Cordero v. Leahy

Summary

The Colorado Supreme Court reviewed Title Board decisions setting titles and ballot title and submission clauses for Initiatives 2013-2014 #90 and #98. The court held that both initiatives presented a single subject concerning expansion of local governments’ authority to regulate oil and gas development more restrictively than state law, and that the titles were clear and not misleading. The court affirmed the Title Board’s actions.

Holdings

1. Initiatives 2013-2014 Nos. 90 and 93 each contain a single subject: expanding local governments' authority to enact laws regulating oil and gas development that are more restrictive than state law.
2. The titles set by the Title Board for Initiatives 2013-2014 Nos. 90 and 93 satisfy the clear-title requirement because they fairly reflect the initiatives' purposes and are not misleading.
3. The plain language of the proposed initiatives does not limit their application to state-owned oil and gas resources; the phrase refers to resources located within Colorado's geographic boundaries.

Questions Presented

1. Whether proposed Initiatives 2013-2014 Nos. 90 and 93 violated Colorado's constitutional and statutory single-subject requirement.
2. Whether the titles for the proposed initiatives were misleading because they omitted the initiatives' definition of oil and gas development or, for Initiative 93, omitted the word "prohibit."
3. Whether the Title Board's removal of the phrase "hydraulic fracturing" from Initiative 90's title rendered that title misleading.

Disposition

affirmed