VOTERS REJECT ROAD MEASURES

Transportation Propositions 109 and 110 soundly defeated.

Faced with two very different approaches to tackling the state’s transportation challenges amid a growing population and economy, Colorado voters said the same to both Tuesday: No.

Proposition 109, which would have required the state to borrow money to fix the roads, was defeated as 1,035,591 voters, or 61.1 percent, rejected it with 72 percent of the precincts reporting. Voting for it were 660,500, or 38.9 percent of the voters.

Proposition 110, which would have increased the state sales tax, was defeated by roughly the same, sizable margin. About 60 percent of the voters — 1,022,952 — opposed it, while 40 percent — 681,604 — favored it.

Proposition 109, dubbed “Fix Our Damn Roads” by leading proponent Jon Caldara, would have directed the state to borrow up to $3.5 billion to finance 66 specific highway projects. The total repayment amount, including principal and interest, would have been limited to $5.2 billion over 20 years.

Proposition 110, called “Let’s Go Colorado,” was supported by much of the business community. It called for a sales tax increase that amounted to 6.2 cents on each $10 purchase. It would have raised up to $767 million in the first year and allowed the state to bond up to $6 billion to pay for projects across Colorado.

The revenue raised would have been divided, with 45 percent going to state highways; 20 percent to city transportation needs; 20 percent to county needs; and 15 percent to other modes of transportation. The tax would expire after 20 years.

“Obviously the coalition is disappointed. The voters clearly were in no mood for either approach on transportation, so the transportation challenges that everybody agrees on remain,” said Sean Duffy, spokesman for the Proposition 110 campaign.

However, Caldara was not lamenting the loss of Proposition 109, especially because the other proposal appeared headed for defeat, too.

“The goal of ‘Fix Our Damn Roads’ was to make sure a tax increase for mystery transit projects failed. In that regard, mission accomplished. I couldn’t be more thrilled,” said Caldara, president of the conservativelibertarian Independence Institute.

Critics of Proposition 110 said it amounted to a blank check because it didn’t list specific projects. Caldara argued that the state can address the roughly $9 billion in transportation and highway needs identified by state officials by using the $1 billion-a-year surplus in the state budget.

Duffy rejected the notion that Proposition 110 was a blank check, noting that state transportation commissioners had put together a list of projects in case the sales tax passed.

On the other hand, Duffy and other opponents of Proposition 109 warned that because the measure didn’t identify a way to repay the bonds it required, money for other state services, including schools and health care, would have to be cut to cover the payments.

The measures’ failure likely will trigger the General Assembly’s conditional referral of a ballot question to the November 2019 ballot that asks voters to approve $2.3 billion in bonds for transportation projects.