Proponents of a ballot initiative to guarantee funding for Colorado’s deteriorating roads, bridges and highways announced Tuesday they submitted more than 188,000 voter signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office. 

The welcome news puts Initiative 175 in prime position to make November’s ballot. The signatures still need certification by the secretary of state, but it’s already clear the proposal is wildly popular.

It redirects $700 million in revenue from transportation-related taxes and fees the state already collects — to roads, bridges and highways. Its appeal among the voting public comes as no surprise given the sorry state of Colorado roads.

The initiative is a citizen-driven effort to right an egregious wrong by the legislature, which has skimped on funding those critical infrastructure needs. Instead, taxpayer dollars have gone toward mass transit and environmental projects as well as growing other state government programs.

But now, lawmakers are adding insult to injury. Near the end of the 2026 legislative session, they rammed through House Bill 26-1430 — preemptively gutting Initiative 175. The bill would sabotage the ballot proposal by cutting the same gas taxes and vehicle fees the initiative redirects — by an equivalent $700 million.

The lawmakers’ dirty deed is treacherous, anti-democratic and just plain petty.

A genuine tax cut would be a pleasant surprise from this legislature. But HB 1430 is nothing more than a shield from accountability — a way to continue letting legislators siphon money that should go to roads to their pet projects, instead.

That means voters might experience literal highway robbery, courtesy of the legislature.

“It’s sending the message to voters that, ‘We don’t care what you think. You can go and pass this measure. We’re gonna ignore it,’ ” Michael Fields, executive director of Advance Colorado, told The Gazette’s “OpEdge” podcast.

The lawmakers claim Initiative 175 will “decimate” education and Medicaid funding. But they know it does nothing of the sort. In truth, they’re upset voters might safeguard $700 million for roads rather than letting lawmakers keep treating it like funny money.

“Colorado drivers deserve a real solution to the state’s road funding crisis and the right to vote on that solution in November,” declares Restore Our Roads, the coalition championing the measure.

“The current funding system simply isn’t getting the job done, and now Colorado families are paying the price,” said Initiative 175 proponent (and Gazette columnist) Michael Hancock.

HB 1430 takes effect only if voters pass Initiative 175. The legislature has set an arbitrary June 15 deadline for the coalition to reach a “compromise” — meaning, withdraw the initiative.

“Telling us to pull our measure before anyone even sits down to negotiate is neither serious policymaking nor a good-faith starting point,” said Tony Milo, president & CEO of the Colorado Contractors Association, a member of Restore Our Roads.

Still, Milo expressed a desire to use the time before June 15 to “see what we can get done together.”

“If, in the end, the legislature truly chooses to override the will of the voters, then that will be their decision to explain to the people of Colorado,” he said. “Our job is to make sure Coloradans have a clear choice and a real opportunity to be heard.”

If lawmakers override the voters before they can even vote — the legislature will own every crumbling bridge, every pothole and every casualty that follows.