Amendment 54 was a proposed initiative

Initiative

In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...

 on the Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 ballot for 2008. It passed with 51.2% of the vote.

Purpose

According to the Blue Book

Blue book

Blue book or Bluebook is a term often referring to an almanac or other compilation of statistics and information. The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvet-covered books were used for record-keeping by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Government :* At the European...

, the state-provided ballot guide, Amendment 54 "proposes amending the Colorado Constitution to:

• prohibit certain government contractor

Government contractor

A government contractor is a private company that produces goods or services under contract for the government. Often the terms of the contract specify cost plus – i.e., the contractor gets paid for its costs, plus a specified profit margin. Laws often require governments to award contracts...

s from contributing to a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

or candidate for the contract's duration and two years thereafter;

• prohibit contributors to ballot issue campaigns from entering into certain government contracts relating to the ballot issue;

• apply the prohibitions on campaign contributions and ballot issue contracts to any contractor with a government contract or contracts that does not use a public and competitive bidding process soliciting at least three bids and with a total value greater than $100,000 in a single year; and

• apply the prohibitions on campaign contributions and ballot issue contracts to a labor organization holding a collective bargaining agreement with a state or local government."

Results

Injunction issued

An injunction against Amendment 54 was issued by Denver District Court Judge Catherine Lemon in June 2009. Judge Lemon concluded that the language of the amendment was vague and often confusing, creating a law that would violate the right to free speech.