DENVER — Before Prop HH ended up on your ballot, it was introduced as a bill in the last week of the legislative session in May.
With public input on the ballot, it lost by 18 points.
Now, Gov. Jared Polis (D) has called the legislature back to work for a special session, which could include bringing back a bunch of Prop HH’s content, even though it failed.
For instance, a ‘no’ vote on Prop HH was supposed to mean that Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) refunds would be based on your income level. Meaning, the less money you make, the lower your TABOR refund, the more money you make, the higher your TABOR refund.
State lawmakers, however, can change that in the special session.
“Everything is still being developed, nothing has been predetermined,” Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, said.
Fenberg sponsored the bill that put Prop HH on the ballot. On Monday, he seemed confident that one part of Prop HH that failed – equal TABOR refunds – will pass during the special session.
He said he supports that idea.
“I do, yeah. And I fully suspect that that will be a bill that’s introduced. and I assume it will pass,” Fenberg said. “I think voters generally are in favor of flat TABOR refunds.”
Based on information provided by legislative council staff, 62% of tax filers in Colorado would receive a larger TABOR refund if they were equal to everyone.
Fenberg said it would be impossible to know what parts of Prop HH were supported by voters and which parts they did not like.
“I think there were many different reasons why someone, maybe, didn’t support HH. On one hand, some people probably thought it was just too complicated and they didn’t trust it. On the other hand, I think some people thought it didn’t go far enough in certain areas,” Fenberg said. “You could also say if voters voted no, then, clearly, they don’t want property tax relief. I don’t know that that’s an accurate statement.”
“I’ve been engaged in my district in property tax conversations for more than a year,” House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillion, said.
On a Friday caucus call, House and Senate Democrats discussed policy options for the special session. Prop HH also included rental assistance money but relied on voters allowing the state to keep and spend more TABOR money each year. Now, Democratic lawmakers appear split on how much rental assistance could be set aside for one year with existing funds.
“I don’t know if ‘infighting’ is the right word, but you know, when it comes to rental assistance, how much can we do right now in this moment for 2023,” McCluskie said.
Even before Prop HH failed, Republicans called on the governor to call a special session. Republicans hold no power at the state Capitol, and one of their proposed bills would minimize property tax increases, but without providing backfill money for local governments that would miss out on some of the property tax dollars.
“As a Democrat, as a leader in the legislature, I generally think if you’re going to provide tax cuts, they should be equitable and you should pay for them,” Fenberg said.
Though, backfill for local governments is not likely in a special session that is limited to relief for tax year 2023.
“Backfill for me is about core, critical services. I would put schools and fire districts at the top of that list.”
It takes a minimum of three days to pass a bill in Colorado, so the special session will last, at least, through Sunday.
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