Colorado lawmakers have rejected a bill that would put a measure on the state’s November ballot asking voters to increase marijuana and alcohol taxes to support mental health treatment.
In line with a recommendation from the bicameral Capital Development Committee (CDC) last week, members of the House Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday defeated the legislation from Rep. Bob Marshall (D) and Sen. Judy Amabile (D) in a 7-6 vote.
“We have made our penal system the default mental health system for people that are over 18 years old. It has been a travesty,” Marshall said on Wednesday before the panel’s vote to reject his bill. “It’s been a known travesty for years and years and years, and yet nothing happens to fix the issue.
“At the end of the day, this is something that needs to be done,” the sponsor said of the HB 1301, which aims to hike taxes on the substances and put the additional revenue toward the creation of a mental health fund overseen by the state Department of Human Services (DHS). “And if we don’t do it now, the problem is going to get worse and worse and worse.”
If the bill had advanced
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