Colorado’s biannual direct democracy exercise will see a turning point this year, with voters asked for their input on more than a dozen changes to the state’s laws and constitution. Half of those questions were put to the ballot by state lawmakers and the rest came from interest groups outside the Capitol.

This is how they behaved:

This constitutional amendment would allow increase the number of veterans living with disabilities who benefit from a property tax exemption for part of the value of their main residence. Currently, the so-called homestead exemption was limited to veterans with a completely permanent service-connected disability. If Amendment G passes, it would include veterans with a significant service-connected disability that renders them unable to work, which the Veterans Administration classifies as having “individual unemployability” status. Nonpartisan legislative staff estimate this change would cover approximately 3,400 additional veteran owners.

Lawmakers are asking voters to change the rules governing how Colorado handles misconduct in the judiciary. This amendment would create a new independent judicial disciplinary councilcomposed of judges, lawyers and members of the public. The board will hold disciplinary hearings and hear appeals regarding informal corrective sanctions imposed by the Judicial Discipline Commission.

This constitutional amendment would make First-degree murder suspects cannot be released on bailprovided that prosecutors can demonstrate that they have a sufficiently strong case. Currently, the state constitution says only people charged with “capital offenses” can be denied bail. When the state had the death penalty, it applied to anyone charged with first-degree murder (which was potentially punishable by death). But last year, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that since Colorado eliminated the death penalty, first-degree murder is no longer a capital offense. Changing the Constitution’s language would return the state to the bail practices it had in place before lawmakers repealed the death penalty.

This referred measure would strike the language of the state constitution which says: “Only the union of a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this State.” Colorado voters enshrined a ban on same-sex marriage in the state constitution in 2006.

This constitutional amendment would allow bring forward the deadline for citizen initiatives by one week submit their petition signatures. The same change would also apply to the statement of intent that judges must file if they seek to run for retention. Additionally, it requires nonpartisan research staff to release the official text and titles of ballot measures a month early.

This amendment would be cement the right to legal abortion in the state constitution and prevent future legislatures from passing laws that limit access. It also lifts the ban on public funding of abortion that voters approved 40 years ago. This could allow Colorado to cover more abortions under Medicaid and for state and local governments to add abortion coverage to their employee health insurance plans.

This one-paragraph amendment would enshrine in the state constitution the right of parents to choose the type of education to give their children, from kindergarten through 12th grade, including neighborhood, charter and private schools , homeschooling, open enrollment, and “future innovations in education.” education.”

This initiative would be end mountain lion and bobcat hunting seasons in Coloradoand prohibit the state from allowing lynx hunting (lobcats, which were reintroduced to Colorado in 1999, are still considered endangered by the state). Big cats could still be killed by state or federal employees as part of population management efforts or, with state permission, by ranchers to prevent livestock depreciation. People who accidentally hit an animal with their car would not be penalized.

Under Proposition 128, people convicted of certain offenses would have to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before being eligible for parole or early release for good behavior. This is an increase from current law, which allows inmates to apply for discretionary parole after serving at least three-quarters of their sentence, or even sooner if they have earned time off through to their good conduct during their incarceration. The list of crimes covered includes murder, sexual assault, robbery and serious cases of assault, kidnapping, arson and burglary.

The measure creates a new mid-level position – between a veterinary technician with a two-year associate degree and a veterinarian with eight or more years of training – called a veterinary professional associate, or VPA. VPAs would be individuals with a master’s degree in veterinary care who could diagnose animals, perform routine surgical procedures, and order and perform tests and procedures under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.

This measure would require the state government to set aside $350 million in a fund dedicated to law enforcement. The money would be used to provide grants to local departments to help them recruit, train and retain officers, as well as provide a new $1 million death benefit to families of law enforcement officers killed on the job .

How Colorado Conducts Its Federal and State Elections change in two significant ways as part of this initiative:

• No more party primaries: Instead of letting each party choose its own candidate for the general election, all qualified candidates in a given race would be placed on the same primary ballot. The top four vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, would advance to the general election.
• Ranked-choice voting for the general election: Before the November election, voters would receive a ballot listing all four candidates. Instead of selecting just one, voters would rank some or all of them in order of preference. All voters’ rankings would be combined in a mathematical process to determine the winner. This version of ranked-choice voting is also known as “instant runoff voting.”

This would allow Colorado to retain and spend all tax revenue it collects from sports betting. When voters approved sports betting five years ago, the state estimated it would bring in about $29 million in tax revenue each year. However, state economists now estimate that the 10 percent tax on betting operations will bring in far more than that in coming years. The extra money would go toward water conservation and protection projects.

This proposal would require a new 6.5 percent excise tax on gun and ammunition saleswith money raised from the tax going toward behavioral health supports for veterans and youth, as well as school safety and gun violence prevention programs and services for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes.