Colorado House of Representatives passes property tax deal on third day of special session • Colorado Newsline
A special session of the Legislature on property taxes is nearing its conclusion after the Colorado House of Representatives passed the session’s most important bill and it was debated in the Senate on Wednesday evening.
This sets the stage for the conclusion of the second special session on property tax within less than a year on Thursday.
The House of Representatives voted 45 to 18 in favor of Bill 24B-1001. Many progressive Democrats sided with three of the chamber’s most conservative members and opposed the bill – but their reasons were very different.
Some Democrats were unhappy with the circumstances of the session and the process by which the bill was researched and written.
“I like coming here when we have the opportunity to take care of the people’s business. But this bill is not about that. We are here in this special session because the decision was made to negotiate with the oligarchs,” said Rep. Stephanie Vigil, a Democrat from Colorado Springs, before the final vote on the floor. “This is a deal that was crafted and negotiated in a back room by people who will never be accountable to you for the results.”
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The current bill was presented as a compromise to convince supporters of two property tax initiatives to remove them from the November ballot. Conservative groups Advance Colorado and Colorado Concern are behind Initiative 50, which would set a cap on annual growth in property tax revenue, and Initiative 108, which would drastically cut tax rates across the state.
Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, and other lawmakers feared a significant loss of property tax revenue because of these initiatives, which, if passed on a statewide vote, would threaten school districts, fire districts, local governments and other taxing entities that rely heavily on this type of revenue. In exchange for modest cuts and other provisions in HB-1001, the conservative groups promised to withdraw the initiatives and not file similar ones for six years.
The bill is essentially an extension of Senate Bill 24-233, which lawmakers passed in May. It further reduces residential tax rates, lowers some non-residential tax rates that were not included in SB-233, and sets caps on revenue growth that are not as stringent as those proposed in Initiative 50. The average homeowner would save less than $100.
This minimum requirement must be met. We only work for the people. We may work with others, but we only work for the people.
– Deputy Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon
Polis called the special session after he and others negotiated the deal because he did not want to risk passage of those two initiatives while supporters prepared an expensive marketing campaign to appeal to voters. Lawmakers then had an extremely tight schedule to consider the bill and introduce additional legislation.
“It’s our job to legislate. That foundation has to be respected. We only work for the people. We may work with others, but we only work for the people,” said Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat who voted against the bill. “A vote for or against is not a vote against the people in this House. It’s a sign that we need to understand that there are people who are willing to not be pressured if we ever find ourselves in this situation again.”
Republicans who voted against the bill said they believe voters should be able to decide on the two initiatives.
House Speaker Julie McCluskie, a Democrat from Dillon, and Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, a Republican from Colorado Springs, defended the process and the need for the bill.
“Is it time to go on the defensive now? You bet on it,” McCluskie said.
They said the bill would not only fend off those initiatives but also provide additional – albeit minor – relief for homeowners facing sharp increases in their property tax bills.
After the House of Representatives passed the bill, it went to the Senate. The Senate Budget Committee passed it unanimously.
The Senate Finance Committee also approved a bill to make a property tax exemption for farm equipment permanent. But then the committee rejected a proposed ballot measure that would have deterred property tax initiative supporters by giving local decision-makers more control over property tax decisions. The measure, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Mike Weissman of Aurora, would have required voters in a local jurisdiction to independently vote on any statewide initiatives affecting property tax revenue.
The bill passed the House of Representatives by the narrowest possible margin – a two-thirds majority was required because it was a constitutional amendment – but the Senate committee dropped the bill at the request of its sponsor, Democrat Senator Chris Hansen of Denver, because it did not have the necessary support in that chamber.
The Senate began debating HB-1001 around 5 p.m. on Wednesday. If they give preliminary approval to that bill and the farm equipment bill before midnight, they can vote on their final passage on Thursday, concluding the special session in time for Labor Day weekend.
