Signed! Bill to Reduce Property Taxes, Protect Funding for Schools and Local Services
SB23B-001 provides $434 million in property tax relief for the 2023 tax year while protecting funding for local services
DENVER, CO – Governor Jared Polis today signed legislation to cut property taxes for the 2023 tax year while protecting funding for essential local services like schools, fire districts, and ambulance and health districts.
SB23B-001, sponsored by Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, Senator Chris Hansen, D-Denver, and Representative Chris deGruy Kennedy, D-Lakewood, increases the property value exemption for multifamily and single family residential properties from $15,000 to $55,000, and decreases the residential assessment rate from 6.765 percent to 6.7 percent for the 2023 tax year.
“We have an obligation as the majority party to govern responsibly, which means making tough decisions to solve problems and deliver solutions responsive to the moment that we’re living in,” said Fenberg. “The property tax relief that we passed delivers urgent, responsible relief that gives local governments time to implement the tax cuts by their deadlines. I’m proud of the work we have accomplished to cut property taxes, protect local services, and provide relief to Coloradans.”
“Hardworking Coloradans deserve real solutions that ease the affordability crisis, which is why we delivered urgent property tax cuts while protecting funding for schools, fire departments and critical services like our first responders,” McCluskie said. “This responsible package delivers real results for the people who need it the most – hardworking families, Coloradans on fixed incomes and the people feeling the greatest impacts of our affordability crisis – without jeopardizing our state’s reserves or impacting Coloradans’ TABOR refunds.”
“Our legislation provides nearly half a billion dollars of additional property tax reduction; significant relief for Colorado homeowners,” said Hansen. “With the limited tools available to us, we were able to develop a responsible plan that stretches funding as far as we possibly can to support Coloradans that need it most. And thanks to the hard work of so many, we were able to provide critical relief while protecting funding for essential local services like schools, fire districts, and ambulance services.”
“I’m proud that we have passed this legislation to responsibly provide property tax reductions for the hardworking Colorado families who need it the most,” deGruy Kennedy said. “This short-term solution will reduce upcoming property tax bills and offer Coloradans some support while local governments look into how they can better tackle property tax increases at the local level. This legislation, alongside the entire package of bills we passed in this special session, will help Coloradans stay afloat amidst the impacts of the housing crisis.”
To offset revenue loss resulting from property tax reductions, SB23B-001 transfers $146 million of general fund dollars to the State Education Fund to be used to backfill school districts’ budgets, and appropriates $54 million of general fund dollars to be used to backfill local governments and services.