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RESOLUTION #/OW
(Series of 2006)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, IN
OPPOSITION TO THE 2006 BALLOT ISSUE KNOWN AS "PETITIONS",
AMENDMENT 38 TO THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION, THAT WOULD MAKE
CHANGES TO THE PETITIONING PROCESS AND ADVERSELY IMPACT
OPERATIONS OF THE CITY OF ASPEN AND ALL ITS ENTERPRISES,
AUTHORITIES AND RELATED GOVERNMENT ENTITITES TO THE DETRIMENT OF
THE CITIZENS OF ASPEN
WHEREAS, an initiated constitutional amendment, Amendment 38 to the
Colorado Constitution, has been certified for consideration by the voters of the State of
Colorado at the coordinated election to be held in November 2006; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 proposes to supersede and overrule all conflicting
provisions of the Colorado Constitution, Colorado Statutes and City of Aspen Charter to
implement a new initiative and referendum petitioning process in Colorado; and
WHEREAS, severely impairs the ability of local governments to promptly
respond to the needs of their citizens by postponing the effective date of ordinances to
91 days and in some cases for up to 11 months; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 severally limits the information the public will receive
on a ballot issue by requiring governments to distribute a 1,000 word statement, exactly
as written by the proponents, to every registered voter in the municipality, while
opponents' statements cannot be longer than the proponents' statement and must be
summarized by an election official before it is distributed to voters; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 prohibits public resources or staff time to be used to
"discuss" the pending ballot issue. This radical change from current law will not permit
a government to answer questions from the public concerning such issues, pass
resolutions expressing the local city council's point of view, or put out balanced
information on the local impacts of various ballot issues; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 states that "no district resources...shall aid accused
violators to repay expenses." creating an unreasonable personal financial liability for
public employees. Public officials would have to pay their own defense expenses
regardless of whether they are ultimately found to have violated the law. If a local
official is found to have improperly "discussed" a pending ballot issue while on public
time, the official and the government must each pay a minimum of $3,000 to the State
General Fund; and
WHEREAS, Amendment 38 is a very bad choice for the citizens of Aspen and
the State of Colorado; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL that it
is opposed to the ballot question known as "Petitions", Constitutional Amendment 38
that will appear on the November 7, 2006 coordinated election ballot and urges the
electors of the City of Aspen to oppose said proposed amendment and to vote "No" on
its passage.
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I, Kathryn S. Koch, duly appointed and acting City Clerk do certify that the foregoing is a
true and accurate copy of that resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of
Aspen, Colorado, at a meeting held August 28, 2006.
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