Kim MonsonKim Monson · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
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Proposition
133
Initiative 108
On the November 2026 ballot

Proposition 133 (Initiative 108): life in prison without parole or release for human trafficking of a minor

Proposition 133 would make human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude punishable by life in prison without parole or release. It would also make knowingly trading anything of monetary value to buy or sell sexual activity with a minor a way to commit the offense. The governor would retain the authority to grant a pardon, commutation or clemency.
Kim's recommendation
YES
Kim's recommendation
YES
Vote Yes on Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor
Kim's Reasoning:

Colorado’s children are not for sale. It is egregious to buy or sell a child for sex, therefore I support life in prison without parole or release for such individuals. VOTE YES ON PENALTIES FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING OF A MINOR.

Kim Monson
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
Certified ballot title

Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes modifying existing law concerning human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, and, in connection therewith, creating new law expanding human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude to include knowingly trading anything of monetary value to buy or sell sexual activity with a minor and increasing the penalty to be life in prison without parole or release?

A yes vote means

Knowingly trading anything of monetary value to buy or sell sexual activity with a minor becomes a way to commit human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude. The offense becomes a class 1 felony punishable by life in prison without parole or release. The governor retains pardon, commutation and clemency authority. The changes apply to offenses committed on or after January 1, 2027.

A no vote means

Human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude remains a class 2 felony.

Key facts
Takes effect
January 1, 2027
Applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
Estimated state cost
$0 initially
Fiscal year 2026–27. The 2026 Blue Book estimates added prison costs of about $180,000 in 2041–42, $360,000 in 2042–43 and $540,000 in 2043–44, growing by about $180,000 annually for several years. These estimates are not adjusted for inflation.
Convictions assumed
About 3 a year
Fiscal estimate based on eight convictions from fiscal years 2022–23 through 2024–25.
Sunset

The measure has no expiration date. It would take effect on January 1, 2027, and apply to offenses committed on or after that date.

TABOR treatment

The measure sets no tax, rate or fee. Table 1 of the fiscal impact statement shows no change in TABOR refunds in FY 2026-27, FY 2041-42 or FY 2042-43. Colorado refunds revenue to taxpayers when state revenue exceeds the constitutional limit, and the measure changes nothing about how much revenue the state collects.

Cost signal

Table 1 of the fiscal impact statement shows $0 in state revenue, $0 in state expenditures, $0 in transferred funds and 0.0 FTE in FY 2026-27, then $50,000 in General Fund spending in FY 2041-42 and $100,000 in FY 2042-43.

The measure01

Life without parole and an expanded definition of trafficking

Proposition 133 would amend Colorado’s law on human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, section 18-3-504 of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

The measure adds a third way of committing the offense. Existing law reaches making a minor available for commercial sexual activity, and selling travel services that facilitate it. The new paragraph reaches a person who "KNOWINGLY TRADES ANYTHING OF MONETARY VALUE TO BUY OR SELL SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH A MINOR."

The measure would require life in prison without parole or release for the offense as a whole. That sentence would apply to the added conduct and to the two ways of committing the offense already covered by the statute.

Two shorter provisions follow. Subsection (5) reads "NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL LIMIT A GOVERNOR’S STANDING AUTHORITY OF PARDON, COMMUTATION, OR CLEMENCY." Subsection (6) gives the section the short title "CHILDREN ARE NOT FOR SALE ACT". A legislative declaration, not written into the statutes, states the proponents' reasons: "Current penalties in Colorado law with parole possible in as little as eight years have failed to adequately deter the human trafficking of minor children" and "It is the measure of a fair and compassionate society to ensure that children are not for sale." A no vote leaves section 18-3-504 as it reads now.

Proposition 133 qualified for the ballot through the petition process. The Title Board set the titles at a hearing on August 6, 2025, recording "Single subject approved; staff draft amended; titles set." Petitions were submitted on February 17, 2026, and the Secretary of State recorded a statement of sufficiency on March 5, 2026. The review and comment memorandum of July 11, 2025, from Legislative Council Staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services, is addressed to Michele Austin and Erin Lee as the measure's designated representatives.

The Title Board's results page says the caption "Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor" was applied "by legislative staff for tracking purposes" and is "not part of the titles set by the Board."

Who placed it on the ballot

Proposition 133 qualified for the ballot through the petition process. The review and comment memorandum of July 11, 2025, from Legislative Council Staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services, is addressed to Michele Austin and Erin Lee as the measure's designated representatives. The Title Board set the titles on August 6, 2025, and the Secretary of State recorded a statement of sufficiency on March 5, 2026.

Changes to the sentencing paragraph

(b) Human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude is a class 1 felony. The court shall sentence a person convicted of such a class 1 felony to the department of corrections for a term of LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE OR RELEASE, as set forth in section 18-1.3-401.

Small capitals show additions; strikethrough shows deletions. The measure changes the offense from a class 2 felony to a class 1 felony and requires life in prison without parole or release.
Text of Initiative 108, section 18-3-504 (2)(b).
The governor would retain clemency authority

Subsection (5), which the measure adds to section 18-3-504, reads in full:

NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL LIMIT A GOVERNOR’S STANDING AUTHORITY OF PARDON, COMMUTATION, OR CLEMENCY.

The ballot title describes the measure as "increasing the penalty to be life in prison without parole or release".

Text of Initiative 108, section 18-3-504 (5); ballot title as designated and fixed by the Title Board, August 6, 2025.
The name the measure gives itself and the conduct it adds
CHILDREN ARE NOT FOR SALE ACT
The short title the measure gives section 18-3-504, at subsection (6)
KNOWINGLY TRADES ANYTHING OF MONETARY VALUE TO BUY OR SELL SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH A MINOR.
The third way of committing the offense, added at subsection (2)(a)(III)
Text of Initiative 108, section 18-3-504 (6) and (2)(a)(III).
The money02

Added prison costs would begin around 2041

Table 1 of the fiscal impact statement, prepared by Legislative Council Staff and dated September 2, 2025, shows $0 in state revenue, $0 in state expenditures, $0 in transferred funds, no change in TABOR refunds and 0.0 FTE in FY 2026-27.

The added cost would begin when people convicted under the new law would otherwise have left prison under the current sentencing rules. The note says "The measure increases state expenditures in the DOC beginning in about 15 years, or around FY 2041-42, based on current sentencing patterns." Table 1 shows $50,000 in General Fund spending in FY 2041-42 and $100,000 in FY 2042-43, and the note says the cost "will compound each year by an additional $50,000 as more offenders remain incarcerated instead of being released." Table 1's estimates cover FY 2026-27, FY 2041-42 and FY 2042-43.

The earlier fiscal summary of August 4, 2025 put the start a year sooner, saying the increase begins "in about 14 years, based on current sentencing patterns", and adding that "Costs for medical care will also increase from keeping offenders in prison longer." The September 2 statement is the full fiscal impact statement; it names FY 2041-42, and its State Expenditures section does not mention medical care. Both documents say county workload will rise: "Workload will minimally increase for district attorneys to prosecute longer cases with enhanced penalties."

The two fiscal documents

The fiscal summary of August 4, 2025 said the added prison cost begins in about 14 years and that medical care costs would also rise. The fiscal impact statement of September 2, 2025 puts the start at about 15 years, or around FY 2041-42, and does not mention medical care.

The effective date and the start of the state cost
January 1, 2027The measure takes effect, applying to offenses committed on or after that date.Text of Initiative 108, section 3
FY 2026-27Table 1 of the fiscal impact statement shows $0 in state revenue, $0 in state expenditures, $0 in transferred funds, no change in TABOR refunds and 0.0 FTE.Fiscal impact statement, Table 1
FY 2041-42$50,000 in General Fund spending. The statement says "The measure increases state expenditures in the DOC beginning in about 15 years, or around FY 2041-42, based on current sentencing patterns."Fiscal impact statement, Table 1 and State Expenditures
FY 2042-43$100,000 in General Fund spending. This is the last year Table 1 estimates.Fiscal impact statement, Table 1
After FY 2042-43The statement says the cost "will compound each year by an additional $50,000 as more offenders remain incarcerated instead of being released", and that costs reach an equilibrium once life sentences begin ending.Fiscal impact statement, State Expenditures
The fiscal estimate assumes about three convictions a year. Added costs would begin around fiscal year 2041–42, when people sentenced under the new law would otherwise have been released on parole under current sentencing rules.
Text of Initiative 108, section 3; Legislative Council Staff fiscal impact statement, September 2, 2025, Table 1 and State Expenditures.
Measure provisions03

The felony class moves from 2 to 1

The measure would raise human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude from a class 2 felony to a class 1 felony. It would replace the existing sentencing requirement with life in prison without parole or release. The fiscal impact statement and legislative review memorandum confirm the change in felony class.

Dates and figures for Proposition 133
Effective dateJanuary 1, 2027, for offenses committed on or after that dateText of Initiative 108, section 3
Petition submittedFebruary 17, 2026Secretary of State
Statement of sufficiencyMarch 5, 2026Secretary of State
Felony class todayclass 2 felonyFiscal impact statement, September 2, 2025
Felony class under the measureclass 1 felony, life in prison without parole or releaseText of Initiative 108 and the fiscal impact statement, September 2, 2025
Convictions from FY 2022-23 through FY 2024-25eight people, roughly three a yearFiscal impact statement, September 2, 2025
State spending, FY 2026-27$0Fiscal impact statement, Table 1
State spending, FY 2041-42$50,000 from the General FundFiscal impact statement, Table 1
State spending, FY 2042-43$100,000 from the General FundFiscal impact statement, Table 1
State revenue$0 in each of the three years estimatedFiscal impact statement, Table 1
Change in TABOR refunds$0 in each of the three years estimatedFiscal impact statement, Table 1
Change in state staff0.0 FTE in each of the three years estimatedFiscal impact statement, Table 1
The fiscal impact statement gives the conviction figure as "From FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25, eight persons have been convicted and sentenced for this offense, roughly three per year." and says of the added element that "Although the measure adds an element to the existing offense, this analysis assumes this will not lead to an increase in criminal case filings or convictions."
Legislative Council Staff fiscal impact statement, September 2, 2025; text of Initiative 108; the Secretary of State's initiative status page.

About three people a year are convicted of this offense

The fiscal note reports the conviction record: "From FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25, eight persons have been convicted and sentenced for this offense, roughly three per year."

It also gives what the change would do to time served. The average stay in prison for a class 2 felony is "about 15 years with an average parole length of stay of about 3 years", and for a class 1 felony "40 years, with no parole." The note says the measure "increases the average stay in prison by about 25 years for the assumed 3 offenders sentenced per year."

The note does not expect the added conduct to produce more convictions: "Although the measure adds an element to the existing offense, this analysis assumes this will not lead to an increase in criminal case filings or convictions". It adds that "Filing criminal charges is at the discretion of district attorneys and also depends on the exact fact pattern of cases."

Words used in the measure and the fiscal impact statement
Class 1 felonyThe felony class the measure would give the offense; the fiscal impact statement says the measure "clarifies that the statutory penalty of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for other class 1 felonies applies to this offense" and puts the average time served at 40 years, with no parole.
Class 2 felonyThe felony class the offense carries today; the fiscal impact statement puts the average time served at about 15 years, followed by an average of about 3 years on parole.
Presumptive rangeThe range of prison terms set for a felony class in section 18-1.3-401 of the Colorado Revised Statutes; the measure strikes the direction to sentence for "at least the minimum of the presumptive range for a class 2 felony" and writes the life sentence in its place.
ParoleSupervised release after a term in prison; the fiscal impact statement gives the average parole length of stay after a class 2 felony as about 3 years and says a class 1 felony carries no parole.
Commutation and clemencyA governor's authority to reduce or set aside a criminal sentence, which the measure addresses in subsection (5): "NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL LIMIT A GOVERNOR’S STANDING AUTHORITY OF PARDON, COMMUTATION, OR CLEMENCY."
Legislative declarationThe findings a measure states at its front, in the proponents' words and outside the statutes it amends; Proposition 133's says current penalties "have failed to adequately deter the human trafficking of minor children".
Designated representativesThe people who file an initiative petition and to whom Legislative Council Staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services address their review and comment memorandum; for Initiative 108 the memorandum of July 11, 2025 is addressed to Michele Austin and Erin Lee.
Text of Initiative 108; Legislative Council Staff fiscal impact statement, September 2, 2025; review and comment memorandum, July 11, 2025.
Prison and parole assumptions in the fiscal estimate
Felony classAverage length of stay in prisonParole
Todayclass 2 felonyabout 15 yearsan average of about 3 years after release
Under Proposition 133class 1 felony40 yearsnone
The fiscal estimate uses Department of Corrections averages of about 15 years in prison and three years on parole for a class 2 felony, and 40 years in prison with no parole for a class 1 felony. These are cost-estimate assumptions, not sentences a court would impose. The measure requires life in prison without parole or release while preserving the governor’s pardon, commutation and clemency authority.
Text of Initiative 108, section 18-3-504 (2)(b); Legislative Council Staff fiscal impact statement, September 2, 2025.
The committees' organization money by source
Protect Kids Colorado reports $61,259 from organizations in 15 filings. The largest: Pikes Peak Citizens for Life $19,000 in 2 filings; Protect Kids Colorado, 501(c)4 $17,000 in 3 filings; Truth and Liberty Foundation $10,000. Because its registration covers three measures, none of these amounts can be attributed to Proposition 133 alone.
Vote Common Sense reports $395,000 from organizations in 9 filings. The largest: Green Advocacy Project $200,000; Coloradans for Real Safety Solutions $50,000; Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Action Fund $50,000. Because its registration covers several measures, none of these amounts can be attributed to Proposition 133 alone.
The filings record no organization contributions to People for a Fair Colorado. Contributions from individuals are outside this view.
TRACER filing, October 3, 2026.

Possible overlap with existing child-prostitution offenses

The July 11 memorandum put questions to the designated representatives. Existing law, at section 18-7-406 (1)(a) of the Colorado Revised Statutes, prohibits patronizing a prostituted child, conduct that can involve sexual activity with a child "in exchange for money or other thing of value." The memorandum states that "Patronizing a prostituted child is a class 3 felony", and asks whether the measure's new element would "prohibit the same conduct as the patronizing a prostituted child statute". It also asks "What is the single subject of the proposed initiative?"

The reviewers also asked whether the new provision would change the mental state required for an offense. Existing law separately prohibits entering or remaining in a place of prostitution with intent to engage in child prostitution; the measure’s new provision uses “knowingly.”

Protect Kids Colorado’s registration covers Propositions 133, 134 and 135 (Initiatives 108, 109 and 110). Vote Common Sense’s registration covers nine measures: Initiatives 85, 95, 108, 109, 110, 177, 232, 234 and 362. Neither committee’s totals can be attributed to Proposition 133 alone.

Michele Austin and Erin Lee are the measure's designated representatives
Designated representativesMichele Austin and Erin Lee
Named inThe review and comment memorandum of July 11, 2025 from Legislative Council Staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services
Path to the ballotThe Title Board set the titles on August 6, 2025, recording "Single subject approved; staff draft amended; titles set." Petitions were submitted on February 17, 2026, and the Secretary of State recorded a statement of sufficiency on March 5, 2026.
Also named forInitiatives 109 and 110, whose review and comment memoranda of July 10 and July 11, 2025 are addressed to the same two representatives.
Review and comment memorandum, July 11, 2025; Title Board results for Initiative 108, August 6, 2025; the Secretary of State's initiative status page.
Two questions the legislature's reviewers put to the proponents about the new element
Overlap with an existing class 3 felonyThe memorandum of July 11, 2025 states that existing law, at section 18-7-406 (1)(a) of the Colorado Revised Statutes, prohibits patronizing a prostituted child, conduct that can involve sexual activity with a child "in exchange for money or other thing of value." It states that "Patronizing a prostituted child is a class 3 felony." and asks: "Does the change in the proposed initiative, adding knowingly trading anything of monetary value to buy or sell sexual activity with a minor as a means of committing human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, prohibit the same conduct as the patronizing a prostituted child statute?"
The mental state requiredOn section 18-7-406 (1)(b) the memorandum states that "Patronizing a prostituted child under this subsection requires acting with intent." and asks: "Is your goal to change the mental culpability required to commit an offense related to patronizing a prostituted child?"
Review and comment memorandum, July 11, 2025, substantive comments 2 and 3.
Campaign support and opposition04
For
Against
TRACER filing, October 7, 2026
From the show05
Show coverage
September 29, 2026Propositions 133 to 135, Data Center Incentives, Fall Driving Hazards and State Farm's Dividend Listen from 1:17:42
September 29, 2026The Kim Monson Show, September 29, 2026: Erin Lee, Susan Kochevar, Roger Mangan, and Jon Boesen Listen from 1:17:42
September 11, 2026North Tower Survivor Describes 90 Minutes on the Stairs From the 49th Floor Listen from 1:12:35
August 18, 2026An OpenAI Model Breaches Hugging Face, Corporate Money Against Protect Kids Colorado, and California’s Electric Vehicle Push Listen to the episode
August 14, 2026Douglas County’s Collective Bargaining Question, a 628-Name Candidate Pledge, and the American System Listen from 19:14
June 23, 2026Salvage Yard Fires, a Colorado Boulevard Bus Plan, and Dark Money in the Primaries Listen from 1:47:20
May 12, 2026Supreme Court Final Weeks, the Legislature’s Last Day, and a Prairie Land Grab Listen from 37:39
May 5, 2026Classical Education Returns, the SPLC Hate Group Racket, and Prairie Property Rights Listen from 21:23
April 14, 2026Chiles v. Salazar Ends Colorado’s Therapy Speech Law, Protect Kids Colorado Readies Three Ballot Initiatives, and Orbital Bills Raid the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund Listen from 24:09
March 24, 2026Ballot Victories for Children, Election Integrity Questions, and Machiavelli’s Warning Listen from 1:42:01
March 6, 2026Government Transparency, Public Land Battles, and the Fight for Election Integrity Listen from 1:00:34
February 24, 2026Ballot Victories, Election Integrity, and Machiavelli on Disarming the People Listen from 17:11
February 20, 2026California’s Oil Industry Collapse, Colorado’s Clean Heat Mandate, and Global Energy Security Listen from 1:48:18
February 11, 2026Vaccine Science, Fake Meat, and the Subsidy Problem Listen from 26:59
January 20, 2026Colorado Legislative Threats, Iranian Protests, and the Fight for Election Integrity Listen from 31:56
September 18, 2026Amendment 81, Propositions 132 and 133, and the Role of Lobbyists in Colorado Listen to the episode
The Kim Monson Show
Newsroom coverage
March 18, 2026Three Protect Kids Colorado ballot initiatives qualify for November election Read the article
February 22, 2026Colorado volunteers deliver 170,000 signatures to toughen child sex trafficking penalties Read the article
The Kim Monson Newsroom, kimmonson.com
Sources06
Official documents
Text of Initiative 108
Ballot title as designated and fixed by the Title Board (August 6, 2025)
Fiscal impact statement (September 2, 2025)
Fiscal summary (August 4, 2025)
Review and comment memorandum (July 11, 2025)
Filed text of the measure (July 1, 2025)
Further reading
Official documents
  • 2026 State Ballot Information BookletColorado Legislative Council · Sep 24, 2026
    The Colorado Legislative Council's 2026 ballot information booklet entry for Proposition 133 explains that it would change the penalty for child sex trafficking from 8 to 48 years plus parole to life in prison without parole, extend the crime to buyers, and add prison costs starting in about 14 years.
  • Ballot analysis (Legislative Council)Legislative Council
    Colorado General Assembly ballot analysis page for Proposition 133 (2026, statutory), 'Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor', listing staff, draft deadlines and analysis files but no substantive analysis text.
  • Initial fiscal impact abstract (Legislative Council)Legislative Council
    Legislative Council Staff fiscal summary of Initiative 108 dated August 4, 2025, a preliminary assessment projecting Department of Corrections cost increases of about $50,000 a year compounding starting in about 14 years.
  • Fiscal summary (Legislative Council)Legislative Council
    Legislative Council Staff fiscal impact statement for Initiative 108 dated September 2, 2025, estimating Department of Corrections costs starting around FY 2041-42 from making the offense a class 1 felony with life without parole.
  • Review and comment memo (Legislative Council and Legal Services)Legislative Council and Legal Services
    Legislative Council Staff and Office of Legislative Legal Services review and comment memorandum dated July 11, 2025 on proposed initiative 2025-2026 #108.
  • Text of the measure as filedColorado General Assembly
    Original filed text of the 2025-2026 initiative 'Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor', received by Legislative Council Staff 07/01/2025, making the offense a class 1 felony with life in prison without parole or release.
Show 2 more
  • Title Board record (Secretary of State)Secretary of State
    Secretary of State Title Board results page for Proposed Initiative #108, giving the ballot title and submission clause set at the August 6, 2025 hearing (life in prison without parole or release for human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude).
  • Final text as filed (Secretary of State)Secretary of State
    Secretary of State filing of the final text of Initiative 2025-2026 #108, which makes human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude a class 1 felony carrying life in prison without parole or release.
News coverage
Campaigns and committees
  • Protect Kids Colorado - Issue CommitteeColorado Secretary of State
    Colorado Secretary of State TRACER committee record for Protect Kids Colorado - Issue Committee, a statewide issue committee whose stated purpose is promoting ballot measures 133, 134 and 135, with 2026-cycle financials that do not match the guide's dollar figures.
  • Vote Common SenseColorado Secretary of State
    Colorado Secretary of State TRACER record for Vote Common Sense, a statewide issue committee registered 05/13/2026 to oppose ballot measures including 133, reporting 2026-cycle contributions of $495,000.00 and expenditures of $81,367.00.
  • People for a Fair ColoradoColorado Secretary of State
Text of the measure

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Colorado SECTION 1. Legislative Declaration. (1) The people of the State of Colorado hereby find and declare: (a) Residents of Colorado and other states and territories throughout the United States have seen an alarming increase in human trafficking, especially human trafficking involving minor children; (b) Current penalties in Colorado law with parole possible in as little as eight years have failed to adequately deter the human trafficking of minor children; and (c) It is the measure of a fair and compassionate society to ensure that children are not for sale. SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 18-3-504, amend (2)(a) and (2)(b); and add (5) and (6) as follows: 18-3-504. Human trafficking for sexual servitude - human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude. (2) (a) A person commits human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude if the person: (I) Knowingly sells, recruits, harbors, transports, transfers, isolates, entices, provides, receives, obtains by any means, maintains, or makes available a minor for the purpose of commercial sexual activity; (II) Knowingly advertises, offers to sell, or sells travel services that facilitate an activity prohibited pursuant to subsection (2)(a)(I) of this section; OR (III) KNOWINGLY TRADES ANYTHING OF MONETARY VALUE TO BUY OR SELL SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH A MINOR. (b) Human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude is a class 1 felony. The court shall sentence a person convicted of such a class 1 felony to the department of corrections for a term of LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE OR RELEASE, as set forth in section 18-1.3-401. (5) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL LIMIT A GOVERNOR’S STANDING AUTHORITY OF PARDON, COMMUTATION, OR CLEMENCY. (6) THE SHORT TITLE OF THIS SECTION IS THE “CHILDREN ARE NOT FOR SALE ACT.” SECTION 3. Effective date -- applicability. This act takes effect on January 1, 2027, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.