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US judge tosses machine gun possession case, calls ban unconstitutional
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Approved, denvergazette.com, National

US judge tosses machine gun possession case, calls ban unconstitutional

By Nate Raymond | Denver Gazette A federal judge has dismissed charges against a Kansas man for possessing a machine gun, saying prosecutors failed to establish that a federal ban on owning such weapons is constitutional. The decision by U.S. District Judge John Broomes in Wichita on Wednesday appeared to mark the first time a court has held that banning machine guns is unconstitutional after the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 issued a landmark ruling that expanded gun rights. In that ruling, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court established a new test for assessing firearms laws, saying restrictions must be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation." The Supreme Court clarified that standard ...
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Property tax bill passes Colorado House during special session
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Approved, CBS 11 KKTV, State

Property tax bill passes Colorado House during special session

By Tony Keith | CBS11 The Colorado House passed HB24B-1001 on Wednesday hoping it will help reduce property taxes. News releases from both House Democrats and House Republicans shared their take on the legislation. ”We are committed to making Colorado a more affordable place to live, and with this bill we’re delivering additional property tax relief in a responsible way while protecting funding for our schools, parks, libraries and community institutions,”said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon.“Two initiatives from wealthy special interests on the November ballot would de-fund schools, lengthen emergency response times, and strip health care away from our most vulnerable Coloradans. Stopping these measures with small changes to the bipartisan property tax package from last session...
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Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse, Sen. Michael Bennet lead delegation call for IRS not to tax TABOR refunds
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse, Sen. Michael Bennet lead delegation call for IRS not to tax TABOR refunds

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Colorado's congressional delegation on Wednesday once again urged the Internal Revenue Service not to treat refunds issued under the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights as taxable income. In a letter led by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Assistant House Minority Leader Joe Neguse, every member of the state's delegation asked IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel to stick with the approach the agency has taken for more than three decades, since voters approved the revenue-limiting state constitutional amendment known widely as TABOR. The lawmakers said they are concerned the IRS could be considering treating refunds issued this year by the state — $800 for individual filers and $1,500 for joint filers — as taxable income, reversing an interpretation the age...
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Colorado to see ‘enormous decrease’ in revenue, less TABOR refunds because of new tax laws
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado to see ‘enormous decrease’ in revenue, less TABOR refunds because of new tax laws

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The latest revenue forecast for Colorado's state government reflected the effects of some of the 30 laws approved this year that changed tax policy, resulting in less revenue for state operations and decreased Taxpayer's Bill of Rights refunds to residents.  The overarching message is the 2024-25 budget was tight — and 2025-26 is going to be even tighter. And that doesn't yet include the potential effects to the state budget from two ballot measures that could require the state to backfill up to $3 billion to cover lost property tax revenue for school districts and local governments. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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State taxpayers to lose $2.8 billion in TABOR refunds due to legislature, study shows
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

State taxpayers to lose $2.8 billion in TABOR refunds due to legislature, study shows

By Noah Festenstein | Colorado Politics As a result of 101 bills passed by the Colorado legislature, over $2.8 billion in state TABOR refunds will not go to Colorado taxpayers between 2024 and 2026, according to a recent report from the Common Sense Institute. The $2.8 billion loss is just less than half of the projected $6 billion in TABOR refunds for the next three years, CSI found in its report following the 2024 Colorado legislative session. “Legislators focused intensely on TABOR refunds this session,” CSI Mike A. Leprino Fellow Lang Sias said in a statement. “What started a few years ago,” he said, “has snowballed into what we saw play out during the 2024 session where more than 100 bills redirected TABOR refunds.” READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Who Raided Your Share of $2.8 Billion in TABOR Tax Refunds?
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Who Raided Your Share of $2.8 Billion in TABOR Tax Refunds?

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff As a result of 101 bills passed by the Colorado legislature, over $2.8 billion in state TABOR refunds will not be distributed to Colorado taxpayers between 2024 and 2026, according to a recent report from the Common Sense Institute (CSI). This amount represents nearly half of the projected $6 billion in TABOR refunds expected over the next three years. Key Findings: The $2.8 billion loss in TABOR refunds is attributed to various tax cuts and the costs of bills impacting TABOR. The legislature's actions during the 2024 session have significantly redirected funds meant for taxpayer refunds. CSI's report indicates that TABOR refund cuts will increase over the next three years, with reductions of $523 million in 2024, $1.06 billion in 2025, and $1.25 ...
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Colorado owes taxpayers $34M in refunds it never sent. That means trouble for the state budget. 
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado owes taxpayers $34M in refunds it never sent. That means trouble for the state budget. 

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun The state government owes Colorado taxpayers an extra $34 million in refunds it should have sent out years ago, legislative budget staff told lawmakers Friday, blowing a hole in the state’s budget with just days left in the 2024 legislative session. The error was first uncovered by a state audit released in February. State officials had planned to come up with a solution by June, but after conferring with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Joint Budget Committee staff members say the matter can’t wait until after the session. “We really don’t have any choice,” JBC Director Craig Harper told the budget writing committee Friday. “That’s an under-refund from prior years and will need to be refunded at the earliest available opportunity.” ...
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Democrats make deal with governor to redirect TABOR refunds to low-income families
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Democrats make deal with governor to redirect TABOR refunds to low-income families

By Brian Eason and Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Democrats in the Colorado legislature on Tuesday announced a deal with Gov. Jared Polis to make sweeping changes to the state tax code that reduce income taxes and redirect hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer refunds to low-income parents and the middle class. The tax package, spread across a handful of different bills in the final days of this year’s lawmaking term, represents an escalation of the legislature’s recent efforts to reimagine the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights — a darling of the conservative movement — as a vehicle for progressive policy. Under the TABOR amendment, the government must refund money to taxpayers when revenue rises faster than the combined rate of inflation and population growth. This fiscal year, it’s...
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The votes are in and here’s what Colorado lawmakers want to spend money on
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

The votes are in and here’s what Colorado lawmakers want to spend money on

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette The votes are in following House Democrats' new process for determining which bills would pass, assuming the money is there. The new process, as outlined by House and Senate Democrats in early April, replaces the "quadratic" voting system that a Denver District Court ruled in January is illegal.  Once the 2024-25 state budget headed back to the Joint Budget Committee, which came with a compromise version approved by both the House and Senate, lawmakers got to work voting on their priorities for the scant amount of money, relatively speaking, that they have to spend on new programs. The "set-aside" from the Joint Budget Committee, the panel of lawmakers that drafts the state's annual spending plan, is around $22 million, but some of tha...
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Martinez: Court sends a reminder; tax hikes require voter consent
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Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com, State

Martinez: Court sends a reminder; tax hikes require voter consent

By Tyler Martinez | Complete Colorado In a major victory for taxpayers, a unanimous panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals agreed with the National Taxpayers Union Foundation’s Taxpayer Defense Center (NTUF) that an overnight doubling of the property taxes in a few Northern Colorado counties violated the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). We represented James Aranci and his neighbors, who were shocked to learn in 2020 that their property taxes to the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District doubled from 2019 to 2020 (and the years thereafter). TABOR mandates a ratification vote of any proposed tax increase or new debt taken on by government entities–including water districts. But there was no vote from Aranci or anyone else. So we came...
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