Amendment 85 (Initiative 234): requiring ballot questions to be written in plain language

Amendment 85 would require ballot questions to be written in plain language at an eighth-grade reading level

Amendment 85 would add a subsection to article V, section 1 of the Colorado Constitution, the section that governs measures initiated by or referred to the people. The filed text is two sentences. The first reads "BALLOT QUESTIONS SHALL BE IN PLAIN LANGUAGE AT NO MORE THAN AN EIGHTH-GRADE READING LEVEL." The second reads "NO STATUTE MAY INTERFERE WITH THIS PROVISION BY MANDATING LANGUAGE PRECEDING, FOLLOWING, OR IN A BALLOT TITLE OF AN INITIATIVE." A no vote leaves the constitution unchanged.

The first sentence applies to “ballot questions” without a qualifier; the second addresses statutory wording requirements in an initiative’s ballot title. The certified ballot title describes the first rule as covering all state and local ballot questions. Legislative reviewers asked whether either sentence would also apply to measures referred by the legislature. At the February 20, 2026 review and comment hearing, a designated representative said they thought the first sentence applies to all ballot questions, and said the second sentence applies only to initiatives.

The second sentence binds statutes. It says no statute may interfere with the plain-language provision by mandating language preceding, following or in the ballot title of an initiative. It does not reach language the constitution itself requires.

Who placed it on the ballot

Amendment 85 qualified for the ballot through the petition process. The review and comment memorandum of February 18, 2026, from Legislative Council Staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services, is addressed to Suzanne Taheri and Michael Fields as the measure's designated representatives. It also covers Initiative 235, which the memorandum says was submitted by the same designated representatives.

The fiscal impact statement estimates no state revenue and no state spending in either year

The fiscal impact statement prepared by Legislative Council Staff and dated May 5, 2026 shows $0 in state revenue, $0 in state expenditures, $0 in transferred funds, no change in TABOR refunds and 0.0 FTE in state staffing in fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27. Colorado issues TABOR refunds when state revenue exceeds the constitutional limit. The single impact the statement lists is "Minimal State Workload".

The work falls on the body that writes ballot titles. The statement says the measure "may minimally increase workload for the Title Board in the Department of State" to "make determinations on the standards for plain language and what constitutes an eighth-grade reading level", and adds: "The Title Board may also have additional work to apply these standards when setting titles for citizen ballot measures."

The earlier February 24, 2026 fiscal summary anticipated possible work for the Title Board, Judicial Department and General Assembly. The May 5 statement discusses only Title Board workload. Its table covers fiscal years 2025–26 and 2026–27, not the amendment’s first two years after the November 2026 election.

The reviewers asked who would decide whether a ballot question meets the standard

The measure does not define plain language, and the proponents did not give a specific definition at the hearing. It does not choose a method for measuring an eighth-grade reading level, identify who would decide whether a question complies, or say when that decision would be made. Legislative reviewers asked the proponents to clarify those points.

A third question goes to the second sentence. The reviewers quoted its words and asked: "How does this interact with the ballot language requirements in article X, section 20 of the Colorado Constitution?" They also noted that "may" is "generally construed as permissive" and asked whether "no statute may interfere" was meant to be permissive or mandatory; the filed text keeps that wording. At the hearing, a designated representative answered, "They're meant to be mandatory," and said they thought the proponents had made that change. The certified text still reads "no statute may interfere".

The measure defines neither plain language nor an eighth-grade reading level, and names no body to apply either standard. The fiscal impact statement expects the Title Board to make those determinations; the text does not say so.

The memorandum also notes that the measure supplies no effective date of its own: "Because the proposed initiatives do not contain an effective date, this would be the default effective date. The hearing recording carries no audible answer to that question."

Statutory wording requirements and the constitution

The amendment would prevent a statute from requiring ballot-title language that interferes with the plain-language standard. TABOR’s own ballot-language requirements are in the constitution. Legislative reviewers asked how the proposed provision would interact with them.

Vote Common Sense’s registration covers nine measures; Brighter Colorado supports six and opposes two. Neither committee’s totals can be attributed to Amendment 85 alone.