Pubdate: Sat, 27 Apr 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Ingold
Page: 1A

COULD BILL SEND POT UP IN SMOKE?

The measure is uncertain and disputed, but lawmakers could tie the 
push to a vote on taxes.

A proposal that could lead to the repeal of marijuana legalization in 
Colorado has gained momentum at the state Capitol.

The repeal would be linked to a measure on marijuana taxes that is 
expected to go before voters in November, according to legislators 
and advocacy groups involved in the discussions. The premise is that, 
if voters do not approve the taxes, then Amendment 64, the initiative 
passed just months ago to legalize marijuana, would be repealed. It's 
also possible that voters would be given a choice of repealing 
marijuana legalization if the taxes don't pass.

After only a few days of behind-the-scenes talks, the proposal 
emerged publicly Friday. The leaders of both chambers are receptive 
to the plan.

House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, DDenver, called the plan "worth the 
conversation." "I'm open to it," he said. Senate President John 
Morse, D-Colorado Springs, went even further.

"I am absolutely supportive of the idea," he said.

The leaders' backing is significant since the measure faces a tough 
road out of the legislature. Because it could repeal a constitutional 
amendment, the proposal needs two-thirds support to go before voters. 
It must also navigate through an increasingly acrimonious atmosphere 
at the Capitol with only 12 days left in the session. Just about 
everything surrounding the measure is, for now, uncertain and disputed.

Rep. Frank McNulty, a Highlands Ranch Republican who is involved in 
the repeal talks, said lawmakers who support the idea haven't agreed 
on final language for a repeal proposal. The plan hasn't been 
officially introduced, either.

Rep. Dan Pabon, a Denver Democrat who has been involved in many of 
the discussions on marijuana at the Capitol this year, said the 
repeal idea would undermine good-faith efforts to regulate marijuana.

"I'd hate to see all the hard work we've done to protect public 
safety go to waste," Pabon said.

Tensions over the proposal are also high between supporters of 
marijuana legalization and a group working to restrict pot in 
Colorado. Back-to-back news conferences by the groups outside the 
Capitol on Friday devolved into direct exchanges of heated words 
between advocates on both sides.

"What this comes down to is extortion," Mason Tvert, one of Amendment 
64's authors, said during his news conference. "The proposal to 
repeal Amendment 64 is extortion."

"If the taxes are passed in the fall," said Diane Carlson, a member 
of the marijuana-critical group Smart Colorado, "there should be no 
concern about the repeal. ... I don't see why everybody is so scared 
about being held accountable."

Amendment 64 legalized use and possession of up to an ounce of 
marijuana for people 21 and older in Colorado. It also allows 
marijuana to be sold in specially licensed stores, which could open 
at the start of 2014. Voters approved Amendment 64 in November with 
55 percent support. It garnered more votes in the state than did 
President Barack Obama.

The amendment allows lawmakers to propose up to a 15 percent excise 
tax on marijuana to generate money for school construction, and 
lawmakers have also proposed a 15 percent special sales tax on pot to 
pay for regulation of marijuana stores. The tax proposals, contained 
in House Bill 1318, passed the House Appropriations Committee on 
Friday morning.

Lawmakers have publicly worried about how the tax plan, which could 
generate tens of millions of dollars annually, would fare with 
voters. If voters don't pass the plan, the fear goes, marijuana 
regulations will be underfunded and ineffective.

"Without this measure, we won't be able to implement a model that 
will ensure our communities can be kept safe," Rep. Jonathan Singer, 
the Longmont Democrat sponsoring HB 1318, said during a committee 
hearing Thursday.

McNulty said attaching the taxes to a repeal provision would give 
marijuana advocates "skin in the game" to push for the tax measure. 
Carlson agreed, calling a repeal threat "the only way of ensuring 
there will be tax money to fund the regulatory costs."

But representatives for Smart Colorado sent mixed signals as to 
whether they would urge voters to approve the taxes if they were tied 
to a repeal.

Tvert, meanwhile, said that if lawmakers are worried voters won't 
approve 15 percent excise and sales taxes, the tax proposals should 
be shrunk. He suggested a 10 percent sales tax, and cited a poll 
Amendment 64 backers commissioned that shows 77 percent support in 
Colorado for that level.

Several lawmakers have also suggested the proposed tax rates be lowered.

"I don't think the voters will accept that," Rep. Brian Del Grosso, 
R-Loveland, said during Friday's committee meeting of the 15 percent rate.

Singer, though, said-if voters approve the tax measure-lawmakers can 
ultimately set the rates at lower levels.

"This is our best educated guess on how to proceed," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom