Colorado

Printable Version

Colorado

LEGISLATION ADDRESSES TABOR, URBAN RENEWAL & AFFORDABLE HOUISING
HB – 1994 “To Provide a more Stable Means of Funding State Budgetary Needs” A bill to revise TABOR was approved in the Colorado House in late April and will appear on the November Ballot as “Referendum C.” A broad coalition of House lawmakers emerged Monday to approve the fiscal fix known as House Bill 1194 on 11th reading. (The Colorado Senate approved the bill on April 4th.) Lawmakers have cut about $1.1 billion in spending over the past four years to balance the budget during the recent recession and are facing an estimated $561 million more in cuts over the next five years. HB 1194/Referendum C will ask voters to let state government keep $3.1 billion more over the next five years than it is allowed to under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), which limits how much revenue the state can keep and spend. In our region, Senators Bacon and Johnson (Larimer County) Shaffer and Tupa (Boulder County), Owen (Weld County) and Representatives McCluskey and Paccione (Larimer County), Hall and Riesberg (Weld County), Weismann, Pommer, Madden, and Plant (Boulder County) voted in favor of the bill. Voting no were Representatives Lundberg (Larimer County), Welker (Loveland), Brophy (Morgan County), Bill Berens (City and County of Broomfield) and Senator Minority Leader Hillman (District 1, which includes Morgan County along with 9 other eastern counties).
Bonding Plan Headed for November Ballot: Democrats on officially unveiled their $2 billion bond package to improve schools and roads, as well as to fund pensions for firefighters and police officers. The bonding proposal is part of a budget- reform deal struck by Republican Governor Bill Owens and Democratic leaders in March. The loan proposal is expected to be put on November's ballot for voter approval as “Referendum D.” The bonding plan is a companion piece to Referendum C (HB 1194) because it is intended to help some of the government services that have been negatively impacted by TABOR.
SB-224 “County Impacts and Urban Renewal” was introduced last week by Senator Bob Bacon (Larimer County) with the support of the Colorado Municipal League and Colorado Counties Inc. It would delete the provision in State statutes which requires tax revenues to be used only within an urban renewal district and would allow municipalities to share urban renewal tax revenues with counties. The bill would also establish a process for dispute resolution where agricultural land is involved. Note: Larimer County has been the site of several important urban renewal developments in the past 2 years, both of which included the use of agricultural lands – the creation of the Centerra urban renewal district in Loveland and the decision by the Town of Timnath trustees to create an urban renewal district which includes the entire town and annexed properties which will become the site of residential development in the future. The Larimer County Commissioners became alarmed by both situations because of the effect of the urban renewal districts on the County’s tax revenues. Larimer County has filed a lawsuit against the Town of Timnath in an attempt to stop the town from proceeding with its urban renewal plan.
HB 1331 "Home Investment Fund" As predicted, Representative Betty Boyd introduced HB 1331 in an effort to create an affordable housing trust fund in Colorado. According to the bill’s summary, it “Expands the existing powers of the state division of housing (division) by authorizing the division to temporarily hold real property for the purpose of preserving the property as affordable and to transfer title to the property to a local housing authority or a private for-profit or nonprofit corporation.” In the past, proponents had identified a creation of a real estate transfer tax to be used as a possible funding source; however this bill only creates the structure of a fund and does not identify the funding source. Note: It’s difficult to understand the sponsor’s decision to introduce this bill without a funding source. Observers speculate that if the bill were to pass, funding could be the subject of legislation in a future legislative session. A very unlikely possibility.