Matters Memo

City of Boulder City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: August 13, 2026 Agenda Title 2026 State/County Ballot Measures

Staff Contact • •

Heather Stauffer, Intergovernmental Affairs Officer, City Manager's Office Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde, City Manager, City Manager’s Office

Executive Summary The purpose of this item is to provide updates and additional information requested by Council regarding 2026 state and county ballot measures qualified, or under consideration, for the November 2026 election. On July 23 the Boulder County Commissioners voted to refer the Boulder County Early Childhood Care and Education Mill Levy Increase and Voter-Approved Revenue Change to the voters. However, the measure will not be assigned a ballot number until the county clerk certifies the ballot on Sept. 4. For the purposes of this memo, the county measure is referred to throughout as the “Boulder County Early Childhood Care and Education Mill Levy Increase and Voter-Approved Revenue Change.” As of Aug. 3, seven statewide measures have qualified for the ballot. Signature petitions were due Aug. 3 for eight additional measures, and the Secretary of State has until Sept. 2 to verify them. This memo covers only those measures that have qualified, appear likely to qualify, or may have a connection to the city's policy statement. All initiatives are listed on the Secretary of State's website.

Each summary lists proponents, opponents, and registered issue committees where they exist. Summaries also note how a measure relates to the City of Boulder's policy statement and whether it could impact city programs or operations.

Questions for Council 1. Are there ballot measures council would like to direct staff to draft resolutions for?

Alignment with City Plans and City Council History Sustainability, Equity and Resilience (SER) Framework and Citywide Strategic Plan Alignment SER Framework Goal Area City of Boulder’s advocacy work is guided by the city’s annual Policy Statement, which is meant to further and align with each of the several SER Framework Goal Areas.

Citywide Strategic Plan As with the SER Framework, the city’s advocacy efforts are guided by the annual Policy Statement, which aligns with and furthers several key priorities within the Citywide Strategic Plan.

Alignment with Additional City Plans City advocacy efforts are guided by the annual Policy Statement on Regional, State and Federal issues. The purpose of the policy statement is to inform city advocacy on policy decisions that, while made outside the city’s jurisdictional authority, have potential to significantly impact the city. This includes legislative decisions by the Colorado General Assembly or the U.S. Congress.

City Council History Council received an update in mid-June that included a briefing on potential ballot measures that could be included on the 2026 state ballot. At that meeting council requested additional information on the potential ballot measures.

Analysis County Ballot Measures Boulder County Early Childhood Care and Education Mill Levy Increase and Voter-Approved Revenue Change Summary: Beginning January 1, 2027 the ballot measure would increase county property taxes by 2.579 mills, generating approximately $30 million annually, to address the shortage and high cost of childcare and preschool for Boulder County families with young children. The net proceeds of the additional mill levy, together with all earnings on the investment of such proceeds, would be deposited in a dedicated fund and expended by the County and with a contracted and qualified community partner (to be determined through a competitive RFP process). The draft ballot measure language identifies priority areas to address with funding including childcare affordability, childcare accessibility and quality, workforce stability, and reducing administrative costs for childcare providers. The ballot measure further exempts the revenue raised from TABOR. Proponents: Brighter Start Boulder County, a coalition of individuals and organizations including the Early Childhood Council of Boulder County, Longmont Community Foundation, Social Venture Partners Boulder County, and the Aspen Center for Child Development, Sister Carmen Community Center, The YMCA, Community Foundation Boulder County, EFAA, YWCA, Wild Plum Center for Young Children & Families, The Family Learning Center, TLC Learning Center, BVEA, Yeya’s Childcare, Treehouse Learning, Alaya Preschool, Rocky Mountain Equality, and WOW! Children's Museum. Opponents: N/A City of Boulder policy statement: 2026 Regional Policy Priorities: Find ways to maintain and then increase funding to nonprofit organizations to provide basic needs services (e.g., health services, childcare, family services and food) that are critical to the well-being of low-income community members in Boulder and throughout the county; each is important, and collectively, they can be indicators for positive mental health. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: N/A

State Ballot Measures Measures Qualified for the Ballot as of Aug. 3 Initiative 85: Penalties for Fentanyl Crimes Summary: If passed, the ballot measure raises felony classifications for distributing, manufacturing, dispensing, selling, or possessing fentanyl and certain synthetic opioids. The measure eliminates “Good Samaritan” protections for distribution offenses, removes drug-possession exemptions from the determination of whether someone is a habitual criminal, and adds mandatory treatment requirements for certain drug felonies. This is a statutory change, which means that if passed, it could be changed through state legislation. It requires a simple majority to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Advance Colorado, the conservative advocacy nonprofit run by Michael Fields, brought the measure forward. Issue committees registered in support with the Secretary of State’s Office also include Brighter Colorado. Opponents: Issue committees registered as opposed are Coloradans for Real Safety Solutions and Vote Common Sense. The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) is opposed and is assembling a broader coalition against Advance Colorado’s criminal justice measures generally. Boulder County opposes the measure. City of Boulder policy statement: 34. Support Criminal Justice Reform: The city supports criminal justice reform that includes, but is not limited to, sentencing and bond reform, mental health care, addiction recovery and dismantling of institutional and systematic biases. Mass incarceration has a disproportionate impact on communities of color, particularly African American males who are significantly overrepresented in prison populations. The city supports initiatives that emphasize restorative justice and treatment over incarceration. Inmates also need to be better integrated into the community upon release. Newly released individuals looking to change their lives face significant barriers to employment and housing. The city supports initiatives that support re-entry for released felons. Criminal behavior often can be the result of mental health conditions. Jails and prisons are not appropriate forums for treatment of mental illness. The city supports initiatives to provide better residential and out-patient treatment for people with mental illness. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: Boulder PD does respond to calls involving fentanyl/synthetic opioids on a regular basis. In 2025, PD responded to about 18 calls identified as overdose/poisoning per month; fentanyl/synthetic opioids were

believed to be involved in around five of those calls per month on average. However, staff cannot anticipate what changes, if any, this initiative would have on the number of calls the city responds to involving fentanyl/synthetic opioids. No other impacts to city programs or operations are expected. Initiative 95: Law Enforcement Reporting to Federal Authorities Summary: If passed, the ballot measure requires Colorado law enforcement to notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when someone who cannot be verified as lawfully present is charged with a violent crime, or with any crime if they have a prior felony conviction. It reverses the limits on sharing personal information for federal immigration enforcement passed at the state level via HB19-1124 and SB25-276. This is a constitutional amendment, which means that if passed, it could only be changed by another vote of the people. It requires 55% to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Advance Colorado brought the measure forward. Issue committees registered in support with the Secretary of State’s Office also include Brighter Colorado. Opponents: Issue committees registered as opposed with the Secretary of State’s Office include Colorado Communities First and Vote Common Sense. The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, the Colorado People’s Alliance, and ACLU of Colorado are opposed. Boulder County opposes the measure. City of Boulder policy statement: 43. Prevent local government mandates to enforce federal immigration laws: The city supports preserving the option for its police officers to enforce federal laws, including federal immigration laws. However, it will vigorously oppose any state or federal legislation that mandates that its police enforce federal immigration laws, especially if they are unfunded mandates or are likely to result in enforcement officers engaging in racial profiling or discrimination based on race, ethnicity or national origin. 44. Prevent the imposition of onerous information gathering and reporting requirements on public safety, especially when those requirements come with substantial costs that are not supported by adequate funding. An example of a reporting requirement that has been imposed on local law enforcement agencies in the past is the state law requiring the arrest of undocumented immigrants to be reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The city would oppose such a requirement. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: If this initiative were to pass, it would change how Boulder PD handles immigration enforcement within the city, impacting both operations and relationships with the community. The measure additionally places an unfunded mandate on the city to enforce federal immigration laws.

Initiative 108: Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor Summary: If passed, the ballot measure expands the definition of child sex trafficking to include buying sexual activity with a minor and makes trafficking a minor for sexual servitude a class 1 felony, up from class 2. The ballot measure further mandates a sentence of life in prison without parole for child sex trafficking convictions. This is a statutory change, which means that if passed, it could be changed through state legislation. It requires a simple majority to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Protect Kids Colorado brought the measure forward. The group’s stated mission is to “mobilize the people of Colorado and the church to engage with biblical and biological truth.” Protect Our Children is also an issue committee registered in support of the measure. Opponents: Vote Common Sense is an issue committee registered as opposed with the Secretary of State’s Office. Boulder County opposes the measure. City of Boulder policy statement: N/A Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: N/A Initiative 109: Male and Female Participation in School Sports Summary: If passed, the ballot measure requires K-12 and college sports teams to be designated male, female, or coeducational, and limits participation to athletes whose biological sex matches the designation. Girls could play on a boys’ team where no female team exists. It also bars a government entity or athletic association from investigating a school over maintaining separate teams for females. The state education commissioner would enforce it. This is a statutory change, which means that if passed, it could be changed through state legislation. It requires a simple majority to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Protect Kids Colorado brought the measure forward. The group’s stated mission is to “mobilize the people of Colorado and the church to engage with biblical and biological truth.” Opponents: Families Not Politics is the issue committee opposed, led by coalition partners One Colorado, Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains, Inside Out Youth Services, Cobalt Advocates, Transgender Law Center, and Rocky Mountain Equality. Boulder County opposes the measure.

City of Boulder policy statement: 24. Human Rights: In alignment with the city's Human Rights Ordinance, the city will support applicable state and federal laws and policies that promote equal access and protect individuals from discrimination based on ancestry, color, creed, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic characteristics, marital status, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, source of income, and age. The city opposes any laws or policies that impose funding limitations or restrictions on programs based on gender, gender identity, or that create barriers to services, condition funding on discriminatory eligibility criteria, or reduce protections below the standards established in the city's Human Rights Ordinance. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: N/A Initiative 110: Prohibit Certain Surgeries on Minors Summary: If passed, the ballot measure bars health care professionals from knowingly performing surgery on a minor to alter biological sex characteristics. It also bars state and federal funding, including Medicaid, from covering those procedures. This is a statutory change, which means that if passed, it could be changed through state legislation. It requires a simple majority to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Protect Kids Colorado brought the measure forward. The group’s stated mission is to “mobilize the people of Colorado and the church to engage with biblical and biological truth.” Opponents: Families Not Politics is the issue committee opposed, led by coalition partners One Colorado, Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains, Inside Out Youth Services, Cobalt Advocates, Transgender Law Center, and Rocky Mountain Equality. Boulder County opposes the measure. City of Boulder policy statement: 24. Human Rights: In alignment with the city's Human Rights Ordinance, the city will support applicable state and federal laws and policies that promote equal access and protect individuals from discrimination based on ancestry, color, creed, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic characteristics, marital status, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, source of income, and age. The city opposes any laws or policies that impose funding limitations or restrictions on programs based on gender, gender identity, or that create barriers to services, condition funding on discriminatory eligibility criteria, or reduce protections below the standards established in the city's Human Rights Ordinance. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: N/A Initiative 175: Restore Our Roads

Summary: If passed, the ballot measure dedicates all sales and use and excise taxes or fees currently imposed on motor vehicles and motor vehicle fuel exclusively to “road transportation.” The definition of “road transportation” includes building and fixing public streets, roads, highways, and bridges designed and primarily used for motor vehicle use, development and improvement of safety measures for motor vehicles traveling on public streets, directly related planning and engineering for road transportation, and costs of the Colorado State Patrol. The measure reduces funding for other state transportation programs including local transportation services, transit, and multimodal programs. The measure is expected to obligate up to $1.02 billion toward road transportation in FY 2026-2027 and up to $2.09 billion in FY 2027-2028, with similar amounts in future years. This is a constitutional amendment, which means that if passed, it could only be changed by another vote of the people. It requires 55% to pass. Should it pass, HB26-1430 was designed to offset the impacts of Initiative 175 on the state budget. If voters pass 175, the law temporarily lowers taxes on fuel, registration fees, road safety surcharges, and road usage fees for four years, which largely cancels out the revenue increase the measure would have produced. If HB26-1430 goes into effect, it will also reduce the amount of funding available to local governments for road transportation. Negotiations with Restore Our Roads are ongoing, and the group has until Sept. 3 to withdraw if a compromise comes together. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Restore Our Roads brought the measure forward. The Colorado Contractors Association formed the issue committee, and the Colorado Construction Industry Coalition supports it. Opponents: Keep Kids First Colorado is the issue committee registered as opposed. In addition, Gov. Polis and House and Senate Democratic leadership have publicly stated their opposition. The Colorado Municipal League has also called for the withdrawal of Initiative 175 but has not taken an official position on the ballot measure. Boulder County opposes the measure. City of Boulder policy statement: 61. Safeguard, increase and prioritize transportation infrastructure funding with a focus on maintenance of existing infrastructure and projects that are multimodal in design and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The city supports safeguarding local, state, and federal transportation revenue sources. This includes, but is not limited to, programs funded by IIJA, IRA, and Colorado SB21-260 enterprise funding, such as the Clean Transit Enterprise, MMOF, and HUTF. The city also supports generating new transportation infrastructure funding tied to road use, including vehicle registration, vehicle weight, car rentals, car shares, retail delivery, gasoline consumption and vehicle miles traveled. It also supports

prioritizing use of these and any other regional, state, or federal transportation funding to maintain existing infrastructure, for projects that are multimodal in design, for travel demand management activities that would increase the efficiency of the existing system, for projects that help increase the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians and for other purposes that would decrease the greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: The passage of Initiative 175 could affect the city’s ability to implement the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) and advance the city’s Vision Zero safety goal to eliminate serious and fatal injury crashes for all road users. The city is prioritizing transportation investments through the Core Arterial Network (CAN) initiative and Vision Zero Action Plan (VZAP), which focus on the corridors where the majority of fatal crashes affecting vulnerable road users occur. These projects are designed as integrated, multimodal improvements to safety, accessibility, and mobility for all users. If Initiative 175 were adopted, restrictions on the use of certain state transportation revenues for roadway-related purposes like roadway and bridge maintenance could limit the city’s ability to fund the multimodal components of these and other projects, requiring additional funding sources, project redesign, or phased implementation and potentially delaying safety improvements on Boulder’s highest-priority corridors. Proposition NN: Public Education Funding; Revenue and Spending Limits Summary: If passed, the ballot measure allows the state to keep and spend revenue above the TABOR cap, raising the cap by roughly what the state spends on K-12, about $4.6 billion. It increases public education spending by 2% a year for 10 years, aimed at teacher pay, retention, class sizes, and career and technical programs. At least half the surplus goes to K-12; the rest goes to a children’s account for preschool and childcare. The fiscal note estimates $136 million to K-12 in year one and $970 million in year two. This is a statutory change, which means that if passed, it could be changed through state legislation. It requires a simple majority to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: The legislature referred this ballot measure with the support of the General Assembly’s Democratic majority. The Colorado Education Association is supporting it. Opponents: The issue committee registered as opposed to Proposition NN is the Your Family’s Future Alliance. The Independence Institute and the Colorado Union of Taxpayers are opposed due to the changes to TABOR. City of Boulder policy statement: 2026 State Policy Priority #3: Protect Essential State Funding. As the state faces increasingly severe budget shortfalls, it is essential

to protect state funding that city projects and priorities rely on, and funding that ensures community members’ basic needs. This includes: Proposition 123 State Affordable Housing Funds, Transportation funding including the Highway Users Tax Fund (HUTF) and funding used to support multimodal transportation projects, PreK-12 education funding, Medicaid funds, GOCO lottery funding, and cigarette tax revenues. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: The measure, if passed, would not impact city programs; however, it would likely provide additional state funding to Boulder Valley School District. Additional revenue funding schools, one of the state’s largest annual budget items, may take some pressure off the rest of the state’s budget, which could free up additional funding for state level programs and grants that the city participates in. Measures Not Yet Qualified The state has until Sept. 2 to review and qualify petitions. Each potential ballot measure needs 124,238 valid signatures, and constitutional amendments also have to include 2% of registered voters in each of the 35 Senate districts. Initiative 177: Right to Natural Gas Summary: If passed, the ballot measure creates a constitutional right for consumers to buy, and producers and utilities to sell, natural gas for cooking and heating in homes and businesses. While the language is unclear, it could constrain state and local efforts to reduce natural gas use and may reach local building codes. This is a constitutional amendment, which means that if passed, it could only be changed by another vote of the people. It requires 55% to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Advance Colorado is the issue committee supporting the measure. Opponents: Accountability for Colorado Communities and Vote Common Sense are registered issue committees opposed to the initiative. Conservation Colorado is also opposed to the measure. Boulder County opposes the measure. City of Boulder policy statement: 6. Reduce emissions from the natural gas sector. The city supports accelerating the transition from natural gas and propane to electricity for residential and commercial building applications, including space and hot water heating, cooking and laundry. The city also supports development of a statewide policy framework and set of actions that promote the adoption of high efficiency and low emission heating and cooling technologies such as electric-driven heat pumps (air and ground source), sustainable biomass energy systems, anaerobic digestion, solar

thermal and other renewable energy-ready systems. These policies should prioritize equity, affordability, and resilience in addition to emissions reductions. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: As part of the 2024 energy code update, the city now requires most new residential and commercial buildings to use electricity, rather than natural gas, for primary space and water heating, with limited exceptions. Although Initiative 177's broad and vague language makes its impacts uncertain, if passed it could undermine the city's authority to require all-electric construction for new buildings and major redevelopments, potentially leading to litigation and requiring significant staff time to revise major sections of the city code. Because the initiative's language is broad and vague, its full effects on all city programs and operations are difficult to predict and would depend largely on how it is interpreted. For example, it’s unclear whether a right to sell natural gas could allow an energy company to condemn city property for a new gas facility, or to what extent the city could be held liable for actions perceived as limiting the sale or use of natural gas. Initiative 195: Graduated Income Tax Summary: If passed, the ballot measure replaces the state's 4.4% flat income tax for both individuals and corporations with graduated rates starting in tax year 2027. Rates would apply as follows: • • • • • •

First $25,000 of taxable income: 3.7% $25,001 to $100,000: 4.2% $100,001 to $500,000: 4.4% $500,001 to $750,000: 7.4% $750,001 to $1 million: 7.9% Over $1 million: 8.4%

The state's nonpartisan legislative council staff estimates the measure could raise around $2 billion per year. The measure directs new revenue to K-12, health care, and early childhood care and education. Removing TABOR's single-rate requirement is a constitutional change. However, the Title Board found that because the measure only repeals part of the state constitution, it requires a simple majority rather than 55% to pass. The rate schedule itself sits in statute, and the legislature can adjust it. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: The Protect Colorado’s Future Coalition is the registered issue committee supporting the measure. Coalition members include the Bell Policy Center, Colorado Fiscal Institute, Colorado PTA, Conservation Colorado, the Colorado Center on Law

and Policy, Counties and Commissioners Acting Together (CCAT), Save the Children Action Network, Provecho Collective, Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, Growing our Future, Great Education Colorado, Hunger Free Colorado, Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, and ProgressNow Colorado. Boulder County supports the measure. Opponents: Keep Colorado Affordable and Brighter Colorado are the issue committees registered as opposed to the measure. Advance Colorado is running Initiative 232, a countermeasure intended to cap the state income tax rate in statute (see below). City of Boulder policy statement: 2026 State Policy Priority #3: Protect Essential State Funding. As the state faces increasingly severe budget shortfalls, it is essential to protect state funding that city projects and priorities rely on, and funding that ensures community members’ basic needs. This includes: Proposition 123 State Affordable Housing Funds, Transportation funding including the Highway Users Tax Fund (HUTF) and funding used to support multimodal transportation projects, PreK-12 education funding, Medicaid funds, GOCO lottery funding, and cigarette tax revenues. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: Allowing the state to retain additional revenue each year in order to fund the state’s largest program costs, including K-12 and healthcare, may take pressure off other state funding currently being used toward funding these programs. In turn, this could lead to more funding being available for state programs or grants in which the city participates. Initiative 232: Income Tax Rate Cap Summary: If passed, the ballot measure caps the state income tax rate at 4.4% of taxable income for both individuals and corporations, beginning in tax year 2027. The measure does not change the current rate, which has been 4.4% since 2022. The measure does not prevent the state from lowering the rate; however, it prevents any future increase above 4.4%. The state’s nonpartisan legislative council staff finds no impact to state or local government revenue or expenditures. Initiative 232 was filed as a direct counter to Initiative 195, and the two measures conflict. This is a statutory change, which means that if passed, it could be changed through state legislation. It requires a simple majority to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Advance Colorado brought the measure forward and is supporting it. Opponents: The Protect Colorado’s Future Coalition, the coalition running Initiative 195, is the organized opposition. Coalition members include the Bell Policy Center, Colorado Fiscal Institute, Colorado PTA, Conservation Colorado, the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, Counties and Commissioners Acting Together (CCAT), Save the

Children Action Network, Provecho Collective, Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, Growing our Future, Great Education Colorado, Hunger Free Colorado, Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, and ProgressNow Colorado. Boulder County opposes the measure. City of Boulder policy statement: 2026 State Policy Priority #3: Protect Essential State Funding. As the state faces increasingly severe budget shortfalls, it is essential to protect state funding that city projects and priorities rely on, and funding that ensures community members’ basic needs. This includes: Proposition 123 State Affordable Housing Funds, Transportation funding including the Highway Users Tax Fund (HUTF) and funding used to support multimodal transportation projects, PreK-12 education funding, Medicaid funds, GOCO lottery funding, and cigarette tax revenues. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: The measure, if passed, would not directly impact city programs or operations. However, capping the income tax rate in statute may limit one of the options available to the state for addressing ongoing budget shortfalls, which could sustain pressure on state programs and grants in which the city participates. Initiative 234: Plain Language Ballot Questions Summary: If passed, the ballot measure adds a provision to Article V of the state constitution requiring ballot questions to be written in plain language at no more than an eighth-grade reading level. It also prohibits a state statute from requiring language that conflicts with those requirements in ballot questions for citizen-initiated measures. Current law directs the Title Board to use accessible language and requires specific fiscal language in the titles of measures that change tax revenue. This is a constitutional amendment, which means that if passed, it could only be changed by another vote of the people. It requires 55% to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Advance Colorado brought the measure forward and is supporting it. Opponents: There is currently no official opposition committee registered with the Secretary of State’s Office. Boulder County opposes the measure. City of Boulder policy statement: N/A Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: If passed, staff does not anticipate that this measure would apply to City of Boulder’s local ballot measures. Initiative 302: Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish

Summary: If passed, the ballot measure establishes a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and take fish and wildlife by traditional methods, and declares hunting and fishing the state’s preferred way to manage wildlife populations. It carves out endangered species, nongame species, and anything illegal to hunt federally. It does not authorize trespassing and leaves Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s regulatory authority intact. This is a constitutional amendment, which means that if passed, it could only be changed by another vote of the people. It requires 55% to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: The T. Roosevelt Conservation Alliance (formerly the Western Heritage Conservation Alliance) is the registered issue committee supporting the measure. Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management is also supporting the measure. Opponents: Protect Colorado’s Constitution is the registered issue committee opposing the measure. Wildlife For All is also opposed to the measure. City of Boulder policy statement: N/A Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: N/A Initiative 308: Designate Sporting Goods Sales Tax Revenue for Conservation Summary: If passed, the ballot measure designates all state sales tax revenue collected from sporting goods and equipment as "wildfire and conservation revenue," exempts it from the TABOR limit, and directs it to conservation and wildfire funds rather than the General Fund. Beginning in FY 2027-28 the measure distributes 47.5% of the revenue to Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), 47.5% to a newly created Colorado Wildfire Prevention and Water Fund, 2.5% to the Outdoor Equity Fund and 2.5% to the Outdoor Recreation Economic Development Cash Fund. The measure is expected to redirect and distribute about $175 million per year, although the total amount may be reduced in years when state revenue falls below the Referendum C cap. This is a statutory change, which means that if passed, it could be changed through state legislation. It requires a simple majority to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Western Resource Advocates brought the measure forward and is supporting it. For Colorado Land and Water is the issue committee supporting the measure. Opponents: There is currently no official opposition committee registered with the Secretary of State’s Office. The Eco-Integrity Alliance is opposed and have raised concerns through The Colorado Smokescreen about the measure’s potential to increase logging activity.

City of Boulder policy statement: 2026 State Policy Priority #3: Protect Essential State Funding. As the state faces increasingly severe budget shortfalls, it is essential to protect state funding that city projects and priorities rely on, and funding that ensures community members' basic needs. This includes: Proposition 123 State Affordable Housing Funds, Transportation funding including the Highway Users Tax Fund (HUTF) and funding used to support multimodal transportation projects, PreK-12 education funding, Medicaid funds, GOCO lottery funding, and cigarette tax revenues. Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: The measure is expected to increase revenue to Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), which would receive 47.5% of the distribution, along with three other conservation and wildfire funds. GOCO provides competitive matching grants to local governments for open lands and parks, and the city has frequently received GOCO funding for parks and open space projects, most recently in 2026 for a grant supporting climbing access and trail management in the Flatirons. The city may benefit from an increase to this fund should it choose to compete for funding in the future. An equal share would go to a newly created Colorado Wildfire Prevention and Water Fund, an estimated $83 million annually for forest health, wildfire mitigation, and water protection work, which could support projects in and around the city. However, the measure also redirects up to $175 million annually away from the state's general fund, which supports other state programs and grants in which the city participates. Initiative 362: Mail Ballot Voter Identification Summary: If passed, the ballot measure adds a section to Article VII of the state constitution requiring a voter, in any federal or statewide election, to sign the selfaffirmation on a returned mail ballot and to include either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their Colorado driver’s license, identification card, or other Colorado identification number meeting federal REAL ID requirements. If the affirmation is incomplete, or an election judge cannot match the information to the statewide voter registration database, the voter must be given an opportunity to correct the discrepancy, including with an alternative form of identification, and the county clerk may not count the ballot until it is corrected. Current law requires a signature on the mail ballot envelope but no additional identifying number. This is a constitutional amendment, which means that if passed, it could only be changed by another vote of the people. It requires 55% to pass. Analysis: Link to nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff Draft Analysis Proponents: Colorado Voter Trust Initiative is the registered issue committee supporting the measure. Opponents: No issue committee has registered with the Secretary of State’s Office opposed. Boulder County opposes the measure.

City of Boulder policy statement: N/A Potential Impacts to City Programs/Operations: If this measure were to pass, city elections coordinated with the county as part of a federal or statewide election would be subject to the requirements.

Anticipated Fiscal and Workplan Impacts At this time, staff cannot predict any impact to the city’s budget as a result of the passage or failure of ballot measures.

Equity Analysis The first policy principle listed in the city’s Policy Statement on Regional, State and Federal issues is Equity, Racial Justice and Social Resilience. When using the policy statement as a guide for intergovernmental affairs efforts, city staff consider equity implications as described in the Policy Statement.

Climate, Resilience, and Sustainability Considerations Climate, resilience, and sustainability are woven throughout the Policy Statement and comprise 13 distinct policy positions under “Climate Change and Community Resilience.” As staff use the Policy Statement throughout the year, climate and sustainability considerations are a key factor in policy analysis and recommendations.

Community Engagement In alignment with past practice, staff do not conduct community engagement when researching ballot measures.

Next Steps for City Council Staff will draft a resolution for ballot measures that council has identified an interest in taking a position on. Council may then consider taking formal positions on state and county ballot measures via resolution at their next regular meeting on August 20.

Digital Accessibility The City of Boulder is committed to digital accessibility. Some content may not be fully accessible due to technical limitations or issues. For alternate formats or accommodations, please visit Accessibility | City of Boulder or contact accessibility@bouldercolorado.gov.

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