DENVER — A third statewide ballot issue has qualified for November's election.
The Secretary of State's Office confirmed that a ballot issue for affordable housing collected enough signatures to be voted on in November.
That means we are now back to zero days since talking about November's election in August.
This ballot issue would require part of Colorado's income tax revenue to be spent on affordable housing, meaning the state uses this money to help governments buy land to build affordable units.
It's also money to help renters build equity to buy their home, and money for rental and eviction assistance.
The ballot issue will ask voters to set aside up to 0.1% of income tax revenue for affordable housing.
Next year, that total would come to an estimated $145 million. The year after, double that with $290 million.
That's part of the same pot of money that helped push the state over the limit, resulting in TABOR refunds.
If voters approve this measure in November, any money diverted for this affordable housing program would not be counted toward the state's cap which determines when we reach the limit that triggers a TABOR refund.
Again, this ballot issue will not increase taxes. It is not a tax hike.
It would use some of the existing tax revenue for a specific purpose, rather than delegating the money multiple place or sending it back in the form of a TABOR refund.