DENVER — Democrats won handily on ballots in Colorado in 2022.
Democrats were defeated badly on the 2023 Colorado ballot.
Proposition HH was the key ballot issue for Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis (D).
It was defeated on Tuesday night, and as of Wednesday night, it was down by 20 points.
It is clear that voters want another option, but Polis was clear during the 9NEWS/Denver Gazette Prop HH Debate on Oct. 23 that there was no other option.
On Tuesday night, Polis spokesman Conor Cahill put out a statement that ended with, “[Polis] is currently considering next steps.”
Those steps were hinted at by State Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, in an interview with Colorado Public Radio News Anchor Ryan Warner on Colorado Matters on Wednesday morning.
“I have always said, and I think the Democrats and the governor have generally said, we want to provide property tax relief, but not on the backs of our local governments and our teachers and our fire districts,” Fenberg said on CPR News. “And I will always be open to policy proposals that accomplish that goal. I haven’t yet seen that articulated in a way from the Republicans that, I think, accomplishes that adequately, so we’re discussing options on what comes next, whether it’s a special session or something in January, when we come back into the regular session or a future ballot measure. I think we’re still having those conversations.”
The governor could call the legislature into a special session before the end of the year. The House Speaker and Senate President could also do it with two-thirds support of each chamber. That second scenario has never been done in Colorado history.
The only reason Prop HH had to be on the ballot was because state lawmakers wanted to keep and spend more money, which requires voter approval.
State lawmakers can do the property tax relief portions of Prop HH without voter approval.
“HH was about a long-term solution, long-term tax relief in a way that’s sustainable in the long-term that doesn’t result in cuts to public services,” Fenberg said. “Doing something in the next couple of weeks is not going to be about a long-term solution. It would be very short-term and temporary.”
Fenberg admitted in the interview with CPR News that Prop HH was rushed in the last days of the legislative session because of concern over another ballot issue that Democrats thought would be on the ballot in 2023.
That ballot issue, by Michael Fields of 'No on HH' fame, is actually on the ballot in Nov. 2024.
That ballot issue, known right now as Initiative 50, would limit property tax increases to no more than four percent, unless voters give permission for more.
“At the time, we had a couple of days left in session, if we were going to refer something to the ’23 ballot, and we suspected that [Fields] was moving forward. And if we didn’t go forward, we thought he was going to, so we wanted to provide an option for voters that was sustainable, that was responsible, and we had a couple of days to do it. It wasn’t concocted in a couple of days,” Fenberg said.
At his 'No on HH' party on Tuesday night, Fields said what it would take for him to remove his issue from the ballot in 2024.
"There's two things they need. One is a big cut this year, so people don't see this massive increase. The second thing is a cap. You need a cap on property tax increases, so that this doesn't happen again. The problem is, is this could happen in four, six, eight years all over, so I think those are the two criteria is a big cut this year and ultimately a cap to make sure this doesn't happen again," Fields said.
Lawmakers need three days to pass a bill, so any special legislative session would need to last at a minimum of three days.
More from 9NEWS on Election Day 2023:
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Politics