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Sharp Divides Emerge in Colorado Republican Governor Debate
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Sharp Divides Emerge in Colorado Republican Governor Debate

By Óscar Contreras | Denver7 Watch key moments and the full debate between State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and State Rep. Scott Bottoms. DENVER — Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidates State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and State Rep. Scott Bottoms took the stage Thursday evening in their first televised debate ahead of the June 30 primaries. Victor Marx, a third contender in the GOP gubernatorial race, was invited to participate in the debate but declined Denver7's invitation. Both candidates fielded questions before a live studio audience of a few dozen people as they tried to make the case as to why it was time for Coloradans to hand power back to Republicans this November after nearly 20 years of Democratic control in the state. It was the first major televised deba...
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A win for taxpayers: Colorado Senate committee kills employer fee bill
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

A win for taxpayers: Colorado Senate committee kills employer fee bill

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Per the Sum and Substance article linked first below, HB26-1327 (linked second) made it out of the House but died in committee in the Senate. Quoting: “Senate Finance Committee members voted down HB 1327 by a 7-2 margin on Thursday, with four Democrats joining the committee’s three Republicans in opposing it. Sen. Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins, said she was for the idea before groups like CCLP convinced her of its faults, and Sen. Adrienne Benavidez, D-Adams County, joined with several Republicans in arguing that it would violate TABOR.” However it needed to be, I’m glad it didn’t pass. A look at the bill helps explain why in part. The bill would have been yet another enterprise run by yet another unelected boar...
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Colorado Ballot Measure Asks Voters To Forfeit Up To $7000 Per Taxpayer In TABOR Refunds
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The Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Ballot Measure Asks Voters To Forfeit Up To $7000 Per Taxpayer In TABOR Refunds

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Gazette A Democratic‑backed proposal to direct money to K‑12 schools using Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights dollars is headed to the ballot, setting up a major debate over taxpayer refunds and long‑term education funding. If voters approve it, the average Coloradan would forfeit more than $7,000 in TABOR refunds over the next decade. Senate Bill 135 includes a provision to increase the TABOR cap by the amount the state spends on K-12 education, which currently sits at about $4.5 billion per year. Under the proposal, any funding beyond that would be allocated to services for students with disabilities and increased contractor hours. “We have worked hard to better the quality of education in Colorado and have made great strides in m...
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Polis-Backed Bill Redirects $300 Million In TABOR Refunds To Close Budget Gap
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Polis-Backed Bill Redirects $300 Million In TABOR Refunds To Close Budget Gap

By Nash Herman | Complete Colorado One of Governor Polis’ key requests to balance the state budget using Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) refunds passed out of the legislature and now awaits his signature.  House Bill 26-1419 will recoup almost $300 million in overcollected revenue that would otherwise be returned to Colorado taxpayers, if the measure can withstand legal challenges.  TABOR roulette As previously explained, from the first discussions of the governor’s TABOR refund recoupment proposal, legislative staff voiced their concerns to the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) about the measure’s legality.  While bill proponents remain adamant that the retroactive changes to tax collections caused by the passage of the federal One Big B...
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Colorado lawmakers say new insurance fees lower costs: Critics say families pay the bill
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado lawmakers say new insurance fees lower costs: Critics say families pay the bill

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Rising homeowners insurance rates have been a hot topic at the capitol this legislative session. I wrote about a couple bills to do so in late April. That newsletter is linked first below. It wasn’t too long after writing about this laser focus on homeowners insurance affordability by our legislature that I finally had a free minute to comparison shop on mine. The picture heading this post is from one of the quotes I got. While the legislators talk a great game about affordability, right there on the quote are two brand spanking new fees they imposed. Let’s look at what they are. The first is a $5.75 (yearly) fee assessed on my insurance: a Colorado FAIR Plan Recoupment Fee. This program — FAIR standin...
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Senate Democrats Advance Plan To Redirect Millions In TABOR Refunds
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Senate Democrats Advance Plan To Redirect Millions In TABOR Refunds

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Despite objections from legislative staff and Republican opposition, Senate Democrats on Friday moved forward with a proposal to reroute $306 million in taxpayer refunds. Already, critics are preparing to sue over the proposal that seeks to take $300 million in Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds over the next two years to cover what Democratic lawmakers believe is an overpayment from a previous fiscal year. House Bill 1419 won preliminary approval from the state Senate on Friday. It now awaits a final vote in the chamber and will then go back to the House, which must concur with any amendments adopted. The alleged overpayments in 2024–25 TABOR refunds were never reflected in the state’s 2024–25 budget because they stemmed ...
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Democrats Advance Bill Sidestepping Citizen Led Push To Prioritize Roads And Bridges
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Democrats Advance Bill Sidestepping Citizen Led Push To Prioritize Roads And Bridges

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The battle over road funding intensified at the state Capitol this week, where legislators are seeking to negate an initiative that supporters say is sorely needed but which critics insist would divert money from other state priorities. Supporters of the initiative questioned the timing of new legislation that emerged in the waning days of the legislative session. They also wondered about how much feedback sponsors sought, insinuating the House bill was crafted without input from the road construction industry. At stake is roughly $700 million in state dollars. Introduced last week, House Bill 1430 would take effect only ifInitiative No. 175 passes in November. The initiative would require that transportation-...
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Colorado Legislators To Receive Raises During $1.5 Billion Budget Crisis
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Legislators To Receive Raises During $1.5 Billion Budget Crisis

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado’s $1.5 billion budget deficit is driving widespread cuts across state services, including reduced reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers and steep income losses for families caring for relatives with intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, as those reductions take effect, an automatic pay increase for state lawmakers — triggered by a 2024 change in law — remains scheduled to begin in 2027. When Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1333 on Monday, the measure included a salary increase for legislators. The bill does not reference this pay raise directly, nor is it mentioned in either of the bill’s fiscal analyses. The increased salary, along with higher per diem and mileage rates, is expe...
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SB 135 Education Tax Plan Lacks Accountability For Teacher Pay Raises
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

SB 135 Education Tax Plan Lacks Accountability For Teacher Pay Raises

By Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado According to the sponsors of Senate Bill 135, Colorado teachers will remain severely underpaid unless voters approve massive spending increases and a permanent change to how the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) revenue cap is calculated.  In reality, even if it were true that Colorado’s teachers are underpaid, the SB-135 tax hike does not guarantee that things like teacher pay will increase or that teacher retention will improve.  Let’s examine why.  False advertising  The stated purpose of SB-135 is to direct new education funding to any of four categories, as best determined by school districts: increasing teacher pay, improving teacher retention, lowering class size...
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Polis Plan Relies On Keeping TABOR Refunds to Balance Budget
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Polis Plan Relies On Keeping TABOR Refunds to Balance Budget

By Nash Herman | Commentary, Complete Colorado Should voters have a say in whether Colorado’s state government can keep and spend $289.1 million in taxpayer money because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)?  House Bill 1419, titled “Refund of State Revenues,” fulfills one of Governor Polis’ primary budget requests to balance this year’s budget.  Background Polis’ office suggests that, due to immediate reductions in state tax collections upon passage of the federal OBBBA, the state is entitled to recoup Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) refunds accordingly.  However, as previously explained, Legislative Council Staff believed that the request was legally dubious and could exacerbate future fiscal challenges should the g...
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