(Colorado State Capitol, May 7th, 2023) – Today, the Colorado House of Representatives passed the just-introduced legislation House Bill 1311, Identical Temporary TABOR Refund. Conditional upon approval of the ballot measure referred to voters in Senate Bill 23-303, this bill directs that rather than TABOR refunds be returned based on how much a taxpayer contributes, TABOR refunds would instead be redistributed ‘equitably’ to tax filers.
House Bill 1311 was introduced just yesterday, less than 72 hours left in session, without any input or prior knowledge to the Minority Caucus. The bill was then rushed through the Appropriations Committee with no scheduled public testimony, aside from a liberal think-tank lobbyist who apparently had prior knowledge and was ready to testify with details of the legislation. The bill was then rushed back to the House floor and debate was limited by the House majority to only 1 hour through Rule 14. This morning, HB1311 passed along party lines.
In response to the passing of this new TABOR redistribution bill, House Minority Leader Mike Lynch (R-Wellington) issued the following statement:
“If the Governor truly believed in his Property Tax scheme, he and the Democrats in the legislature should want it fully heard by Coloradans; not rushed at 8 o’clock on Saturday night or voted on quickly while they attend church on a Sunday morning,” said Leader Lynch. “In less than 24 hours, House Democrats introduced House Bill 1311 with a $2.4 Billion fiscal note that would change how Colorado TABOR refunds are distributed – equitably – regardless of your contribution. This massive change to make TABOR refunds ‘equitable’ was posted online, heard in appropriations committee, had limited public comment, and was voted on in less than a day from introduction.”
“We’ve seen this movie before; Governor Polis and his friends in the Democrat controlled legislature have looked to raid TABOR to solve economic problems they’ve usually created,” said Leader Lynch. “In 2019, the Governor and Democratic lawmakers ran Proposition CC that would have allowed the state to keep citizens’ TABOR refunds for schools and it was rejected by 7% points. Hopefully, Coloradans will see through this new effort to extort their constitutionally guaranteed TABOR refunds and exponentially raise their taxes by nearly $400 Billion over the next three decades.”
Rep. Holtorf calls for a Special Session:
Rep. Bockenfeld goes after the General Assembly and Governor for causing this crisis!:
Assistant Minority Leader Pugliese on Democrats’ coming for your TABOR refund:
