Colorado voters will decide in the Nov. 5 election whether to require the state to set aside $350 million in one-time money for law enforcement next year.
Proposition 130, backed by the conservative advocacy group Advance Colorado, seeks to spend state dollars to improve police pay, recruitment, hiring and training. It comes amid a recent focus on post-pandemic crime levels and four years after local and national police brutality protests sparked broader debates about law enforcement funding.
It’s also one of several ballot measures backed by Advance Colorado this year. On the criminal justice front, the group is also supporting a ballot measure that would require people convicted of certain violent felonies to serve much more of their sentences.
Because the ballot initiative would change state law, it needs a simple majority to pass.
What would Proposition 130 do if passed?
The measure would direct the state to send $350 million to local law enforcement agencies in the form of grants that could be used for several purposes. It also would set up a $1 million benefit to be paid to the surviving family of each officer killed in the line of duty.
The $350 million, once set aside in a fund, could be used to increase police pay, improve hiring or retention bonuses, and provide better training. It also could be used to hire for specific kinds of law enforcement or in certain geographic areas. A limitation is that law enforcement agencies may not be able to rely on those dollars on a recurring basis, only through grants.
Where would the money come from?
Deciding that would be up to the legislature. Prop. 130 doesn’t specify a revenue source — like a new tax or fee — to pay for it, so lawmakers would have to pull the money from elsewhere in the state budget.
It would also have to be new funding for law enforcement, meaning that the legislature couldn’t just take $350 million already set aside for the Colorado Department of Public Safety, slap a Prop. 130 sticker on it and declare the ballot measure satisfied. Colorado’s current fiscal year budget includes about $16 billion in general fund spending.
What do supporters say?
Supporters contend that Prop. 130 would direct needed funding to law enforcement without asking taxpayers to fork over more money in the process, according to the state’s Blue Book voter guide. They also argue that recent legislation has increased regulatory requirements on law enforcement, which — supporters say — has both cost money and hurt police recruitment.
Supporters also point to crime statistics as evidence that additional funding is needed; crime rates are still higher in Colorado than they were before the pandemic, though they have begun to decline and remain below 1990s levels. Backers also argue that the new death benefit would provide needed support for the families of officers who die while serving their communities.
What do opponents say?
Opponents say there’s no evidence to support the suggestion that more money for police would equal safer communities. In an already-tight budget year expected in 2025, lawmakers have warned that they would be forced to make cuts to other government services if they were required to free up $350 million. The money also couldn’t be spent on other public safety efforts, such as hiring social workers or standing up social programs designed to reduce crime.
The measure would mark a significant shift in how law enforcement is funded in Colorado, opponents say, by injecting state funds into what is generally a locally funded service. Opponents also argue that future grant funding would be dependent on the legislature, making it more difficult for local communities to plan for the money in future years.
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