It’s not the first time the General Assembly has tried to pull a fast one on the electorate by way of an end run on what voters enacted at the ballot box. But it might be the first time lawmakers have connived to get away with it in advance. That’s right, before the public even has had a chance to weigh in.
As reported in Thursday’s Gazette, a bill just introduced late in the 2021 Legislature and being fast-tracked through committees at press time would change the way real property is classified for taxation in Colorado. It would conjure up new categories of property and new assessment rates to go with them. The purpose? To short-circuit a citizens petition drive to cut Colorado’s soaring property taxes by $1.03 billion on next fall’s ballot. Lawmakers fear the ballot issue would prove popular with voters in November, so they’re trying to sabotage it now.
It’s a back-alley shell game. It’s also playing dirty — a late hit. The ballot proposal’s formal title, indicating its aim and scope, already has been set by the state.
The bill would temporarily lower property tax rates and allow some homeowners to delay part of their property tax payments but it's also designed to partially cancel out voters' chance to cut property taxes by a larger amount this November.
Expecting a cash infusion after the Colorado Supreme Court gave its blessing to raising local school district taxes, lawmakers are proposing major changes