The Special Session on property taxes started Monday; the plan is to finish Thursday and adjourn. HB 24B-1001 contains the agreement reached between Legislative leadership, the Governor’s Office, and the proponents of Initiatives 50 and 108. The proponents of Initiatives 50 and 108 have pledged to withdraw those measures upon passage of HB 24B-1001.
HB 24B-1001 has the following components:
- Reduction in Residential Assessment Rate to 6.3% or 6.4%, depending on certain economic conditions.
- Reduction in Commercial Assessment Rates to 25%.
- Establishment of an annual local government (5.25%) and K-12 (6.0%) property tax revenue cap, calculated over a two-year period. The school cap could increase based on the increase in per pupil funding.
- Specification of language that must be used to request an exemption from the caps by the voters.
HB 24B-1001 passed the House today on a vote of 45-18. It will be heard in Senate Appropriations Committee and then debated in the Senate on second reading today. The fiscal note for HB 24B-1001 can be helpful in understanding the bill.
The one House amendment of note is a modification of the property tax revenue cap for local governments and K-12 education. The amendment, called “cap forward”, will allow any unused cap space in one two-year period to be carried forward to the next two-year period. This will better recognize Colorado’s traditional swings in property tax revenues.
The only other bills still alive are:
HB 24B-1003 Business Personal Property Tax Exemptions – this bill will create a business personal property tax exemption for personal property in greenhouses.
HCR 24B-1001 Local Approval of Property Tax Initiatives – this resolution will refer a constitutional amendment to voters for the 2024 general election that, if approved, will require any statewide voter initiative that affects or limits property tax revenue or spending to be approved by voters in a local government jurisdiction for the statewide limit to apply to that local government. This resolution is still being debated in the House – it needs two-thirds majority in both chambers to qualify for the ballot. It is unlikely to reach that margin in the Senate.
Both bills passed the House, and their fate in the Senate is unknown.
More to come.
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