First drafts of property tax bills published ahead of special session

DENVER (KDVR) — Come Monday, Colorado lawmakers will be back at the state Capitol to work on an agreed-upon proposal aimed at reducing property tax increases in the state. Before lawmakers even gavel in, there could be some curveballs in the plan.

The drafts of some of the bills filed to be introduced during the special session, including the main deal between the governor’s office and supporters of ballot initiatives 50 and 108, were pre-released Friday ahead of lawmakers reconvening. The state’s commission on property taxes met to go over the draft bill of the agreement.

Colorado AG joins lawsuit accusing RealPage of illegal rent price-fixing scheme

While the core of the agreement appears to be intact so far, other bills being worked on could throw things off course.

“If we’re not figuring out at our table, taxpayers are figuring it out at the kitchen table. That needs to happen in rooms like these,” said Chris Richardson of Elbert County, also a commissioner on the property tax commission.

Richardson was not alone. Several commissioners on the state’s property tax commission expressed their frustration with state leaders continuously coming back to the drawing board to lower property tax increases.

“I still haven’t heard or seen in this bill or maybe I missed it: How are we holding this deal together? What keeps those initiatives from popping back up again?” said Ann Terry, chief executive of the Special Districts Association of Colorado and commissioner on the property tax commission.

What’s ahead for property taxes at Colorado’s special session?

The first draft of the bill appears to leave the core details of the agreement intact, including a new residential rate between 6.3% and 6.4% for the first year and a drop to 6.25% the next year. The commercial rate would be 25%, and the property tax limit for local governments, excluding school districts whose limit would be 6%, would be lowered from 5.5% to 5.25%.

“I believe we all have the same goal in mind and that is to ensure that we provide as much property tax relief as we possibly can to homeowners and small businesses and businesses throughout the state, while at the same time, ensuring that we are still able to provide critical services both at the local level and at the state level,” said state Sen. Barabara Kirkemyer of Weld County, the prime Republican sponsor of the measure in the Senate.

“Verbal agreements are a great place to start but we need something on paper. We need to be very clear with the state of Colorado and its voters that we’re not going to be coming back with this as Groundhog Day, cycle after cycle after cycle. So we are working on a couple of statutory ideas that would help to lock in this deal, and really have this be a stable framework for property taxes for at least a decade,” said state Sen. Chris Hansen of Denver, the prime Democratic sponsor of the measure in the Senate.

Colorado ranchers wary after video of wolf pups surfaces

Trust between ballot initiative supporters and lawmakers remains an issue. Another newly proposed bill could throw things off track.

“Might it be a good idea to go to voters and have them lock in this deal and have local control be codified in some way for property taxes?” Hansen said. “We think that’s what the voters in Colorado are asking for. That’s what we are trying to deliver with this deal, is for the state to not be engaged in property tax issues.”

Another bill would amend the Colorado Constitution

In addition to sponsoring the main agreement, Hansen is sponsoring another bill this special session: a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution calling for voters to approve of any ballot measure affecting property taxes before the ballot measure becomes effective.

Constitutional amendments need the approval of two-thirds of the legislature.
With Republicans not on board with that idea, Hansen said he is considering other avenues.

“We also have statutory versions that we can examine. So we’ll see what happens next week with that idea. But we’ve got several options that we are going to be considering,” Hansen said.

FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox

Kirkmeyer said any legislation that infringes on a citizen’s right to bring a ballot initiative could compromise the agreed-upon deal.

“That would be a dealbreaker,” Kirkmeyer said. “There’s about 5.9 million people in this state, and if one of them decides they just don’t like what their property taxes are and they want to bring something forward to the ballot, they should be able to do that.”

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.