K-12 tax plan makes ballot, gets new name

The proposed $950 million education tax proposal was certified for the Nov. 5 statewide ballot Wednesday by the Department of State. Previously known by the temporary name of Initiative 22, the measure now will be titled Amendment 66.

The department found that 89,820 of the 165,710 signatures submitted were valid. The proposal needed 86,105 signatures to make the ballot.

The number of invalid signatures, 75,890, was relatively high, but petitions were circulated during a short, six-week time period. The Amendment 66 campaign committee, Colorado Commits to Kids, used an out-of-state signature-gathering firm, FieldWorks, to circulate most of its petitions. FieldWorks has been paid nearly $800,000.

Asked about the high number of invalid signatures, campaign spokesman Curtis Hubbard only replied, “Our aim was to collect more than 86,105 signatures. We accomplished that goal.”

Get more information about Amendment 66 in the EdNews archives.