House Joint Resolution 25-1023
Page 1, Line 101Concerning authorization and direction to the committee on
Page 1, Line 102legal services to retain legal counsel to file a lawsuit
Page 1, Line 103on behalf of the general assembly in state district
Page 1, Line 104court to determine the constitutionality of the
Page 1, Line 105Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, section 20 of article X of the
Page 1, Line 106state constitution.
Page 1, Line 1WHEREAS, The "Enabling Act of Colorado" required the territory
Page 1, Line 2of Colorado to adopt and maintain a constitution that adopted the constitution of the United States and was "republican in form"; and
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Page 1, Line 4WHEREAS, Under the Guarantee Clause of section 4 of article IV
Page 1, Line 5of the United States constitution, "the United States shall guarantee to
Page 1, Line 6every state in this Union a republican form of government"; and
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Page 2, Line 2WHEREAS, The drafters of the United States constitution
Page 2, Line 3envisioned the guarantee of a republican form of government entailing a
Page 2, Line 4representative democracy in which legislative bodies determine policy by enacting laws through deliberation and compromise; and
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Page 2, Line 6WHEREAS, Section 20 of article X of the state constitution
Page 2, Line 7removed fundamental legislative authority and power in matters of
Page 2, Line 8revenue and expenditure from the institutions of representative
Page 2, Line 9democracy, namely, the General Assembly and the policy-making bodies
Page 2, Line 10at all levels of local government, and instead subjected that authority and power to direct democracy, namely, plebiscite; and
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Page 2, Line 12WHEREAS, Section 20 of article X of the state constitution has
Page 2, Line 13removed necessary and essential powers of its representative institutions and so deprived the state of a republican form of government; and
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Page 2, Line 15WHEREAS, It is necessary for the General Assembly to determine
Page 2, Line 16the scope of and protect both its role as a representative institution and the
Page 2, Line 17proper extent of its legislative authority and power in matters of revenue and expenditure; now, therefore,
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Page 2, Line 19Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:
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Page 2, Line 21(1) That, in the judgment of the General Assembly, it is a matter
Page 2, Line 22of extreme importance and critical to protecting the core functions and
Page 2, Line 23interests of the General Assembly to determine whether section 20 of
Page 2, Line 24article X of the state constitution violates the "Enabling Act of Colorado"
Page 2, Line 25and the guarantee of a republican form of government set forth in the
Page 2, Line 26Guarantee Clause of section 4 of article IV of the United States
Page 2, Line 27constitution by nullifying the authority of the General Assembly to assess
Page 2, Line 28taxes and infringing upon the plenary authority of the General Assembly to appropriate money for public purposes; and
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Page 2, Line 30(2) That the General Assembly authorizes and directs the
Page 2, Line 31Committee on Legal Services to engage appropriate legal counsel, which
Page 2, Line 32does not include any law firm or attorney that was counsel of record for
Page 2, Line 33any plaintiff at any stage of the protracted federal court litigation
Page 2, Line 34concerning the constitutionality of section 20 of article X of the state
Page 2, Line 35constitution that was originally filed under the case name Kerr v.
Page 2, Line 36Hickenlooper and finally resolved by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
Page 3, Line 1en banc decision in Kerr v. Polis, 20 F. 4th 686 (10th Cir. 2021) or any
Page 3, Line 2paralegal or other legal support staff person who was employed by any
Page 3, Line 3such law firm or attorney at any stage of that litigation, to file a lawsuit
Page 3, Line 4in the name of the General Assembly in state district court to determine
Page 3, Line 5the constitutionality of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, section 20 of article X of the state constitution.