In the Matter of the Title, Ballot Title and Submission Clause for 2009-2010 # 91. Christopher Howes, Objector…

Summary

The court held that Initiative #91 violated Colorado's constitutional single-subject requirement because it combined a beverage-container tax and related water-funding provisions with a separate restriction on the General Assembly's authority over basin roundtables and the interbasin compact committee. It therefore reversed the Title Board's action, directed the Board to strike the title, and ordered the initiative returned to its proponents without reaching the remaining challenges. Justice Coats, dissenting, would have affirmed because the majority identified no evidence of voter deception or improper logrolling, while Justice Eid, joined by Justice Rice, would have treated the moratorium as sufficiently connected to the tax and its administration to form one subject.