Colorado Public Radio’s Bente Birkeland reports that Democrats at the state Capitol plan to introduce a bill aimed at neutralizing Initiative 175, a proposed ballot measure backed by the Colorado Contractors Association that would require state revenue collected to support roads and transportation to actually be spent on roads and transportation. What a scandal. Tax money collected around transportation being spent on transportation. Somebody fetch the smelling salts under the gold dome.
Initiative 175 has not even made the ballot yet. Its language is still awaiting approval, and supporters still have to gather signatures. But Democrats are already panicking hard enough to rush in an 11th-hour bill that would reduce gas taxes and transportation fees if voters pass 175, making the measure revenue-neutral and stripping away the very road funding voters may choose to prioritize. That is not representative government. That is preemptive voter suppression with a fiscal note.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Initiative 175 would require state revenue collected to support roads and transportation to be spent on roads and transportation. In normal-person language: use road money on roads. Apparently, this is now a revolutionary act.
- Supporters estimate the measure would direct about $700 million annually toward roads, with Colorado Contractors Association President Tony Milo calling it a modest proposal that dedicates just 2% of the state budget to road repair and maintenance without raising taxes. Democrats heard “road repair” and reacted like someone released a bat in the Senate chamber.
- The Democrat-backed counter-bill would reduce the excise tax on gas and special fuel, along with transportation fees like road usage fees and registration fees, but only if Initiative 175 passes. Translation: if voters tell lawmakers to fund roads, lawmakers will immediately move the money jar.
- Rep. Emily Sirota called Initiative 175 “irresponsible and selfish” and said the contractors left Democrats no choice. Nothing says “we respect voters” like blaming road builders for wanting roads built.
- Grand Junction Mayor Cody Kennedy, an initiative supporter, said the new bill inserts the will of legislators over the will of voters. That is the whole game right there. The people may get a ballot, but the gold dome wants a veto hiding in the bushes.
My Bottom Line
This is the kind of Democrat nonsense that infuriates normal people. Initiative 175 has not qualified for the ballot yet. Backers are still gathering signatures. But because the idea appears popular, Democrats are already trying to kneecap it before voters even get a say.
And why is it popular? Because people drive on roads. Wild concept. They hit potholes. They sit in traffic. They watch transportation money disappear into the government fog machine while the political class talks lovingly about buses, trains, bike lanes, studies, equity frameworks, and whatever else can be stapled to a press release. Meanwhile, actual roads sit there looking like they were maintained by raccoons with a grant application.
Initiative 175 says money collected from automobile repairs and related transportation sources should go toward the repair and expansion of roadways. A reliable funding source for actual roads. That is what people want. But Democrats under the gold dome shudder at the thought of being told to build and maintain roads instead of indulging their preferred transit fantasies. Buses and trains and bike lanes, oh my.
They will cry foul and say this will devastate the budget. No, it will force priorities. That is what budgeting is. It will force lawmakers to spend money where the people told them to spend it. That is why they hate it. Not because the sky will fall, but because the peasants may have found the thermostat.
So in the final scramble of the legislative session, here comes a bill designed to counter the will of the people if 175 passes. That is disgusting. Democrats under the gold dome are showing voters exactly who they are. They do not care what you want. They do not care what you vote for. They have no intention of listening unless you tell them to do what they already planned. The great suburban normie had better wake the hell up, because this one is not subtle.
Source: Colorado Public Radio
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