The Colorado Legislature and the Governor of
Colorado are hostile to ballot measures that would
reduce state tax revenue. After several tax reduction
measures nevertheless received a majority of the vote
in Colorado, the Legislature enacted the "Ballot
Measure Fiscal Transparency Act of 2021," which is
codified at Colo. Rev. Stats. § 1-40-106(e). This
legislation targets tax-cut initiatives specifically by
compelling that the ballot title "must begin" with
language stating that the tax cut "will reduce funding
for state expenditures that include but are not limited
to" programs like health and human services
programs, K-12 education, and corrections and
judicial operations. The language must be included in
the ballot title and printed on ballot initiative
petitions circulated by Petitioners, even in cases where
it is demonstrably false.

This petition thus presents the following
questions:

1. Does the government-speech doctrine
completely immunize Colorado's intentional efforts to
undermine Petitioners' ballot measures, by forcing
them to include false and perjorative language on the
petition that they circulate to voters for signatures?

Does the government-speech doctrine immunize state efforts to compel false and pejorative language on ballot initiative petitions that undermine tax reduction measures?