argues, “backers of the plan hope to encourage citizens to seek statutory changes rather than race straight to the state’s foundational underpinnings.”
City Interests: Council’s legislative agenda indicates support for state legislation that would reform the citizen initiative process to make it more difficult to amend the state constitution while providing assurance to Colorado citizens that statutory amendments will be respected by state elected officials. Initiative #96 addresses the former, but not the latter.
Status: Signatures submitted.
Council’s Legislative Committee Recommendation: Oppose. Signature gathering requirement per senate district is oppressive. Moreover, measure does not include protection for citizen-initiated amendments to state statute, as called for in city’s legislative agenda.


Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10