Colorado 2025 Regular Session

Colorado House Bill HJR1023 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	First Regular Session
2	2	Seventy-fifth General Assembly
3	3	STATE OF COLORADO
4	4	INTRODUCED
5	5
6	6
7	7	LLS NO. R25-0477.01 Jason Gelender x4330
8	8	HJR25-1023
9	9	House Committees Senate Committees
10	10	Finance
11	11	HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 25-1023
12	12	C
13	13	ONCERNING AUTHORIZATION AND DI RECTION TO THE COMMITTEE ON101
14	14	LEGAL SERVICES TO RETAIN LEGAL COUNSEL TO FILE A LAWSUIT102
15	15	ON BEHALF OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN STATE DISTRICT103
16	16	COURT TO DETERMINE THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE104
17	17	T
18	18	AXPAYER'S BILL OF RIGHTS, SECTION 20 OF ARTICLE X OF THE105
19	19	STATE CONSTITUTION.106
20	20	WHEREAS, The "Enabling Act of Colorado" required the territory1
21	21	of Colorado to adopt and maintain a constitution that adopted the2
22	22	constitution of the United States and was "republican in form"; and3
23	23	WHEREAS, Under the Guarantee Clause of section 4 of article IV4
24	24	of the United States constitution, "the United States shall guarantee to5
25	25	every state in this Union a republican form of government"; and6
26	26	HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
27	27	Camacho and Garcia, Duran, Bacon, Boesenecker, Brown, Carter, Clifford, Espenoza,
28	28	Froelich, Gilchrist, Hamrick, Jackson, Joseph, Lieder, Lindsay, Lindstedt, Mabrey, Martinez,
29	29	McCormick, Phillips, Rutinel, Rydin, Smith, Stewart R., Story, Titone, Velasco, Willford,
30	30	Woodrow, Zokaie
31	31	SENATE SPONSORSHIP
32	32	Daugherty and Jodeh, Amabile, Ball, Cutter, Danielson, Gonzales J., Kipp, Michaelson
33	33	Jenet, Mullica, Rodriguez, Winter F.
34	34	Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
35	35	Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
36	36	Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. WHEREAS, The drafters of the United States constitution1
37	37	envisioned the guarantee of a republican form of government entailing a2
38	38	representative democracy in which legislative bodies determine policy by3
39	39	enacting laws through deliberation and compromise; and4
40	40	WHEREAS, Section 20 of article X of the state constitution5
41	41	removed fundamental legislative authority and power in matters of6
42	42	revenue and expenditure from the institutions of representative7
43	43	democracy, namely, the General Assembly and the policy-making bodies8
44	44	at all levels of local government, and instead subjected that authority and9
45	45	power to direct democracy, namely, plebiscite; and10
46	46	WHEREAS, Section 20 of article X of the state constitution has11
47	47	removed necessary and essential powers of its representative institutions12
48	48	and so deprived the state of a republican form of government; and13
49	49	WHEREAS, It is necessary for the General Assembly to determine14
50	50	the scope of and protect both its role as a representative institution and the15
51	51	proper extent of its legislative authority and power in matters of revenue16
52	52	and expenditure; now, therefore,17
53	53	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-fifth18
54	54	General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:19
55	55	(1) That, in the judgment of the General Assembly, it is a matter20
56	56	of extreme importance and critical to protecting the core functions and21
57	57	interests of the General Assembly to determine whether section 20 of22
58	58	article X of the state constitution violates the "Enabling Act of Colorado"23
59	59	and the guarantee of a republican form of government set forth in the24
60	60	Guarantee Clause of section 4 of article IV of the United States25
61	61	constitution by nullifying the authority of the General Assembly to assess26
62	62	taxes and infringing upon the plenary authority of the General Assembly27
63	63	to appropriate money for public purposes; and28
64	64	(2) That the General Assembly authorizes and directs the29
65	65	Committee on Legal Services to engage appropriate legal counsel to file30
66	66	a lawsuit in the name of the General Assembly in state district court to31
67	67	determine the constitutionality of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, section 2032
68	68	of article X of the state constitution.33
69	69	HJR25-1023
70	70	-2-