Senate Gives Initial Sign Off on Bipartisan Bill to Responsibly Reduce Property Taxes and Protect Colorado’s Future
DENVER, CO – Today the Senate gave preliminary approval to bipartisan legislation sponsored by Chair of the Commission on Property Tax, Senator Chris Hansen, D-Denver, that would responsibly reduce property taxes while protecting critical community institutions like public schools, health care, libraries, water infrastructure, and municipal parks, playgrounds and recreation centers.
Using SB24-233 as the baseline, HB24B-1001 would reduce assessment rates and lower revenue caps. Cosponsored by Senator Barb Kirkmeyer, R-Weld County, the bill also introduces new flexibility for school districts and local governments by allowing them to carry forward unused growth capacity into the next assessment cycle while shielding taxpayers from dramatic spikes in value growth.
“Building on the bipartisan success of SB24-233, this bill represents the culmination of more than six years of work to craft sustainable, responsible property tax reform in the wake of the Gallagher repeal,” said Hansen. “This legislation is the product of partnership, compromise, and a shared commitment to the people of Colorado. The Commission on Property Tax, local governments, schools, and countless other stakeholders all have been involved in a public discussion of an extremely complicated problem – resulting in policy that provides both meaningful relief to taxpayers and stability for essential community services. In recent years, we have been able to secure a stronger future for Colorado by ending the negative factor, creating a stable foundation for education funding, establishing sustainable funding paths for higher education and Medicaid providers, and now with this policy, we can avoid the devastating impacts of Initiatives 50 and 108 and protect the progress we’ve already made.”
Additionally, the bill would:
Reduce the local government revenue cap from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent annual growth, or 10.5 percent over one assessment cycle;
Change the school revenue sharing ratio to a 6 percent revenue annual growth cap, or 12 percent over one assessment cycle;
Allow voters to override the local government revenue cap at the ballot box and school districts to override the cap at the state-wide level; and
Extend the backfill mechanism in SB24-233 for local government entities most impacted by this measure for one more year, through 2025.
The bill would also direct the Commission on Property Tax to evaluate the property tax changes made in SB24-233 and HB24B-1001 and report on how Colorado’s tax code does or does not deliver relief to the people who need it the most.
In May, the General Assembly passed SB24-233 to reduce statewide local taxes by more than $1 billion, prevent future spikes in property taxes, and protect critical services that Coloradans rely on. HB24B-1001 makes minor adjustments to SB24-233 in order to avoid devastating ballot measures from wealthy special interests.
Irresponsible ballot measures threaten to reduce revenue for public schools, fire departments, health care, libraries, water infrastructure, and public outdoor recreation by nearly $3 billion. They would risk the major strides Colorado Democrats have made to boost public education funding and eliminate the Budget Stabilization Factor. If these measures were to pass, they would lead to deep cuts to emergency services.
HB24B-1001 will be heard on third and final reading tomorrow. Track its progress HERE.