Backers to pull Colorado road funding ballot measure after deal with state lawmakers

Backers of a ballot initiative that would funnel more money into Colorado road maintenance and repair announced that they will withdraw the measure after negotiating a funding strategy with state lawmakers.

The measure, known as Initiative 175, would have created a constitutional amendment to direct taxes and fees related to transportation, such as the 22-cent state gas tax, to physical road construction and maintenance. Democratic lawmakers warned that it would create a massive hole in the state budget by requiring around $540 million per year in transportation spending, jeopardizing funding for services like public education and healthcare.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in a statement highlighted the potential for a compromise transportation ballot measure in a future election, but participants in the negotiations did not detail the provisions of such a measure or the new funding strategy. Restore Our Roads co-chair Jeff Keller said the funding strategy “goes beyond what the ballot measure contemplated” for revenue. Restore Our Roads was the committee that backed the ballot measure and was funded by construction groups.

“It will also prioritize long-needed maintenance and repair to ensure the safety of our roads for all Coloradans,” Keller said in a statement. “Our goal has always been to give Colorado taxpayers a voice in how the taxes and fees they pay for transportation are used. And now they finally will.”

Democrats passed a bill this year to effectively neutralize the measure’s potential impact by lowering the gas tax. Withdrawal of the initiative means the bill will not go into effect. Sponsors of the bill, including Rep. Andy Boesenecker of Fort Collins and Sen. Judy Amabile of Boulder, worked with Weiser, a Democrat who is running for governor, and Restore Our Roads on a transportation funding framework.

“Maintaining Colorado’s roads and bridges is not only right for safety but also prevents Coloradans from spending more time in traffic and more money on car repairs,” Weiser said in a statement. “I’m grateful that the Initiative 175 proponents were willing to collaborate and find a path forward — one that will produce a ballot measure that we can all get behind.”

Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, in a Thursday statement thanked those involved with the compromise and highlighted increased transportation funding during his two terms.

“I am glad to see that through collaboration, state leaders and Restore our Roads were able to come to an agreement that removes Initiative 175 from the ballot and builds on our administration’s historic investments in our roads, highways, bridges, and tunnels,” Polis said. “Legislation written in collaboration with hundreds of stakeholders that I signed is investing more than $600 million in our roads in (fiscal year 2027) alone, and this agreement builds on that good work.”

Colorado voters will likely decide on over 10 ballot questions this November.