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