Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24. Government State § 24-22-116. Legislative declaration--exclusion of tobacco litigation settlement moneys from fiscal year spending

(a) In 1992, the voters of this state approved section 20 of article X of the state constitution, which limits fiscal year spending of state government;

(b)Section 20(2)(e) of article X defines “fiscal year spending” to include all revenues and expenditures except those for refunds and those from certain sources, such as federal funds and damage awards;

(c) In exercising its legislative prerogative to enact legislation to implement section 20 of article X as it relates to state government, the general assembly enacted article 77 of this title during the 1993 regular session;

(d) As part of this implementing legislation, the general assembly defined certain terms that were necessary for the implementation of section 20 of article X but were not defined by the constitutional provision;

(e) The general assembly defined “damage award” to include any pecuniary compensation received by the state as a result of any judgment or allowance in favor of the state;

(f) The exclusion from state fiscal year spending of monetary awards to the state as the result of court action is consistent with the purpose of section 20 of article X, which is to protect taxpayers from unwarranted tax increases, since such monetary awards are not revenue raised by the state from taxpayers;

(g) The inclusion in state fiscal year spending of revenue over which the state has no control might imperil other state projects and programs, since fluctuations in such revenue can cause the state to exceed its constitutional spending limit and the refund of excess revenue could take away from another part of the state's budget;

(h) Due to this potential impact, the inclusion of such monetary awards in state fiscal year spending would discourage or prevent the state from pursuing legal action to protect the state's interests as authorized by law;

(i) All of the moneys received by the state in accordance with the terms of the master settlement agreement, the smokeless tobacco master settlement agreement, and the consent decree entered by the court in the case denominated State of Colorado, ex rel. Gale A. Norton, Attorney General v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; American Tobacco Co., Inc.; Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.; Liggett & Myers, Inc.; Lorillard Tobacco Co., Inc.; Philip Morris, Inc.; United States Tobacco Co.; B.A.T. Industries, P.L.C.; The Council For Tobacco Research--U.S.A., Inc.; and Tobacco Institute, Inc., Case No. 97 CV 3432, in the district court for the city and county of Denver, and credited to the tobacco litigation settlement cash fund created in section 24-22-115(1), including moneys transferred to the tobacco settlement defense account created in said cash fund pursuant to section 24-22-115(2), are in settlement of the state of Colorado's antitrust, consumer protection, public nuisance, racketeering, and other statutory claims for relief against defendants in said action;

(k) Monetary awards to the state as the result of said court action, including those distributed to local governments, satisfy the definition of “damage awards” and therefore are excluded from fiscal year spending.

(b) For purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution and article 77 of this title, any moneys expended from the tobacco litigation settlement cash fund created in section 24-22-115(1), including the tobacco settlement defense account created in said cash fund pursuant to section 24-22-115(2), and received by any local government are damage awards or interest accruing on such damage awards and are not included in the fiscal year spending of the receiving local government for any budget year.