Referendums

Having looked again at the ballot I've realized that the referendums don't require too much opinion from me. Let's give this a go.

Referendum L
An amendment to section 4 of article V of the constitution of the state of Colorado, concerning the ability of an elector of the state of Colorado who has attained the age of twenty-one years to serve as a member of the Colorado general assembly.

I know what I was like at 21. I would not have been ready for a position in the state legislature and I doubt many 21 year olds would be. I agree the the age of 25 strikes a good balance.

Referendum M
Shall section 7 of article XVIII of the state constitution concerning outdated, obsolete provisions regarding land value increase be repealed?

Article XVIII, Section 7, authorizes the state to delay collection of additional property taxes when a property is improved by the planting of trees. There are, however, no tax breaks that take advantage of this. Nor is there any reason that such a law could not be passed if we wanted to have such a tax break.

Referendum N
Shall there be a repeal of section 5 of article XVIII and article XXII of the state constitution, concerning the elimination of outdated obsolete provisions of the state constitution?

Do we get rid of the law that prohibits saloons? I guess. I doubt we will see a resurgence in them.

Referendum O
Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning ballot initiatives, and, in connection therewith, increasing the number of signatures required for a proposed initiative to amend the state constitution; reducing the number of signatures required for a proposed statutory initiative; requiring a minimum number of signatures for a proposed initiative to amend the state constitution to be gathered from residents of each congressional district in the state; increasing the time allowed to gather signatures for a proposed statutory initiative; modifying the review of initiative petitions; establishing a filing deadline for proposed initiatives to amend the state constitution; and requiring a two-thirds vote of all members elected to each house of the general assembly to amend, repeal, or supersede any law enacted by an initiative for a period of five years after the law becomes effective?

If you have followed this at all, you will notice that I think people who use the citizen's initiative process are generally short-sighted or attempting to serve specific pet projects. Making it easier to propose statutory amendments compared to constitutional ones may help in this regard. I feel that the Colorado constitution has been messed with too much in the last couple of years and people really need to knock it off.