The following summary of local and statewide ballot measures Gunnison County voters are considering this fall was compiled by the Times staff.
The yes or no summaries for the state issues were drafted by the Colorado League of Women Voters and republished with permission. The Times used excerpts from the 2024 State Ballot Information Booklet or “Blue Book,” issued by the Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly, to create summaries for each of the 14 state initiatives. To read more in-depth overviews of each measure, visit leg.colorado.gov/publications/2024-blue-book-english.
LOCAL ISSUES
Gunnison County Library District Ballot Issue 6A - A 1.1 mill levy increase to support expanded library services, new Crested Butte South library.
The Gunnison County Library District is seeking a property tax increase of 1.1 mills to maintain and expand library services. If approved, the increase amounts to an additional $1.25 million in 2025. This includes a new library in Crested Butte South, more programming for library users, expanded digital content and hours of operation. The new library would offer indoor and outdoor space, free public meeting rooms, event spaces and a children's library. It would be powered by onsite geothermal and solar energy. A 1.1 mill increase translates to $7 per year for every $100,000 of actual residential value.
YES - Increase property taxes by 1.1 mills, to a total of 3 mills, starting Jan. 1, 2025.
NO - Retain district’s current property tax rate of 1.9 mills.
Town of Mt. Crested Butte Ballot Issue 2A - Increase the STR excise tax to 4.9%
The Town of Mt. Crested Butte is requesting a 2% increase to the town’s existing excise tax, from 2.9% to 4.9%, starting on Jan. 1 2025. The tax increase is expected to generate an additional $1.1 million in 2025. This is a tax charged to people renting short-term rental properties (STRs). To be an STR, the rental must be for 30 days or less. The tax revenues are slated for “the creation and retention of critical unmet community housing needs.”
YES - Increases the Town of Mt. Crested Butte’s STR excise tax to 4.9%.
NO - The Town of Mt. Crested Butte’s excise tax remains at 2.9%.
Montrose School District RE-1J Ballot Issue 5A - School bond for new Montrose High School
The Montrose County School District is seeking an increase in property taxes to support a $198 million bond this fall, with a repayment cost of no more than $395 million. This pans out to an annual district tax increase of $16.7 million. The projected tax impact will be $9 per month per $100,000 of a home’s actual value, according to the district. A small portion of Gunnison County voters, primarily in the Cimmaron area, will see Montrose School District’s bond issue on their ballots because those residents live within the district’s boundaries.
The bond is meant to cover the construction of a new high school on existing school property. The building would have upgraded security, a main entry and lobby on Rio Grande Avenue, and additional space classrooms, science labs and programming for vocational, technology and visual and performing arts.
The bond would also cover expanded parking, and the relocation of the existing athletic stadium, fields and courts. The existing high school building would be demolished while preserving the Lloyd McMillan Gym for school and community use.
YES - Increase property taxes to support a $198 million bond for construction of a new high school.
NO - The district does not issue bonds and property taxes do not increase.
STATE ISSUES
Amendement G - Modify Property Tax Exemption for Veterans with Disabilities
Colorado’s homestead exemption reduces the property taxes of qualified homeowners by exempting 50% of the first $200,000 of a home’s value. Qualified individuals include Colorado residents that are 65 or older who have lived in their home for at least 10 years, veterans with a permanent service-related injury and surviving spouses of U.S. Armed Forces service members who died in the line of duty. In 2023, roughly 285,000 seniors claimed homestead exemptions, with an average tax reduction of $590.
YES - Expands the existing homestead exemption to include veterans whose disability is rated as making them unemployable.
NO - Means the existing homestead exemption remains available only to veterans whose disability is rated 100% permanent and total.
Amendment H - Judicial Discipline Procedures and Confidentiality
The Commission on Judicial Misconduct is an independent agency charged with handling allegations of misconduct against judges. Members of the Commission are appointed by the Colorado Supreme Court and the governor.
YES - Creates an independent adjudicative board made up of citizens, lawyers and judges to conduct judicial misconduct hearings and impose disciplinary actions, and allows more information to be shared earlier with the public.
NO - Means that a select panel of judges will continue to conduct judicial misconduct hearings and recommend disciplinary actions, and cases remain confidential unless public sanctions are issued at the end of the process.
Amendment I - Constitutional Bail Exception for First Degree Murder
In most circumstances, under Colorado law, a person accused of a crime has the right to bail out of county jail while awaiting a trial. One of the exceptions was for offenses for which the death penalty may be sought, which sometimes includes first degree murder. But in 2020, Colorado abolished the death penalty. As a result, there was no longer an exception to the bail requirement for first degree murder, and differing interpretations emerged on where judges must set bail in these kinds of cases. Last year, the Supreme Court stepped in and ruled that judges cannot deny bail to those accused of first degree murder.
YES - Allows judges to deny bail to a person charged with first degree murder when the judge determines that the proof is evident or presumption is great that the person committed the crime.
NO - Requires judges to set bail for all persons charged with first degree murder.
Amendment J - Repealing the Definition of Marriage in the Constitution
Colorado’s constitution defines a “valid” marriage as the union between a man and a woman. But same-sex marriage is legal because of court rulings that have declared federal and state bans on same-sax marriage to be unconstitutional. In the United States, all 50 states are required to recognize same-sex marriages. While this ballot does not impact the ability of couples to marry, if the Supreme Court overturned its previous rulings, the decisions around the legality of same-sex marriage would revert to each state.
YES - Repeals language in the Colorado Constitution that defines a valid marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
NO - Maintains the current language in the Colorado Constitution that defines a valid marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
Amendment K - Modify Constitutional Election Deadlines
Colorado residents can collect signatures and file petitions to propose changes to state law and to challenge laws passed by the legislature. The deadline to file these petitions is three months before the general election. The same is true for judges seeking another term. If passed, this amendment would move the deadline one week earlier. Amendment K also moves the deadline to publish ballot measure content in newspapers 30 days earlier.
YES - Results in earlier deadlines for certain election filings and the publication of ballot measures in newspapers.
NO - Maintains current constitutional deadlines for election filings and the publication of ballot measures in newspapers.
Amendment 79 - Constitutional Right to Abortion
Under Colorado law, a pregnancy can be terminated at any time. This amendment makes abortion a constitutional right in Colorado and removes an existing ban on the use of public funds for abortion services. Amendment 79 would allow abortion to be a covered service under health insurance plans through Medicaid and state and local governments. The measure does not guarantee this, and decisions would be handled by the legislature and individual local governments in the future.
YES - Places the right to abortion in the Colorado Constitution and repeals the current ban on state and local funding for abortion services.
NO - Continues the ban on state and local funding for abortion services and maintains the authority of the state legislature to determine the legality of abortion in the state.
Amendment 80 - Constitutional Right to School Choice
Amendment 80 would enshrine the “right to school choice” in the Colorado Constitution. In Colorado, students may attend any public school for free, even if they do not live in the school district. Public schools include neighborhood schools, charter schools and some online schools. Parents are also allowed to choose non-public education options such as private or home schools. The measure results in no immediate change to state law, but if passed, may affect future policies about school choice and could result in redirecting funding from public schools to private and home schools.
YES - Creates a constitutionally protected right to school choice for K-12 children and their parents, and specifies that school choice includes public, private, homeschool, and any future innovations in education.
NO - Maintains the current system of school choice in state law.
Proposition JJ - Retain Additional Sports Betting Tax Revenue
In 2019, voters approved Proposition JJ, legalizing sports betting in Colorado. It also allowed the state to collect up to $29 million annually in tax revenue from sports betting. Tax revenue exceeded the cap in the most recent state budget and is expected to increase in the coming years.
YES - Allows the state to keep and spend more money for water conservation projects (as outlined in the Colorado Water Plan) when sports betting tax revenue is collected above the amount previously approved by voters.
NO - Means the state will pay refunds to casinos and sports betting operators when sports betting tax revenue is greater than the amount previously approved by voters.
Proposition KK - Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax
For more than 100 years, the federal government has levied an excise tax on the retail sales of firearms and ammunition by manufacturers and exporters. This money is used to fund wildlife conservation projects and hunting programs. In Colorado, retail sales of guns, parts and ammunition are also subject to state and local sales tax. If passed, firearm dealers, manufacturers and ammunition sellers would pay the new 6.5% tax. The measure is expected to generate up to $39 million annually.
YES - Creates a new tax on firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition, and uses the revenue for crime victim services, mental health services for veterans and youth, and school safety programs.
NO - The state’s taxation of firearms and ammunition will not change.
Proposition 127 - Prohibit Bobcat, Lynx, and Mountain Lion Hunting
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) administers regulations for hunting, fishing and trapping in Colorado. All species are managed differently. Neither mountain lions or bobcats are classified as threatened in the state, while the lynx is listed as endangered. Hunting lynx, which were reintroduced to Colorado in 1999, remains illegal under state and federal law. Proposition 127 would define and prohibit trophy hunting as “intentionally killing, wounding, pursuing, or entrapping a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx; or discharging or releasing any deadly weapon at a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx.”
YES - Makes it illegal to hunt bobcats, lynx, and mountain lions in Colorado.
NO - Continues to allow the hunting of bobcats and mountain lions, as it is currently regulated by the state. Hunting lynx would remain illegal.
Proposition 128 - Parole Eligibility for Crimes of Violence
Parole is a system used to supervise convicted people after they are released from prison. It is estimated that 220 people in Colorado are sentenced to prison for violent crimes (such as murder, sexual assault, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and arson) each year. They serve an average of 23 years in prison, a number that would increase if Prop. 128 passed.
YES - Requires a person convicted of certain crimes of violence to serve at least 85% of their sentence in prison before being eligible for discretionary parole or earned time reductions, and makes a person convicted of a third or subsequentcrime of violence ineligible for earned time or discretionary parole.
NO - Keeps the current requirement that a person convicted of certain crimes of violence serve 75% of their sentence in prison before being eligible for discretionary parole, minus earned time for progressing in personal, professional or educational programs
Proposition 129 - Establishing Veterinary Professional Associates
Licensed veterinarians, registered vet technicians and vet tech specialists, along with other qualified personnel, can provide animal care in Colorado. The Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine regulates these three licensed professions and sets rules for practice. But many residents struggle to get veterinary care for their animals and pets, especially in rural areas where it is not uncommon for clinics to be short staffed. While Prop. 129 may generate more career opportunities for vets, creating a new and “untested” profession could increase risks to animals.
YES - Establishes the new regulated profession of “veterinary professional associate” as a
provider of veterinary care, alongside veterinarians, veterinary technicians and veterinary technician specialists.
NO - Allows only veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary technician specialists to be regulated providers of veterinary care in Colorado.
Proposition 130 - Funding for Law Enforcement
Local law enforcement agencies are funded through county and city budgets. If passed, Prop. 130 would increase annual pay for officers, provide one-hiring and recruitment bonuses and may allow agencies to hire additional officers to improve recruitment and retention. This would be achieved by directing the legislature to increase funding to the Colorado State Patrol, which would then redistribute the money to local agencies.
YES - Directs the state to provide $350 million in additional funding to local law enforcement agencies to improve officer recruitment and retention, and requires the state to provide a one-time $1 million death benefit to the family of each state and local law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.
NO - Continues current levels of funding for local law enforcement agencies, and families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty will continue to receive existing benefits provided by current law.
Proposition 131 - Establishing All-Candidate Primary and Ranked Choice Voting General Elections
In Colorado, the state conducts primary elections to determine a party’s nominee for a particular office and voters affiliated with a political party can only cast a ballot for candidates of that party. Proposition 131 would create a single, “all-candidate” primary election for certain state and federal offices, where the top four candidates advance to the general election. Ranked voting could possibly “better reflect the will of the voters.” But its complexity, both for voters filling out ballots and when it comes time to tally the results, could lead to questions about whether the results are fair.
YES - Establishes an all-candidate primary for all voters regardless of their political party for certain offices and advances the top four candidates to a general election where voters rank the candidates in order of preference, once certain conditions in state law are met.
NO - Continues the existing primary election system and the current method of selecting candidates and counting votes at general elections.
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