Poll Shows Ritter's Severance Tax Hike on Life Support

Face The State has learned that a proposed ballot initiative being pushed by Gov. Bill Ritter is suffering from a critical lack of public support.

The proposal, currently listed as Initiative 113 by the Secretary of State, would raise taxes on the state's oil and gas industry in an effort to raise revenue for a fund that would contribute to tuition for lower-income college students.

A telephone survey of 802 Colorado voters was conducted by Texas pollster David Hill of Hill Research Consultants May 27 through 29. It shows that just 38 percent of respondents support the proposal, while 44 percent are opposed and 19 percent remain undecided.

According to state Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, the numbers are almost a death sentence for the initiative's backers. "At this stage of the game, you need to be at 58 percent yes if you want to be smart about moving forward," he said.

While the title of the initiative has been approved by the Secretary of State's title setting review board, backers have not yet begun seeking approval of their petition form. To begin gathering signatures, backers would need to have the form approved by the Secretary of State and would then be required to submit more than 76,000 valid signatures by an August 4th deadline.

"It's going to cost them $4 or $5 a signature and they've only got seven weeks to do it," said Jon Caldara, a critic of the proposal and president of the Independence Institute. "It's a nearly impossible task at this point."

The Hill poll was funded by Coloradans For a Stable Economy, a coalition organized to oppose the initiative.

For a full staff report on the poll numbers and the initiative's fate, see Tuesday's Face The State.