Colorado state Sen. Rollie Heath submitted 142,160 signatures Monday for a proposed ballot measure that would increase state income- and sales-tax levels for the next five years to raise roughly $3 billion for K-12 and higher education.
Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s office must verify at least 86,105 valid signatures to put Initiative 25 on the November ballot.
Heath, a Boulder Democrat, said at an afternoon news conference in Denver’s Civic Center Plaza that Initiative 25 is an economic development measure that will ensure Colorado companies can recruit workers from state schools rather than having to go out of state to find a qualified workforce.
He and supporters then wheeled the boxes of petitions two blocks to Gessler’s office in red wagons.
“The fact that we have to recruit from out of state because we have not prepared our own residents is a travesty and a tragedy,” Heath said. “Can there be a better message to send to the rest of the world than that Colorado is truly open for business? I don’t think so.”
Initiative 25 proposes to raise sales- and income-tax rates back to the levels they were at in 1999: 3 percent for state sales tax and 5 percent for individual and corporate income tax. The state sales tax is 2.9 percent currently, while income tax is 4.63 percent.
The money would be earmarked for education in an attempt to help offset recent cuts, including $227.5 million in cuts to K-12 in the current fiscal year’s budget and $36 million in
Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s office must verify at least 86,105 valid signatures to put Initiative 25 on the November ballot.
Heath, a Boulder Democrat, said at an afternoon news conference in Denver’s Civic Center Plaza that Initiative 25 is an economic development measure that will ensure Colorado companies can recruit workers from state schools rather than having to go out of state to find a qualified workforce.
He and supporters then wheeled the boxes of petitions two blocks to Gessler’s office in red wagons.
“The fact that we have to recruit from out of state because we have not prepared our own residents is a travesty and a tragedy,” Heath said. “Can there be a better message to send to the rest of the world than that Colorado is truly open for business? I don’t think so.”
Initiative 25 proposes to raise sales- and income-tax rates back to the levels they were at in 1999: 3 percent for state sales tax and 5 percent for individual and corporate income tax. The state sales tax is 2.9 percent currently, while income tax is 4.63 percent.
The money would be earmarked for education in an attempt to help offset recent cuts, including $227.5 million in cuts to K-12 in the current fiscal year’s budget and $36 million in
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