Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Anti-abortion amendment on fall ballot? Here's an article about a proposal to put an abortion ban on the November ballot, from The Denver Post. The write: An anti-abortion group is working on an initiative that it hopes will eventually ban all abortions in Colorado. The ballot, planned for November 2008, will ask voters to define human life as beginning at conception. "If the state or the federal government ever defined when life began, then the rights of the unborn would be superior to the woman's right to have an abortion," said Mark Meuser of Colorado Equal Rights, who is pushing the constitutional amendment. "If personhood was ever defined, then the case for Roe would collapse." A title board hearing to approve the measure's ballot language is scheduled for today. After a one-week window to appeal the language, the group will begin gathering the 76,000 signatures needed to place it on the ballot, Meuser said... "The proponents of this initiative have certainly been clear that their goal in Colorado is to make abortion illegal," said Lizzy Annison, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. "We believe that a woman's right to control her own fertility is a fundamental human right." In Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote that if "personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed."[...] Focus on the Family officials said they will support the initiative if it makes it to the ballot. There are similar measures taking shape in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, said Carrie Gordon Earll, a spokeswoman with the Colorado Springs- based group. She added that amending the U.S. Constitution has been a goal of the pro-choice movement since 1973. "The state efforts are just a different tactic to that strategy," she said. "It's a fresh and novel approach to the issue." Category: Denver November 2007 Election 7:05:53 AM

Bond issue on November ballot? Here's a look at the bond proposals for the fall ballot from The Denver Post. From the article: Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will release a revamped bond and tax-increase proposal for infrastructure today that cuts nearly $80 million from the most recent plan. The plan scales back funding for a renovation of Boettcher Concert Hall and transportation projects and removes a $20 million project for homeless housing from the bond altogether. The mayor plans to make up the difference on those projects with money generated separate from the bonds. Also new in the mayor's plan is a reconfiguration of the funding package. A task force appointed by the mayor had recommended a property-tax increase and two separate bond packages that expired at different times. Hickenlooper's new plan keeps the property- tax increase and combines the two bonds into a single, $550 million bond that expires in 20 years... The plan must be approved by the City Council before it can go on the ballot. But council President Michael Hancock, who worked with the mayor's staff and Councilwoman Jeanne Robb on the changes, praised the plan as a compromise. "I think there is something for everyone in this bond," Hancock said. "What I think people will see is a greater use of the capacity of our bond and less of an increase in the tax rate." Under the mayor's proposal, a resident with a home valued at $255,000 would pay an additional $12.41 a year for the bond increase. The same resident would pay an additional $49.25 a year for a property-tax increase to fund annual maintenance. To make up funding he removed from the proposal, Hickenlooper said he will look elsewhere. For instance, he plans to fund a $20 million homeless housing project using certificates of participation, allowing the city to use the project as collateral. In theory, the city would pay off debt for the housing with savings it generates in the Human Services budget. Category: Denver November 2007 Election 7:00:40 AM

© Copyright 2007 John Orr. Last update: 8/1/07; 8:22:30 AM.