EDITOR: Many of us remember our history and civics class learning about the Constitution, our national and state government and even Schoolhouse Rock’s ‘I’m Just a Bill.’ We learned the differences between amending our Constitution and changing our state’s laws. For most students and graduates alike, we recognize why changes to our Constitution require a higher bar.
Yet right now, Colorado’s initiative processes to amend the state’s Constitution and change state law remain exactly the same. As a matter of fact, it’s easier to amend the Constitution in Colorado than in any other state. This vulnerability has left our founding document subject to permanent changes that impact our budgeting and policies for generations to come.
Colorado has become a national testing ground for the latest hot ideas that seek to amend our Constitution. Once wedged into our founding document, it’s difficult to remove or amend to correct unintended consequences and unworkable solutions.
To help remove that vulnerability, Amendment 71 proposes to raise the bar for amending the constitution, while leaving the current initiative process the same for proposing changes to state law.
Amendment 71 will ensure ideas proposed for Colorado’s constitution have broad, statewide support before they are permanently embedded into our state’s fabric. It requires constitutional amendments to first seek signatures from two percent of all registered voters in each of Colorado’s 35 state senate districts to qualify for the ballot. Once on the ballot, these measures will need to secure 55 percent to win at the ballot box. This will encourage greater engagement throughout our state and additional voter buy-in before amending our state’s founding document.
We rarely find one-size-fits-all solutions that meet the needs of all students and schools across the state. But our current initiative process opens the door for cementing these types of policies into our constitution that challenge our financial resources and frustrate policies working in local classrooms.
This year, let’s safeguard Colorado’s Constitution and raise the bar to create a statewide dialogue before offering changes to our constitution. Vote yes on Amendment 71.
— John L. Barry, Maj Gen, USAF (Ret), Former Superintendent of Aurora Public Schools via letters@AuroraSentinel.com