2008 Colorado Amendment 54

Amendment 54

November 4, 2008
Campaign Contributions from Certain Government Contractors
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 1,130,098 51.21% No 1,076,694 48.79% Total votes 2,206,792 100.00%
For   60–70%   50–60% Against   60–70%   50–60%

Amendment 54 was a proposed initiative on the Colorado ballot for 2008. It passed with 51.2% of the vote. ^[1]

Purpose

According to the Blue Book, the state-provided ballot guide, Amendment 54 "proposes amending the Colorado Constitution to:

• prohibit certain government contractors from contributing to a political party or candidate for the contract's duration and two years thereafter;
• prohibit contributors to ballot issue campaigns from entering into certain government contracts relating to the ballot issue;
• apply the prohibitions on campaign contributions and ballot issue contracts to any contractor with a government contract or contracts that does not use a public and competitive bidding process soliciting at least three bids and with a total value greater than $100,000 in a single year; and
• apply the prohibitions on campaign contributions and ballot issue contracts to a labor organization holding a collective bargaining agreement with a state or local government." ^[2]

Results

Amendment 54 ^[3]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,130,098	51.21
No	1,076,694	48.79
Total votes	2,206,792	100.00

Support and opposition

Supporting organization

Yes On Colorado Amendment 54

Opposing organization

Protect Colorado's Future

Injunction issued

An injunction against Amendment 54 was issued by Denver District Court Judge Catherine Lemon in June 2009. Judge Lemon concluded that the language of the amendment was vague and often confusing, creating a law that would violate the right to free speech. ^[4]

References

1. http://projects.rockymountainnews.com/pages/news/politics/elections/results/colorado-issue.html%5B%5D
2. 2008 State Ballot Information Booklet, "Blue Book Archived 2008-10-10 at the Wayback Machine ", State of Colorado
3. Buescher, Bernie (June 29, 2009). "Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2008 Primary 2008 General" (PDF). Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
4. John Tomasic, article, "Unions breathe sigh of relief as judge issues Amendment 54 injunction", http://coloradoindependent.com/31997/unions-breathe-sigh-of-relief-as-judge-issues-amendment-54-injunction Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine retrieved June 28, 2009.