Supreme Court rules Initiative 16 doesn’t meet single subject rule
In a June 21 press release, Coloradans for Animal Care praised the Colorado Supreme Court for their 7-0 ruling against Initiative 16, determining it did not meet the single subject requirements for a citizen ballot initiative.
“We thank the Supreme Court for their unanimous decision. Dairy production and livestock agriculture is critical to Colorado,” said Chris Kraft, chair of the board of Colorado Dairy Farmers. “We appreciate the decision, and we appreciate those citizens of Colorado who followed our coalition and stood with us in support.”
Coloradans for Animal Care is a coalition of state agriculture leaders. Their organizations have joined together to oppose Initiative 16, a recently introduced 2022 ballot initiative that would ask voters to criminalize commonly accepted veterinary and animal care practices in Colorado. It would also ban the slaughter of livestock that have not yet lived more than one-quarter of their anticipated lifetime, a standard far longer than consumer and foreign markets demand.
The coalition challenged the Title Board’s ruling to approve the initiative for signature collection, claiming it addressed multiple subjects and included inflammatory language. After losing the Title Board challenge, the group appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.
“The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association appreciates and agrees with the Supreme Court’s ruling that Initiative 16 covered multiple subjects and should not advance to the ballot,” said Janie VanWinkle, president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. “We appreciate the coalition and statewide support in opposing this measure. It would take away consumer choice and in the process hurt our environment, economy and the very animals the proponents claimed they wanted to protect.”
“The Colorado Livestock Association is pleased with the unanimous Supreme Court decision which denies the proponents ability to move forward with Initiative 16,” said Dwain Weinrich, president of the Colorado Livestock Association.
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