Article 18

Miscellaneous

Section 1. Homestead and exemption laws

The general assembly shall pass liberal homestead and exemption laws.

Section 2.  Lotteries prohibited ­ exceptions. (1)  The general assembly shall have no power to authorize lotteries for any purpose; except that the conducting of such games of chance as provided in subsections (2) to (4) of this section shall be lawful on and after January 1, 1959, and the conducting of state­supervised lotteries pursuant to subsection (7) of this section shall be lawful on and after January 1, 1981.

(2)  No game of chance pursuant to this subsection (2) and subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall be conducted by any person, firm, or organization, unless a license as provided for in this subsection (2) has been issued to the firm or organization conducting such games of chance. The secretary of state shall, upon application therefor on such forms as shall be prescribed by the secretary of state and upon the payment of an annual fee as determined by the general assembly, issue a license for the conducting of such games of chance to any bona fide chartered branch or lodge or chapter of a national or state organization or to any bona fide religious, charitable, labor, fraternal, educational, voluntary firemen's or veterans' organization which operates without profit to its members and which has been in existence continuously for a period of five years immediately prior to the making of said application for such license and has had during the entire five­year period a dues­paying membership engaged in carrying out the objects of said corporation or organization, such license to expire at the end of each calendar year in which it was issued.

(3)  The license issued by the secretary of state shall authorize and permit the licensee to conduct games of chance, restricted to the selling of rights to participate and the awarding of prizes in the specific kind of game of chance commonly known as bingo or lotto, in which prizes are awarded on the basis of designated numbers or symbols on a card conforming to numbers or symbols selected at random and in the specific game of chance commonly known as raffles, conducted by the drawing of prizes or by the allotment of prizes by chance.

(4)  Such games of chance shall be subject to the following restrictions:

(a)  The entire net proceeds of any game shall be exclusively devoted to the lawful purposes of organizations permitted to conduct such games.

(b)  No person except a bona fide member of any organization may participate in the management or operation of any such game.

(c)  No person may receive any remuneration or profit for participating in the management or operation of any such game.

(5)  Subsections (2) to (4) of this section are self­enacting, but laws may be enacted supplementary to and in pursuance of, but not contrary to, the provisions thereof.

(6)  The enforcement of this section shall be under such official or department of government of the state of Colorado as the general assembly shall provide.

(7)  Any provision of this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding, the general assembly may establish a state­supervised lottery. Unless otherwise provided by statute, all proceeds from the lottery, after deduction of prizes and expenses, shall be allocated to the conservation trust fund of the state for distribution to municipalities and counties for park, recreation, and open space purposes.

As amended November 4, 1958. (See Laws 1959, p. 867.); as amended November 4, 1980 ­­ Effective upon proclamation of the Governor, December 19, 1980. (See L. 79, p. 1676.)

Section 3.  Arbitration laws. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbitrators, to be appointed by mutual agreement of the parties to any controversy who may choose that mode of adjustment. The powers and duties of such arbitrators shall be as prescribed by law.

Section 4.  Felony defined. The term felony, wherever it may occur in this constitution, or the laws of the state, shall be construed to mean any criminal offense punishable by death or imprisonment in the penitentiary, and none other.

Section 5.  Spurious and drugged liquors ­ laws concerning. The general assembly shall prohibit by law the importation into this state, for the purpose of sale, of any spurious, poisonous or drugged spirituous liquors, or spirituous liquors adulterated with any poisonous or deleterious substance, mixture, or compound; and shall prohibit the compounding or manufacture within this state, except for chemical or mechanical purposes, of any of said liquors, whether they be denominated spirituous, vinous, malt or otherwise; and shall also prohibit the sale of any such liquors to be used as a beverage, and any violation of either of said prohibitions shall be punished by fine and imprisonment. The general assembly shall provide by law for the condemnation and destruction of all spurious, poisonous or drugged liquors herein prohibited.

Section 6.  Preservation of forests. The general assembly shall enact laws in order to prevent the destruction of, and to keep in good preservation, the forests upon the lands of the state, or upon lands of the public domain, the control of which shall be conferred by congress upon the state.

Section 7.  Land value increase ­ arboreal planting exempt. The general assembly may provide that the increase in the value of private lands caused by the planting of hedges, orchards and forests thereon, shall not, for a limited time to be fixed by law, be taken into account in assessing such lands for taxation.

Section 8.  Publication of laws. The general assembly shall provide for the publication of the laws passed at each session thereof.

As amended November 6, 1990 ­­ Effective upon proclamation of the Governor, January 3, 1991. (For the text of this amendment and the votes cast thereon, see L. 90, p. 1862, and L. 91, p. 2033.)

Section 9. Limited gaming permitted. (1) Any provisions of section 2 of this article XVIII or any other provisions of this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding, limited gaming in the City of Central, the City of Black Hawk, and the City of Cripple Creek shall be lawful as of October 1, 1991.

(2) The administration and regulation of this section 9 shall be under an appointed limited gaming control commission, referred to in this section 9 as the commission; said commission to be created under such official or department of government of the state of Colorado as the general assembly shall provide by May 1, 1991. Such official or the director of the department of government shall appoint the commission by July 1, 1991. The commission shall promulgate all necessary rules and regulations relating to the licensing of limited gaming by October 1, 1991, in the manner authorized by statute for the promulgation of administrative rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations shall include the necessary defining of terms that are not otherwise defined.

(3) Limited gaming shall be subject to the following:

(a) Limited gaming shall take place only in the existing Colorado cities of: the City of Central, county of Gilpin, the City of Black Hawk, county of Gilpin, and the City of Cripple Creek, county of Teller. Such limited gaming shall be further confined to the commercial districts of said cities as said districts are respectively defined in the city ordinances adopted by: the City of Central on October 7, 1981, the City of Black Hawk on May 4, 1978, and the City of Cripple Creek on December 3, 1973.

(b) Limited gaming shall only be conducted in structures which conform, as determined by the respective municipal governing bodies, to the architectural styles and designs that were common to the areas prior to World War I and which conform to the requirements of applicable respective city ordinances, regardless of the age of said structures.

(c) No more than thirty­five percent of the square footage of any building and no more than fifty percent of any one floor of such building, may be used for limited gaming.

(d) Limited gaming operations shall be prohibited between the hours of 2:00 o'clock a.m. and 8:00 o'clock a.m.

(e) Limited gaming may occur in establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages.

(4) As certain terms are used in regards to limited gaming:

(a) "Adjusted gross proceeds" means the total amount of all wagers made by players on limited gaming less all payments to players; said payments to players being deemed to include all payments of cash premiums, merchandise, tokens, redeemable game credits, or any other thing of value.

(b) "Limited gaming" means the use of slot machines and the card games of blackjack and poker, each game having a maximum single bet of five dollars.

(c) "Slot machine" means any mechanical, electrical, video, electronic, or other device, contrivance, or machine which, after insertion of a coin, token, or similar object, or upon payment of any required consideration whatsoever by a player, is available to be played or operated, and which, whether by reason of the skill of the player or application of the element of chance, or both, may deliver or entitle the player operating the machine to receive cash premiums, merchandise, tokens, redeemable game credits, or any other thing of value other than unredeemable free games, whether the payoff is made automatically from the machines or in any other manner.

(5) (a) Up to a maximum of forty percent of the adjusted gross proceeds of limited gaming shall be paid by each licensee, in addition to any applicable license fees, for the privilege of conducting limited gaming. Such percentage shall be established annually by the commission according to the criteria established by the general assembly in the implementing legislation to be enacted pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (5). Such payments shall be made into a limited gaming fund that is hereby created in the state treasury.

(b) (I) From the moneys in the limited gaming fund, the state treasurer is hereby authorized to pay all ongoing expenses of the commission and any other state agency, related to the administration of this section 9. Such payment shall be made upon proper presentation of a voucher prepared by the commission in accordance with statutes governing payments of liabilities incurred on behalf of the state. Such payment shall not be conditioned on any appropriation by the general assembly.

(II) At the end of each state fiscal year, the state treasurer shall distribute the balance remaining in the limited gaming fund, except for an amount equal to all expenses of the administration of this section 9 for the preceding two­month period, according to the following guidelines: fifty percent shall be transferred to the state general fund or such other fund as the general assembly shall provide; twenty­eight percent shall be transferred to the state historical fund, which fund is hereby created in the state treasury; twelve percent shall be distributed to the governing bodies of Gilpin county and Teller county in proportion to the gaming revenues generated in each county; the remaining ten percent shall be distributed to the governing bodies of the cities of: the City of Central, the City of Black Hawk, and the City of Cripple Creek in proportion to the gaming revenues generated in each respective city.

(III) Of the moneys in the state historical fund, from which the state treasurer shall also make annual distributions, twenty percent shall be used for the preservation and restoration of the cities of: the City of Central, the City of Black Hawk, and the City of Cripple Creek, and such moneys shall be distributed, to the governing bodies of the respective cities, according to the proportion of the gaming revenues generated in each respective city. The remaining eighty percent in the state historical fund shall be used for the historic preservation and restoration of historical sites and municipalities throughout the state in a manner to be determined by the general assembly.

(c) The general assembly shall enact, amend, or repeal such laws as are necessary to implement the provisions of this section 9, by May 1, 1991.

(d) The general assembly shall make a general fund appropriation to the limited gaming fund, in the form of a loan, to provide the state treasurer sufficient funds to cover any and all organizational and administrative expenses in connection with this section 9, to be effective no later than July 1, 1991. This loan shall be repaid to the general fund by and at the discretion of the state treasurer at the end of any fiscal year, out of the adjusted gross proceeds paid into the limited gaming fund, not sooner than July 1, 1992 and such repayment may be extended to not later than July 1, 1997. Any repayment shall be made before the state treasurer makes any distributions under subparagraph (II) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (5).

(e) The general assembly shall enact provisions for the special licensing of qualifying nonprofit charitable organizations desiring to periodically host charitable gaming activities in licensed gaming establishments.

(f) If any provision of this section 9 is held invalid, the remainder of this section 9 shall remain unimpaired.

(6) Local vote on legality of limited gaming ­ election required. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this subsection (6), limited gaming shall not be lawful within any city, town, or unincorporated portion of a county which has been granted constitutional authority for limited gaming within its boundaries unless first approved by an affirmative vote of a majority of the electors of such city, town, or county voting thereon. The question shall first be submitted to the electors at a general, regular, or special election held within thirteen months after the effective date of the amendment which first adds such city, county, or town to those authorized for limited gaming pursuant to this constitution; and said election shall be conducted pursuant to applicable state or local government election laws.

(b) If approval of limited gaming is not obtained when the question is first submitted to the electors, the question may be submitted at subsequent elections held in accordance with paragraph (d) of this subsection (6); except that, once approval is obtained, limited gaming shall thereafter be lawful within the said city, town, or unincorporated portion of a county so long as the city, town, or county remains among those with constitutional authority for limited gaming within their boundaries.

(c) Nothing contained in this subsection (6) shall be construed to limit the ability of a city, town, or county to regulate the conduct of limited gaming as otherwise authorized by statute or by this constitution.

(d) (I) The question submitted to the electors at any election held pursuant to this subsection (6) shall be phrased in substantially the following form: "Shall limited gaming be lawful within ?"

(II) The failure to acquire approval of limited gaming in the unincorporated portion of a county shall not prevent lawful limited gaming within a city or town located in such county where such approval is acquired in a city or town election, and failure to acquire such approval in a city or town election shall not prevent lawful limited gaming within the unincorporated area of the county in which such city or town is located where such approval is acquired in an election in the unincorporated area of a county.

(III) If approval of limited gaming is not acquired when the question is first submitted in accordance with this subsection (6), the question may be submitted at subsequent elections so long as at least four years have elapsed since any previous election at which the question was submitted.

(e) Nothing contained in this subsection (6) shall be construed to affect the authority granted upon the initial adoption of this section at the 1990 general election, or the conduct and regulation of gaming on Indian reservations pursuant to federal law.

(f) For purposes of this subsection (6), a "city, town, or county" includes all land and buildings located within, or owned and controlled by, such city, town, or county or any political subdivision thereof. "City, town, or county" also includes the city and county of Denver.

Enacted by the People November 6, 1990 ­­ Effective upon proclamation of the Governor, January 3, 1991. (For the text of the initiated measure and the votes cast thereon, see L. 91, p. 2037.); (6) enacted November 3, 1992 ­­ Effective upon proclamation of the Governor, January 14, 1993. (For the text of the amendment and the votes cast thereon, see L. 92, p. 2313 and L. 93, p. 2156.)

Section 9a. U.S. senators and representatives ­ limitations on terms. (1) In order to broaden the opportunities for public service and to assure that members of the United States Congress from Colorado are representative of and responsive to Colorado citizens, no United States Senator from Colorado shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the United States Senate, and no United States Representative from Colorado shall serve more than three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives. This limitation on the number of terms shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1995. Any person appointed or elected to fill a vacancy in the United States Congress and who serves at least one half of a term of office shall be considered to have served a term in that office for purposes of this subsection (1). Terms are considered consecutive unless they are at least four years apart.

(2) The people of Colorado hereby state their support for a nationwide limit of twelve consecutive years of service in the United States Senate and six consecutive years of service in the United States House of Representatives and instruct their public officials to use their best efforts to work for such a limit.

(3) The people of Colorado declare that the provisions of this section shall be deemed severable from the remainder of this measure and that their intention is that federal officials elected from Colorado will continue voluntarily to observe the wishes of the people as stated in this section in the event any provision thereof is held invalid. The severability provisions of Section 10 of Article XVIII of the Colorado Constitution apply to this Section 9a.

Adopted by the People November 6, 1990 ­­ Effective upon proclamation of the Governor, January 3, 1991. (For the text of the initiated measure and the votes cast thereon, see L. 91, p. 2036.) amended by the People November 8, 1994, ­­ Effective upon proclamation of the Governor, January 19, 1995.

Section 10. Severability of constitutional provisions. If any provision of any section of any article in this constitution is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, the remaining provisions are valid unless the court holds that the valid provisions are so essentially and inseparably connected with, and so dependent upon, the void provision that it cannot be presumed the enactment of the valid provisions would have occurred without the void one; or unless the court determines that the valid provisions, standing alone, are incomplete and not capable of being executed.

As enacted November 3, 1992 ­­ Effective upon proclamation of the Governor, January 14, 1993. (For the text of the amendment and the votes cast thereon, see L. 92, p. 2314 and L. 93, p. 2156.)

Section 11. Elected government officials ­ limitation on terms. (1) In order to broaden the opportunities for public service and to assure that elected officials of governments are responsive to the citizens of those governments, no nonjudicial elected official of any county, city and county, city, town, school district, service authority, or any other political subdivision of the State of Colorado, no member of the state board of education, and no elected member of the governing board of a state institution of higher education shall serve more than two consecutive terms in office, except that with respect to terms of office which are two years or shorter in duration, no such elected official shall serve more than three consecutive terms in office. This limitation on the number of terms shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1995. For purposes of this Section 11, terms are considered consecutive unless they are at least four years apart.

(2) The voters of any such political subdivision may lengthen, shorten or eliminate the limitations on terms of office imposed by this Section 11. The voters of the state may lengthen, shorten, or eliminate the limitations on terms of office for the state board of education or the governing board of a state institution of higher education imposed by this Section 11.

(3) The provisions of this Section 11 shall apply to every home rule county, home rule city and county, home rule city and home rule town, notwithstanding any provision of Article XX, or Sections 16 and 17 of Article XIV, of the Colorado Constitution.

As enacted by the people November 8, 1994 ­­ Effective upon proclamation of the Governor, January 19, 1995.

Section 12.Congressional Term Limits Amendment.

(1) CONGRESSIONAL TERM LIMITS AMENDMENT.

The exact language for addition to the United States Constitution follows:

Section 1:No person shall serve in the office of United States Representative for more than three terms, but upon ratification of this amendment no person who has held the office of United States Representative or who then holds the office shall serve for more than two additional terms.

Section 2:No person shall serve in the office of United States Senator for more than two terms, but upon ratification of this amendment no person who has held the office of United States Senator or who then holds the office shall serve for more than one additional term.

Section 3:This amendment shall have no time limit within which it must be ratified to become operative upon the ratification of the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states.

(2) VOTER INSTRUCTION TO STATE LEGISLATORS.

(a) The voters instruct each state legislator to vote to apply for an amendment-proposing convention under Article V of the United States Constitution and to ratify the Congressional Term Limits Amendment when referred to the states.

(b) All election ballots shall have "DISREGARDED VOTER INSTRUCTION ON TERM LIMITS" designated next to the name of each state legislator who fails to comply with the terms of subsection (5)(b).

(c) Said ballot designation shall not appear after the Colorado legislature has made an Article V application that has not been withdrawn and has ratified the Congressional Term Limits Amendment, when proposed.

(3) VOTER INSTRUCTION TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

(a) The voters instruct each member of the congressional delegation to approve the Congressional Term Limits Amendment.

(b) All election ballots shall have "disregarded voter instruction on term limits" designated next to the name of each member of Congress who fails to comply with the terms of subsection (5)(b).

(c) Said ballot designation shall not appear after the Congressional Term Limits Amendment is before the states for ratification.

(4) VOTER INSTRUCTION TO NON-INCUMBENTS.

The words "DECLINED TO TAKE PLEDGE TO SUPPORT TERM LIMITS" shall be designated on all primary and general election ballots next to the names of non-incumbent candidates for United States senator, United States representative, state senator, and state representative who have not signed the pledge to support term limits unless the Colorado legislature has ratified the Congressional Term Limits Amendment.

The pledge shall read:

I pledge to use all my legislative powers to enact the proposed Congressional Term Limits Amendment set forth in Article XVIII, section 12. If elected, I pledge to vote in such a way that the designation "DISREGARDED VOTER INSTRUCTION ON TERM LIMITS" will not appear next to my name.

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Signature of Candidate

(5) DESIGNATION PROCESS.

(a) The Colorado secretary of state shall determine these ballot designations. The ballot designation shall appear unless clear and convincing evidence establishes that the candidate has honored voter instructions or signed the pledge in subsection (4). Challenges to designation or lack of designation shall be filed with the Colorado supreme court within 5 days of the determination and shall be decided within 21 days after filing. Determinations shall be made public 30 days or more before the Colorado secretary of state certifies the ballot.

(b) Non-compliance with voter instruction is demonstrated by any of the following actions with respect to the application or ratification by state legislators, and in the case of members of Congress referring the Congressional Term Limits Amendment for ratification, if the legislator:

(i) fails to vote in favor when brought to a vote;

(ii) fails to second if it lacks one;

(iii) fails to vote in favor of all votes bringing the measure before any committee in which he or she serves;

(iv) fails to propose or otherwise bring to a vote of the full legislative body, if necessary;

(v) fails to vote against any attempt to delay, table or otherwise prevent a vote by the full legislative body or committee;

(vi) fails in any way to ensure that all votes are recorded and made available to the public;

(vii) fails to vote against any change, addition or modification; or

(viii) fails to vote against any amendment with longer limits than the Congressional Term Limits Amendment.

(6) ENFORCEMENT.

Any legal challenge to this section 12 shall be an original action filed with the Colorado supreme court. All terms of this section 12 are severable.

Enacted by the people November 5, 1996 -- Effective upon proclamation of the Governor, December 26, 1996. (For the text of the initiated measure and the votes cast thereon, see Laws 1997, p. 2395.)

Note: The Colorado Supreme Court has declared Section 12 unconstitutional. Morrissey v. State, 951 P.2d 911 (Colo. 1998).