By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance
Colorado’s November ballot took its final 14-initiative shape Wednesday as Gov. Jared Polis signed a tax-cut bill resulting in the withdrawal of two high-profile initiatives that sought to achieve even bigger tax reductions and lead to bigger revenue losses for governments.
With the removal of Initiatives 50 and 108 from the ballot, the remaining issues either have no direct impact on businesses or affect only specific business sectors, such as firearms dealers and operators of veterinary practices. But former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry is pushing one voting-reform measure, Initiative 310, in hopes that it can help more moderate and often business-friendlier candidates to survive the primary- and general-election processes more often.
The Democratic governor this afternoon signed House Bill 1001, a measure passed in the most recent special legislative session that reduces tax-rate assessments for homeowners and a few businesses and caps annual increases in statewide property-tax revenues. As part of a deal connected to the passage of that measure, Advance Colorado and Colorado Concern withdrew Initiatives 50 and 108, which would have capped property tax revenues and lowered tax-assessment rates to levels below those in HB 1001.