Colorado property tax bills clear first committees

DENVER (KDVR) — The agreement between Colorado property tax initiative supporters, the governor and a group of lawmakers passed its first committee on Monday afternoon. Another measure seeking to gain voter approval to put property tax measures on the ballot also advanced out of committee.

Both measures passed with a vote of 8-3. The House Appropriations Committee worked on the marquee negotiated agreement.

While leaders on both sides of the aisle made clear they were ready to get to work on property taxes, their members made it known they had concerns about the pre-negotiated deal on the table.

“I first want to say how thrilled I am to be giving yet a third opening day speech in just 10 months. So I hope you’re all ready and strapped in for a barn burner on property taxes,” House Speaker Julie McCluskie told the legislative body.

Monday kicked off the second special session on property taxes in less than a year.
Leaders on both sides of the aisle acknowledged the framework laid out in a bipartisan property tax bill earlier this year, telling their members it’s time to build on that to pass a new proposal meant to end property tax wars for some years.

“Our goal was to end the property tax battles and show Coloradans that they could trust us as lawmakers, all 100 of us, to responsibly reduce property taxes and protect and balance the needs of our communities, protecting our schools and critical community services,” McCluskie told the body before members broke for committees.

Colorado could owe big on property taxes if initiatives pass

Once they arrived at their committees, member voiced their frustration, questioning why they were back this summer when the bill passed earlier this year was supposed to be a compromise on property taxes. Joint Budget Committee members and House Appropriation chairs Emily Sirota and Shannon Bird led the charge in questioning house leadership about negotiations and ways to ensure the agreement is upheld.

“We were all being called here to form a compromise, we thought we had already done so back in May to a point where I think one of the bill sponsors said we had brought ourselves to the point of avoiding catastrophe and anything further would be catastrophic,” Sirota said during the Appropriations hearing. “Yet here we are, considering something further yet I don’t even see the people that we are supposed to be negotiating with here.”

“Who participated? Who did you reach out to? Who collaborated in this effort?” Bird asked McCluskie as she testified on the agreement as lead House Democratic sponsor, alongside House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese. “And really, this a way to highlight the difference between perhaps a citizen initiative, we don’t know what that collaboration looked like to craft that language, but this I think might help us better understand what it looks like in a legislative process.”

It is projected the state could owe $1.7 billion in property tax revenue the state would have to backfill for services that use property tax revenue in 2025 if initiatives 50 and 108 pass. McCluskie said she received a letter from initiative supporters saying they would take the ballot measures down and not put more more up for the next three assessment cycles, or six years.

With little time left before decisions have to be made on ballot measures, the question before lawmakers is whether they should pass a bill they have reservations about or decline the agreement and let Colorado voters decide.

The other measure that passed is a proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution calling for voters to approve of any ballot measure affecting property taxes before the ballot measure becomes effective.

Republicans like Barbara Kirkmeyer, a prime sponsor of the property tax agreement measure, have said passing this measure could be a dealbreaker for groups bringing ballot initiatives 50 and 108. This measure and the negotiated property tax deal now head to the House floor for consideration.

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