Fiscal Impact Statements

Legislative Council Staff prepares fiscal impact statements for all ballot measures, including citizen-initiated measures and measures referred to the voters by the General Assembly. For referred measures, a fiscal note is prepared for the bill or concurrent resolution referring a question to voters during the legislative session. For citizen-initiated measures, a fiscal impact statement is first prepared once a measure is approved for petition circulation. These fiscal impact statements may then be updated during preparation of the Blue Book Voter Guide. Fiscal impact statements for ballot measures provide the following information:

1. An estimate of the effect the measure will have on state and local government revenues, expenditures, taxes, and fiscal liabilities if such measure is enacted;
2. An estimate of the amount of any state and local government recurring expenditures or fiscal liabilities if such measure is enacted; and
3. For any measure that modifies state tax laws, an estimate of the impact to the average taxpayer, if feasible, if such measure is enacted.

In addition, a shorter, preliminary analysis, known as a fiscal summary, is prepared by Legislative Council Staff when initiatives are heard by the Title Board. Additional information about these documents and links to fiscal analyses are provided below.

Section 1-40-105.5, C.R.S. requires Legislative Council Staff to provide fiscal information on citizen-initiated measures. Information is provided in two stages. First, a fiscal summary is prepared for the Title Board. This document briefly describes the fiscal impacts of the measure on the state and local governments, as well as its potential economic impacts. Second, a fiscal impact statement is prepared once the measure has been approved to collect signatures. The fiscal impact statement expands upon information in the fiscal summary, and may include new or updated information. The fiscal summary is available online prior to the Title Board hearing and must be printed on the petitions proponents use to collect signatures. The fiscal impact statement is posted online within 14 days of a petition being approved for circulation.

Proponents and other interested persons may submit fiscal information about proposed initiatives for consideration by Legislative Council Staff (see instructions for submitting fiscal estimates). Legislative Council also solicits and considers information from state agencies and local governments when preparing fiscal impact statements. The fiscal impact statement prepared for the petition phase may be updated for the Blue Book if the measure is certified to appear on the ballot, and if new information becomes available.

The fiscal summary, fiscal impact statement, and any citizen-submitted information for each initiative are available on the Initiatives Filed page.

Pursuant to Section 1-40-124.5, C.R.S., Legislative Council Staff is required to prepare fiscal impact statements for all ballot measures appearing on the ballot during a statewide general election. These analyses are published on the Legislative Council Staff website and summarized in the Blue Book voter guide.