(Oliver Helbig/Getty Images)
Colorado voters appear to have approved a ballot measure that would allocate state funding for police training, according to preliminary election results.
Proposition 130 would make a one-time appropriation of $350 million to a new police officer training fund under the Colorado Department of Public Safety. It would also implement a death benefit of $1 million for families of law enforcement officers, first responders and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
The measure was ahead with 53.1% in favor as of noon Wednesday. The Associated Press had yet to call the race.
The Colorado Legislature would be required to allocate funding for CDPS to distribute to local law enforcement agencies to recruit, train and retain officers. The measure doesn’t require one lump-sum payment, so the Legislature will likely distribute the funding over a few years.
Potential uses for the funding include increased salaries, one-time recruiting bonuses, new hires, training programs and the death benefit.
Advance Colorado, a conservative “dark money” nonprofit that has spent millions to influence state elections in recent years but which is not required to disclose its donors, sponsored the measure.
A coalition of organizations including the ACLU of Colorado, the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, New Era Colorado and the Colorado Center on Law and Policy opposed Proposition 130.
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