Legislative Council staff conducted a review and comment hearing for 15 proposed constitutional initiatives (287–301), all filed by the same proponents as an interconnected suite designed to declare Colorado an independent nation, seize federal property, adopt federal law as state law, nullify post-January 20, 2025 federal acts, and establish Colorado citizenship and immigration policy. No votes were taken; the hearing produced extensive technical drafting comments and revealed fundamental constitutional tensions with the Supremacy Clause, the Takings Clause, and multiple other federal constitutional provisions.
+ 11 more actions
Proponent Emerson Sturges argued that by asking what the single subject of each initiative is, staff were implying uncertainty about whether the initiatives satisfy the single subject rule. Staff responded that the single subject question is standard in all review and comment memos as a reference for the Title Board and that staff do not opine on the merits of a measure — that determination belongs exclusively to the Title Board.
+ 3 more controversies
“Each initiative in the group number 287 to number 301 is dependent on the other initiatives. The intent is to make Colorado an independent nation. I initially tried to follow it as file it as one initiative, but the Title board refused to set a title because they said it talked about more than one subject. If Colorado is an independent nation, the United States Constitution does not apply in Colorado.”
+ 3 more quotes
Subscribe to see all key actions, controversies, quotes, and what's next.
Sign in to subscribeOkay. It is Thursday, April 2nd at 1:01pm and we are here for to do the review and comment hearing for proposed initiatives, numbers 287 to 301. If we could just go around introduce ourselves. For the record, I'm Hamza Saeb, Legislative Council staff. Stephanie Schrab from Office of Legislative Legal Services. Sam Anderson, Office of Legislative Legal Services. Emerson Sturges, a proponent and designated representative. Mary Lee Sturgis, a Designated representative. Perfect. Section 1 41051of the Colorado Revised Statutes requires the directors of Legislative Council staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services to review and comment on initiative petitions, proposed laws and amendments to the Colorado Constitution. We hereby submit our comments and questions to you regarding the appended proposed initiative. Apologies. We're starting with measure 287 for the record. 2287 concerning Colorado independence, the proposed the proposal the purpose, excuse me, of the statutory requirement of the directors of Legislative Council staff, the Office of Legislative Legal Services is to provide comments and questions intended to aid designated representatives and the proponents they represent and and determining the language of the proposal and to avail the public of the contents of the proposal. Our first objective is…
Subscribe to unlock the full transcript, summary, and search across all Colorado committee hearings.
Sign in to subscribe