(The Center Square) – The Colorado House sent three pieces of legislation dealing with property taxes to the Senate on Wednesday, the third day of a special session focused on the topic.
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis called the special session earlier this month after an agreement was reached with conservative organizations. Advance Colorado and Colorado Concern agreed to pull from the November ballot two “cap and cut” property tax initiatives—Initiative 50 and Initiative 108—in exchange for agreed upon property tax changes.
During debates, many legislators criticized the deal.
“We’re here doing this special session because a decision was made to negotiate with oligarchs,” Rep. Stephanie Vigil, D-El Paso, said during floor debate. “This is a very small number of unelected, unaccountable individuals with extremely deep pockets.”
Assistant Minority Leader Ty Winter, R-Trinidad, said he traveled thousands of miles throughout his district this summer and often discussed property tax issues with multiple groups in his district.
“As an elected official, this is the toughest position I have been in to date,” Winter said. “I have lost sleep over this bill because I want to do what is right for Coloradans. … We have been given a scenario with so many moving parts.”
House Bill 24B-1001, which contains 44 pages of changes to the property tax law, passed by a vote of 58-3. The fiscal note, usually two to four pages, is 12 pages.
The bill would change property value assessment ranges starting in the 2024 property tax year. It would modify a property tax growth limit for some local government entities and all school districts. The bill’s prime sponsors are Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, Rep. Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, and Senators Chris Hansen, D-Denver, and Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton.
“This bill is not a fix-all,” Winter said. “We know that. Unfortunately, we have kicked this can down the road since I have been here a handful of times. … We live in very different parts of the state and the one-size-fits-all jersey isn’t right. You don’t hand somebody a 2XL that wears a large and say, ‘Take it.’ Unfortunately, we do a lot.”
House Concurrent Resolution 24B-1001 would ask voters in November to pass a constitutional amendment on property taxes. If approved, any statewide voter initiative that affects or limits property tax revenue or spending would have to be approved by voters in local government jurisdictions for the statewide limit to apply to that local government. The resolution passed 44-19, the minimum number of votes required to pass a resolution.
House Bill 24B-1003 would make permanent exemptions on personal property taxes for agricultural equipment. Currently, agricultural equipment used in any controlled environmental agricultural facility isn’t exempt from personal property taxes through 2027. The exemption for machinery or equipment that is part of a solar energy system and used for agrivoltaics, land used for agriculture and solar energy production. The bill also would exempt personal property within a greenhouse used only for planting or growing crops in a raw or unprocessed state.
