Colorado § 32-22-109 - Taxes, assessments, and multiple-fiscal year borrowing - voter approval required.

§ 32-22-109. Taxes, assessments, and multiple-fiscal year borrowing - voter approval required.

(1) No action by the district to establish or increase any tax, no action by a subdistrict to establish or increase any tax, and no action of the governing body of any station area improvement district to establish or increase any tax or any special assessment on real property authorized by this article 22 shall take effect unless it is first submitted, as applicable, to a vote of the registered electors of the district or subdistrict on the date of the statewide general election or on the first Tuesday in November of an odd-numbered year, or of the station area improvement district in which the assessment or tax is proposed to be collected. Before submitting a question to establish any district tax to the registered electors of the district or any subdistrict tax to the registered electors of the subdistrict, the district or subdistrict shall:

(a) Publish a proposed plan for developing the passenger rail service and a detailed financing plan. The plan for developing the passenger rail service must identify the route and phasing of the passenger rail system to be funded by the tax. The financing plan must identify committed and potential financial partners, including but not limited to the regional transportation district, the federal government, Amtrak, and private partners; and

(b) Adopt a resolution certifying that the district or subdistrict has made every reasonable effort to secure federal, state, or special purpose authority funding to support the development, financing, construction, operation, or maintenance of the passenger rail system; and

(c) Approve the submission of the question by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all voting directors of the relevant board.

(2) No action by the district or subdistrict creating a multiple-fiscal year debt or other financial obligation that is subject to section 20 (4)(b) of article X of the state constitution shall take effect unless first submitted to a vote of the registered electors of the district or subdistrict.

(3) (a) Ballot issues proposed to the registered electors as required by subsections (1) and (2) of this section must be submitted in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of article X of the state constitution. The action shall not take effect unless a majority of the registered electors voting on the ballot issue vote to approve the ballot issue. Any district or subdistrict ballot issue notice required by section 20 (3)(b) of article X of the state constitution must be included in the ballot information booklet required by section 1 (7.5) of article V of the state constitution in the same manner as described in section 1-40-124.5. The district's designated election official shall provide the director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly the information required by section 20 (3)(b) of article X of the state constitution to include in the ballot information booklet.

(b) No later than sixty days before a coordinated or general election, the district or subdistrict must certify to the secretary of state the ballot titles, content, and order of all ballot measures referred to the registered electors of the district or subdistrict by resolution of the board. The content must be certified in English and in any language for which any county within the district or subdistrict must provide a minority language sample ballot, as defined in section 1-5-903 (2). If the district or subdistrict timely certifies ballot content to the secretary of state, the secretary of state must certify the district's ballot content to the county clerk and recorders of all counties wholly or partially included in the district or subdistrict no later than the fifty-seventh day before the election, in accordance with section 1-5-203 (1)(a).

(c) Following the certification of the ballot order and content by the secretary of state required by subsection (3)(b) of this section, the election must be conducted in substantially the same manner as statewide elections. The costs incurred by each county in conducting the election on behalf of the district or subdistrict will be reimbursed as provided for in section 1-5-505.5 (1)(a). No public money of the district may be used to urge or oppose passage of a ballot issue submitted for voter approval as required under this section.

Source: L. 2021: Entire article added, (SB 21-238), ch. 401, p. 2670, § 1, effective June 30. L. 2024: (1)(a) and (3) amended, (HB 24-1012), ch. 126, p. 422, § 5, effective August 7. L. 2026: IP(1), (1)(b), (1)(c), (2), and (3) amended, (SB 26-172), ch. 153, p. 857, § 4, effective May 26.