Boulder County commissioners oppose ballot measure 234, postpone positions on conservation measures 308 and 309

Boulder County commissioners voted June 16 to oppose proposed statewide ballot measure 234 and to postpone any county position on measures 308 and 309, two conservation funding initiatives, according to the board’s meeting record.

The action came during the Board of County Commissioners’ regular business meeting, when staff brought forward recommendations on a slate of 2026 state ballot measures. Commissioners adopted staff’s recommendations on the rest of that slate but pulled 308 and 309 for more review rather than taking an immediate support-or-oppose position, the meeting record shows.

On measure 234, staff recommended opposition despite the appeal of requiring clearer ballot language. Staff told commissioners the proposal could strip out wording that now alerts voters to tax and budget effects, which they argued could leave voters with less information about a measure’s fiscal impact, according to the meeting discussion.

Commissioner Claire Levy said the proposal initially sounded like something Boulder County would support, but after hearing staff’s explanation she said she was comfortable opposing it, according to the county video record. The board then adopted staff’s recommendation on 234 as part of its motion on the broader ballot-measure slate.

Measures 308 and 309 prompted more hesitation. Staff described the paired measures as proposals to direct sporting-goods sales tax revenue to wildfire and conservation purposes while exempting that revenue from normal TABOR limits, according to the meeting discussion. Staff said the measures could reduce pressure on the state general fund but also described them as another workaround to Colorado’s revenue limits rather than a broader TABOR change.

Levy said she saw the appeal of creating a reliable conservation funding source but worried the measures would earmark revenue outside the normal budget process, especially in years without a TABOR surplus. Commissioner Marta Loachamin then moved to pull 308 and 309 from the recommendation list while approving the rest, and commissioners voted unanimously to do so, according to the meeting record.

The vote matters locally because Boulder County commissioners regularly take positions on statewide and local ballot questions they see as affecting county priorities. The county says the board sets policy direction on budgeting, land use, open space, transportation and other issues that can be shaped by statewide fiscal and election rules, according to the county’s description of the board’s role.

Measure 234 is listed by the Colorado General Assembly as the 2025-26 “Plain Language Ballot Questions” initiative, according to the legislature’s initiative page. Measures 308 and 309 are both listed as “Designate Sporting Goods Sales Tax Revenue for Conservation,” according to the state’s initiative records. Western Resource Advocates has publicly backed measure 308, saying it would preserve existing sales tax revenue for conservation work without increasing taxes, according to the group’s campaign page.

No public statements directly responding to Boulder County’s June 16 action from advocacy groups, campaign committees, county clerks or state election officials were identified in the reporting for this article.

The ballot-measure vote was separate from Boulder County’s recent work on the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan update. That planning process included a June 11 joint public hearing that ended without final action and was continued to later deliberation dates, according to county records on the plan process. Unlike that long-range planning effort, the June 16 ballot-measure item was a narrower vote on county positions toward statewide initiatives.