The Colorado legislature's review and comment body held a statutory hearing on Proposed Initiative 2025-2026, Number 236, 'Concerning Colorado Independence,' which would declare Colorado an independent nation and establish a provisional government. No vote was taken; the hearing concluded with staff raising significant constitutional, implementation, and drafting concerns, and the proponent retaining the ability to amend the submission before proceeding to the title board.
Pierce Lively argued the adoption would not be one-to-one, that things would need to be changed and that would be difficult for the courts to interpret and apply, and that 'this seems to envision this as an automatic process,' questioning how much leeway the General Assembly would have given it is a constitutional direct requirement. Emerson Sturgis countered that the General Assembly would be able to pass bills to resolve the issues that these new laws create.
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“If Colorado is an independent nation, the United States Constitution no longer applies in Colorado.”
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Sign in to subscribeOkay, great. Let's see here. This is the hearing for proposed initiative measure 2025. 2026, number 236 concerning Colorado independence. It is 101 on February 24, 2026, in House Committee Room 0109. If we can go around the table and introduce ourselves. My name is Amanda King and I'm with Legislative Council staff. My name is Pierce Lively with the Office of Legislative Legal Services. My name is Marilee Sturgis. My name is Emerson Sturgis and I'm a proponent and designated representative. Great. Thank you so much. Section 140, 105. PRIN 1 Colorado Revised Statutes requires the directors of the Legislative Council staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services to review and comment on initiative petitions for proposed laws and amendments to Colorado constitution. We hereby submit our comments and questions to you in a memorandum dated February 18, 2026. The purpose of this statutory requirement is of the directors of Legislative Council staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services is to provide comments and questions intended to aid designated representatives and the proponents they represent in determining the language of the proposal and to avail the public of the contents of the proposal. Our first objective is…
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