Colorado’s November ballot has 14 statewide measures

Taxes and state spending

Four measures would change Colorado’s tax structure or rules for public money. Proposition 136 would permanently cap the state’s flat income tax rate at 4.4%, while Amendment 87 would create graduated rates, raising taxes on households earning more than and lowering them for people earning less.

Amendment 87’s backers estimate it would raise about billion in its first year for education, health care and child care, outside the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights spending limits. If both measures pass, the one receiving more votes would control whether the 4.4% cap takes effect.

Proposition NN would let the state retain and spend an estimated billion or more that would otherwise be returned to taxpayers under TABOR. Proposition 137 would dedicate an estimated annually from taxes on sporting goods and outdoor equipment to wildfire mitigation and conservation.

Crime and immigration enforcement

Proposition 132 would make possession of any amount of fentanyl a felony punishable by up to eight years in prison. Distribution could carry up to 32 years, while defendants possessing less than one gram could have charges reduced to misdemeanors after completing treatment.

Proposition 133 would increase penalties for child sex trafficking and allow life imprisonment without parole. Amendment 81 would require state and local law enforcement to notify federal immigration authorities when someone whose immigration status cannot be verified is charged with a violent crime or has a previous felony conviction.

Elections and other rights

Amendment 84 would require mail voters in state and federal elections to include specified identifying information. Amendment 86 would bar congressional maps drawn to favor a political party and require approval from Colorado’s Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission for changes outside the regular census cycle.

Other measures concern transgender rights and proposed constitutional rights involving natural gas, hunting and fishing.