Colorado lawmakers pass deal to lower property taxes in special session

Colorado lawmakers gave final approval to a bipartisan proposal to lower property taxes for homeowners and businesses following a 4-day special legislative session that ended Thursday.

“This is meaningful property tax relief for the people of Colorado,” said State Sen. Paul Lundeen, the Republican leader in the Colorado Senate.

The bill is part of a deal to keep a pair of initiatives off November’s ballot. Critics said the initiatives would result in devastating cuts to local government services across Colorado.

“I think today was a significant accomplishment for the state of Colorado,” said State Sen. Chris Hansen, a Democrat from Denver who was one of the bill’s prime sponsors in the Colorado Senate.

Hansen, who also chairs the legislature’s property tax commission, said the measure will save the average homeowner about $80. But he said that’s on top of savings from the tax cuts lawmakers passed during the regular legislative session in May.

KMGH-TV

“That package was about $1.3 billion in total. This adds about another $250 million onto that,” said Hansen. "It's now a $1.6 billion package that we passed between the regular session and this extension bill."

Governor Jared Polis' office said when combined, both property tax measures will save homeowners hundreds of dollars.

In Denver, homeowners can expect an average savings of $233 in tax year 2025 and $259 in tax year 2026, according to the governor’s office. In Adams County, homeowners will see an average savings of $324 in tax year 2025 and $366 in tax year 2026.

State Sen. Chris Kolker, D-Centennial, was one of 30 senators who voted for the bill on final passage. The state senator, who’s running for reelection, said many of his constituents are telling him they’re concerned about rising property taxes.

“This has been an issue that's been of their concern that I've been hearing at the door,” said Kolker. “So I feel good that we're able to get that done.”

Kolker is also happy lawmakers were able to pass a deal that will keep Initiatives 50 and 108 off the ballot.

“We're here doing what we need to do to prevent something even worse from happening,” said Kolker.

Analysts said the initiatives would result in devastating cuts across Colorado. Proponents of the initiatives promised to withdraw them from November’s ballot and not pursue similar initiatives for the next six years if lawmakers passed significant property tax cuts during the special session.

“So as long as we keep our end of the deal, they'll keep their end of the deal. And I absolutely do believe it,” said State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, another prime sponsor of the bill.

KMGH-TV

Michael Fields, president of Advance Colorado and one of the chief proponents of the initiatives, posted a message on X Thursday after the special session ended.

“So happy that Coloradans are going to see significant property tax relief!” Fields said.

Hansen said keeping the initiatives off the ballot was important.

“I think it's a great win for the citizens and it really showed that we can come together, do a bipartisan compromise, and most importantly, get two very damaging, poorly conceived ballot initiatives off of the ballot that would have had serious negative impacts on schools, higher ed and our medical system,” Hansen said.

Several lawmakers expressed frustration that major points of the bill were put together without their input and saw the special session as merely an exercise in rubber stamping. Some of them also believe the deal benefits affluent citizens at the expense of middle- and lower-income Coloradans.

"The decision was made to negotiate with oligarchs," said State Rep. Stephanie Vigil, D-Colorado Springs. "I want to be crystal clear about why I will be a 'no' on this bill. More than anything, I know who I work for. I know who sent me here. It's not the [Polis] administration. It's not the lobby. With all respect to leadership, it's not my party. And I sure as heck don't work for Michael Fields."

Hansen pushed back on allegations the deal was put together behind closed doors.

“For the folks that are calling this a backroom deal, I think they should have been here for the property tax commission. They didn't show up, so it's really easy to criticize from afar or sitting, you know, in front of a TV camera,” said Hansen. “But they didn't show up for the process that was very public. So I think that's a false narrative.”

Polis said he’ll sign the bill once he receives official confirmation from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office that proponents have withdrawn the ballot measures.

“Today we took an important step for Colorado to end the property tax wars," Polis said. "With this bipartisan effort, we are saving hardworking Coloradans money on property taxes, saving households money on utility bills, making our small businesses more competitive, and protecting funding for our schools. I thank our legislative leaders for coming together to deliver savings for Coloradans. I look forward to seeing the risky ballot measures pulled down and signing this legislation into law so small businesses and homeowners can keep more of their hard-earned money."

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