Gov. Polis calls 74th Legislature into special session to address property tax

By / / Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice

A deal has been reached to remove two qualified property tax initiatives from the fall ballot in exchange for a special session of the 74th Colorado Legislature to address property tax.

Gov. Jared Polis called the special session in an executive order Thursday morning. The single-item call on property tax will convene at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 26, his order reads.

In order for a special session of the legislature to be called, it must be deemed to be an emergency, or as his order calls it, an “extraordinary occasion”. The special session may only include those items in the call, in this case specifically property tax.

“Coloradans continue to be burdened by increasing property taxes and need reliability in the amounts they will pay in future years,” Polis wrote in the executive order. “The General Assembly should consider taking legislative action to maintain and lower future tax rates, adopt a tighter property tax cap to further limit how quickly property tax revenue can increase, and implement a cap on property taxes paid to school districts that considers inflation and student growth.”

In the special session call, Polis noted what residents from Yuma to Grand Junction and Pueblo to Fort Collins have noticed on their tax bills: “…property taxes continue to consume an ever-increasing percentage of a family’s income. Some Coloradans have experienced property tax increases exceeding 30%.”

The Colorado House Republicans in turn released a video following Polis’ call for the special session explaining property tax:

During the 2024 legislative session, as Polis notes in the call, Senate Bill 24-233 was passed to reduce property taxes by $1.3 billion through 2024 and 2025, an effort to provide $500 in relief for Colorado families, while at the same time prioritizing school funding revenue, he said.

He called Prop. 108 and Initiative 50 “risky” and said the ballot items, if passed, would jeopardize funding for critical services.

“We are focused on saving Coloradans money on property taxes, and in doing so, protecting school funding and higher education, preserving our economic competitiveness, and avoiding risky ballot measures,” Polis said. “The cost of inaction is too high. We refuse to gamble with our schools, our economy, our future.”

Polis indicates he will not sign any legislation passed during the special session until the proponents of Prop. 108 and Initiative 50 pull the measures from the ballot.