2016 Ballot Measures
Intro
Our Board of Directors has adopted the following positions on ballot measures before voters in the 2016 General Election:
Support
Amendment 72, Increase Tobacco Tax
This measure would raise money for critical unmet health needs for all Coloradans, especially those most impacted by tobacco use. It will also fully fund tobacco education programs to reduce smoking, particularly among young people, and discourage the use of tobacco by young Coloradans.
More InfoAmendment 70, Increase Minimum Wage
Decades of research show that children who experience poverty are more likely to have health problems, more likely to start school at a disadvantage, less likely to graduate high school on time and more likely to live in poverty as an adult. Unfortunately, poverty and the challenges that often accompany it—a lack of access to healthy foods, crowded or substandard housing and high levels of stress, for example—are preventing too many Colorado children from being able to reach their goals. The Colorado Children’s Campaign Board of Directors and staff support Amendment 70, which would gradually increase the minimum wage $12 per hour, because it would raise the incomes of thousands of families living in poverty and enable them to access more opportunity for their children.
More InfoColorado Priorities, Revenue for Education (Removed from Ballot):
Leaders of an effort to direct more state revenue to education, transportation and other priorities decided to withdraw the proposal from the fall ballot. The Colorado Priorities campaign said in a statement that competition for financial support and a crowded primary election ballot were behind the decision to withdraw the measure. If approved by voters, the measure would have allowed the state to spend certain revenue on important services like education, rather than return the money to tax payers as rebates. The Colorado Children’s Campaign Board of Directors had endorsed the measure and we remain committed to ensuring investments in Colorado kids are a priority.
Oppose
Amendment 69, ColoradoCare
While providing a noble vision for Colorado’s health care system, ColoradoCare lacks the details necessary to provide a reasonable chance of success at improving health care for Colorado’s kids. The amendment insufficiently contemplates the details of the federal waiver process, does not address interaction with the most common type of employer-sponsored health coverage, and lacks financial and political stability.
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