The poll, conducted for The Denver Post and KUSA's 9News by SurveyUSA, also gives good grades to Gov. Bill Owens: 39 percent give him a B for overall performance, 19 percent give him an A, and of the 42 percent who would grade him lower, most - 28 percent - think he deserves at least a C.

The telephone interviews of 500 Colorado adults were conducted between 9:30 and 11 p.m. Thursday; 43 percent said they live in the Denver area. The sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

On growth, the issue that deadlocked the legislature on Wednesday night, the poll doesn't offer much guidance on what lawmakers should do now that they're back in a special session focused on that issue.

Fifty percent say the legislature should place legal restrictions on growth in the state; 40 percent say it should not. Of those favoring restrictions, 35 percent say they aren't very confident in the state's ability to control sprawl.

Those who said they live in the Denver area were asked about the legislature's efforts to ease traffic congestion. Only 15 percent thought it was "good" (12 percent) or "excellent" (3 percent). Forty-four percent said the legislature was doing a poor job, and 40 percent said it was only "fair."

An overwhelming 85 percent like the idea of requiring voter approval for all tax increases - a constitutional restriction unique to Colorado. In all other states, the legislature has the power to raise at least some taxes without asking voter permission.

Only 19 percent of the 500 respondents said they have personally contacted their state representative or senator during the past year, either by mail, e-mail, telephone or in person.

Owens' ratings were higher among men than women: 22 percent of men gave him an A, compared with 17 percent of women. Among voters 55 and older, 28 percent thought he deserved the highest grade; the least generous were voters in the 35-54 age category, 48 percent of whom thought he should get a C or worse.

Two out of three younger voters, 67 percent in the 18-34 age group, wanted more spending on education. Older voters - 17 percent of those 55 and older - were the most likely to think the state spends too much already.

Colorado voters last year approved a ballot issue that requires the legislature to increase per-pupil spending on public schools by at least the rate of inflation plus one percentage point every year through 2011.