Amendment 58 was a proposed

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a p ...

on the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

ballot of 2008 regarding Colorado's

severance tax Severance taxes are taxes imposed on the removal of natural resources within a taxing jurisdiction. Severance taxes are most commonly imposed in oil producing states within the United States. Resources that typically incur severance taxes when e ...

. It was turned down by 57.9% of the voters.

Effect

The initiative stated that Amendment 58 would: *"increase the amount of state severance taxes paid by

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

companies, primarily by eliminating an existing state

tax credit A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "disc ...

*"allocate the increased severance tax revenue to college scholarships for state residents, wildlife habitat, renewable energy projects,

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipel ...

projects in energy-impacted areas, and

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, inclu ...

grants *"exempt all oil and gas severance tax revenue from state and local spending limits.Colorado Blue Book. Notice of Election to Increase Taxes on a Citizen Petition. 2008 STATE BALLOT INFORMATION BOOKLET and Recommendations on Retention of Judges Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly Research Publication No. 576-1

Conflict with Amendment 52

Both Amendments 58 and 52 in the 2008 election regarded the handling of Colorado's use of the severance tax. While Amendment 58 would have allocated some of this money to college scholarships and natural resource conservation, 52 would have directed the money into improving

Interstate 70 in Colorado Interstate 70 (I-70) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland. In Colorado, the highway traverses an east–west route across the center of the state. In weste ...

(I-70).

Results

References

{{Reflist Amendment 58 Initiatives in the United States Constitution of Colorado Severance taxes U.S. state constitutional amendments