Taxes on Nicotine Products | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
 
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: Colorado Public Radio [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Colorado |
|---|
 |
Colorado Proposition EE (also the Taxes on Nicotine Products Proposition) was a legislative referendum that appeared on ballots in Colorado in the November 2020 elections. It was a proposal to increase taxes on nicotine products and place a new tax on vaping products.
Proposition EE originates from HB20-1427, a law that would increase taxes on cigarettes and nicotine products. As all tax increases have to be approved by voters under the Colorado Constitution, a Proposition was needed for the law to enter into effect. [2]
The Proposition raises taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products, and levies a new tax on nicotine products. Under the proposal, these increases would be phased in between 2021 and 2027, resulting in a tax on cigarettes of $2.64 per pack (up from $0.84), a tax on other tobacco products of 62% of the price which they are sold to retailers at (up from 40%) and a new tax on nicotine products, also set at 62%. Additionally, the Proposition raised the minimum sale price of various nicotine products. [2]
It is estimated that Proposition EE would generate up to $175.6m extra tax in its first budget year, rising to $275.9m by the time the new rates are fully in place. This would be used to increase funding for free preschool provision (an election pledge of Governor Jared Polis) [3] as well as being used in rural schools, K-12 education, housing development, and general state spending. [2]
HB20-1427, the legislation which put Proposition EE on the ballot, was sponsored by Representatives Yadira Caraveo and Julie McCluskie and Senators Rhonda Fields and Dominick Moreno. [4]
State legislators
Newspapers
Organisations
Opposition to Proposition EE mainly centered around opposition to increasing taxes in general but specifically because the Proposition was seen to be a sin tax. It was also noted by progressive groups who opposed the Proposition, such as the Working Families Party, that it would disproportionately affect poorer and working-class people, because they were more targeted by tobacco companies. [26]
State legislators
Local politicians
Newspapers
Organisations
The question put to voters was: [35]
Shall state taxes be increased by $294,000,000 annually by imposing a tax on nicotine liquids used in e-cigarettes and other vaping products that is equal to the total state tax on tobacco products when fully phased in, incrementally increasing the tobacco products tax by up to 22% of the manufacturer's list price, incrementally increasing the cigarette tax by up to 9 cents per cigarette, expanding the existing cigarette and tobacco taxes to apply to sales to consumers from outside of the state, establishing a minimum tax for moist snuff tobacco products, creating an inventory tax that applies for future cigarette tax increases, and initially using the tax revenue primarily for public school funding to help offset revenue that has been lost as a result of the economic impacts related to COVID-19 and then for programs that reduce the use of tobacco and nicotine products, enhance the voluntary Colorado Preschool Program and make it widely available for free, and maintain the funding for programs that currently receive revenue from tobacco taxes, with the state keeping and spending all of the new tax revenue as a voter-approved revenue change?
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 2,134,608 | 67.56 |
| No | 1,025,182 | 32.44 |
| Valid votes | 3,159,790 | 95.88 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 135,876 | 4.12 |
| Total votes | 3,295,666 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 3,793,790 | 86.87 |
Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and ingesting the resulting smoke. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or simply released from the mouth, as is generally done with pipes and cigars. The practice is believed to have begun as early as 5000–3000 BC in Mesoamerica and South America. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 17th century by European colonists, where it followed common trade routes. The practice encountered criticism from its first import into the Western world onwards but embedded itself in certain strata of a number of societies before becoming widespread upon the introduction of automated cigarette-rolling apparatus.
Tobacco harm reduction (THR) is a public health strategy to lower the health risks to individuals and wider society associated with using tobacco products. It is an example of the concept of harm reduction, a strategy for dealing with the use of drugs. Tobacco smoking is widely acknowledged as a leading cause of illness and death, and reducing smoking is vital to public health.
Flavored tobacco products — tobacco products with added flavorings — include types of cigarettes, cigarillos and cigars, hookahs and hookah tobacco, various types of smokeless tobacco, and more recently electronic cigarettes. Flavored tobacco products are especially popular with youth and have therefore become targets of regulation in several countries.
Michael Christopher Johnston is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th and current mayor of Denver, Colorado. A member of the Democratic Party, he won the 2023 Denver mayoral election, defeating Kelly Brough in the June 6 runoff election.
Proposition 29, the California Cancer Research Act, is a California ballot measure that was defeated by California voters at the statewide election on June 5, 2012.
Regulation of electronic cigarettes varies across countries and states, ranging from no regulation to banning them entirely. As of 2015, around two thirds of major nations have regulated e-cigarettes in some way. A 2023 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that 34 countries had banned the sale of e-cigarettes.
Juul Labs, Inc. is an American electronic cigarette company that spun off from Pax Labs in 2017. The Juul electronic cigarette atomizes nicotine salts derived from tobacco supplied by one-time use cartridges.
The 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Colorado. Incumbent Democratic governor John Hickenlooper was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. The primary election was held on June 26.
Proposition 56 is a California ballot proposition that passed on the November 8, 2016 ballot. It increased the cigarette tax by $2.00 per pack, effective April 1, 2017, with equivalent increases on other tobacco products and electronic cigarettes containing nicotine. The bulk of new revenue is earmarked for Medi-Cal.
A heated tobacco product (HTP) is a tobacco product that heats the tobacco at a lower temperature than conventional cigarettes. These products contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive chemical. The heat generates an aerosol or smoke to be inhaled from the tobacco, which contains nicotine and other chemicals. HTPs may also contain additives not found in tobacco, including flavoring chemicals. HTPs generally heat tobacco to temperatures under 600 °C (1100 °F), a lower temperature than conventional cigarettes.
Yadira D. Caraveo is an American politician and pediatrician serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 8th congressional district since 2023. A Democrat, she is Colorado's first Latina member of Congress.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the eight U.S. representatives from the state of Colorado, one from each of the state's eight congressional districts. The elections coincided with the Colorado gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, elections to the U.S. Senate, and various state and local elections.
Barbara Jean Kirkmeyer is an American politician serving as a member of the Colorado Senate for District 23, which encompasses parts of Weld and Larimer counties in north-central Colorado. She was the Republican nominee for Colorado's 8th congressional district in the 2022 election, losing to Yadira Caraveo in a close race. Kirkmeyer declined to run for the U.S. House in 2024, instead running for re-election.
Colorado Proposition 114 was a ballot measure that was approved in Colorado in the November 2020 elections. It was a proposal to reintroduce the gray wolf back into the state. The proposition was passed with a narrow margin, making Colorado the first US state to pass legislation to reintroduce wildlife.
Timothy Gabriel Joseph Evans is an American politician and former police lieutenant who currently serves as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives representing the 48th District. He is the U.S. Representative-elect for Colorado's 8th Congressional District. The district includes parts of Weld and Adams counties including the communities of Brighton, Lochbuie, Fort Lupton, Todd Creek, and Platteville.
2023 Colorado Proposition II was a successful a ballot measure referred to voters by the Colorado General Assembly regarding the retention of tax revenue collected from the sale of nicotine, tobacco, and vape products in Colorado. The measure requires that 23.65 million dollars the state was obligated to refund to wholesalers and distributors of these products be diverted to fund preschools within the state. On November 7, 2023, Colorado voters approved the proposition with roughly two-thirds of the electorate voting in favor.
2024 Colorado Amendment J is an amendment to the Colorado Constitution that appeared on the general election ballot on November 5, 2024, in Colorado. As it passed, the amendment repealed Amendment 43, a 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the Constitution of Colorado. While Constitutional ballot measures typically require a 55% vote to pass in Colorado, Amendment J only needed a simple majority. This is because the 55% vote threshold only applies to proposed amendments adding to the Constitution, not those which repeal provisions from it.
2024 Colorado Proposition 131 is a proposed ballot measure that will appear before voters in Colorado during the 2024 general election. The citizen initiated proposition would replace Colorado's current partisan primaries with non-partisan blanket primaries and would implement ranked-choice (instant-runoff) voting for most statewide and state legislative general elections in which the top four candidates in the primary would qualify for the general election ballot.
2024 Colorado Proposition 129 is a proposed ballot measure that will appear before voters in Colorado during the 2024 general election. If passed by Colorado voters, the proposition will create a new state license for the position of veterinary professional associate. This would be a new veterinary position in between veterinarians and veterinary technician specialist.
The following is a list of events of the year 2023 in Colorado.
