Amendment 62 Lawsuit Against Blue Book Dismissed for Jurisdiction; Legislative Council Has No Accountability

Today Judge Hyatt decided to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the Colorado Blue Book by the sponsors of Amendment 62, claiming that the court has no jurisdiction over the Colorado Legislative Council.

“The ruling on the court’s jurisdiction is wrong, based on Section 1-1-102 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. Further, I think it is apparent that the court believes there is no authority over the Colorado Legislative Council, and that is scary. The Colorado Legislative Council can print anything they want to based on their own prejudices, and my tax dollars have to pay for it,” stated Gualberto GarciaJones, co-sponsor of Amendment 62. “In a government based on checks and balances, it is appalling that the Council can print slanderous, false statements and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.”

Article V, Section 1 of the Colorado Constitution states: “A fair and impartial analysis of each measure, twhich shall include a summary and the major arguments both for and against the measure, and which may include any other information that would assist understanding the purpose and effect of the measure. Any person may file written comments for consideration by the research staff during the preparation of such analysis. “

Amendment 62 sponsors and lawsuit plaintiffs Gualberto GarciaJones and Leslie Hanks say that there is no question that the analysis of Amendment was not fair or impartial, that it did not include the major arguments for the measure, and that their comments were completely disregarded by the research staff of the legislative council.

“The Blue Book’s false claims are so egregious that we were forced to take action,” continued GarciaJones. “Outright lies were printed about Amendment 62, and it is ridiculous that we weren’t even allowed input into the ‘Arguments For’ the Amendment that we wrote and sponsored. That is why we plan to appeal this dismissal and right the grievous wrong that has been committed against our campaign. The Colorado Blue Book is incorrect and unfair, and must be corrected immediately.”

Although the Colorado Blue Book has already been printed and distributed, Gualberto GarciaJones and Leslie Hanks are requesting that the Colorado Legislative Council correct the erroneous statements immediately by mailing a correction to every Colorado voter that received the Blue Book.

The Colorado Blue Book also claimed that treatment for miscarriages, tubal pregnancies, and infertility could be limited by the Amendment, all of which is false. The Blue Book also claimed that the measure could subject doctors and nurses to legal action for providing medical care to a woman of child-bearing age, which is also false, and alleged that “the beginning of biological development” has no established legal meaning and is not an accepted medical or scientific term, despite pages of expert evidence to the contrary. These are just some of the blatant falsehoods and biased statements published in the Colorado Blue Book, which sponsors may attempt to correct through the appeal process.