36 hours after voters rejected his property tax relief proposal, Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday called the legislature back into session next week to come up with a long overdue fix for property owners.
After the resounding defeat of Proposition HH, Colorado Democrats are now scrambling to address the state's property tax mess by calling for a special session. But critics are skeptical of their motives, questioning why they didn't have a backup plan in case the controversial proposition failed.
The special session, set to start on Nov. 17, will only last a minimum of three days, leaving little time for lawmakers to pass any meaningful legislation to provide property tax relief. The call comes less than two days after the failure of Proposition HH, which sought to use Taxpayer's Bill of Rights surplus revenue to reduce property taxes and fund various local governments.
Governor Jared Polis, who previously claimed to have no backup plan in case Proposition HH failed, broke a glass “emergency case” with a bat, while wearing safety goggles, in a failed attempt to emphasize the "magnitude of the challenge" ahead. The room full of reporters and legislators looked on non-plussed.
During the short morning presser, the governor also mentioned the tight timeline for dealing with the 2023 tax crisis, with assessors needing to finalize assessment rates by Dec. 15.
But critics point out that this sudden call for a special session seems to be a political ploy to save face after the overwhelming rejection of Proposition HH by voters.
House Minority Leader Mike Lynch said, “While it’s disappointing that it took the overwhelming defeat of Prop. HH to get their attention, it’s certainly my hope that the Governor and Democrats will now agree to common sense reforms to Colorado’s property tax mess and not just a simple band-aid to a complex problem.”
Michael Fields, who led the effort to defeat the proposition, welcomed the special session but stated that the best remedy is to roll back property tax rates and implement a cap on future tax revenue growth.
Even Democrats themselves acknowledged the failure of their approach and the need for immediate relief, highlighting that they had always known that if Proposition HH failed, property taxes would skyrocket. They now claim to be taking a more "laser-focused" approach to provide short-term relief, while still protecting schools and fire districts.
Rep. Lisa Frizell, who proposed HB 23-1054 last session to address the out-of-control property evaluation in Colorado said, “We knew going into last session this was going to be an issue and presented real solutions to the Governor and Democrats. Those solutions fell on deaf ears.”
Interestingly, the ideas proposed by Democrats in the special session are remarkably similar to legislation proposed by Republicans earlier this year. But their proposals were killed in committee, with little support from the Democrats.
It's clear that the Democrats are now playing catch-up and trying to save face after their flawed proposition was soundly rejected by voters. Critics also question where the funding for this relief will come from, as the $200 million set aside is simply not enough.
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Additionally, Democrats are now trying to include a proposal for food and nutrition benefits for children in the special session, which seems to be a distraction from the property tax issue at hand.
But perhaps the most concerning aspect of this special session is the potential for Democrats to use it as leverage to push their agenda and advance their own political interests, rather than truly addressing the property tax crisis. With only a few days to pass legislation, there is little opportunity for bipartisan debate and compromise.
In the end, it seems that the Democrats' sudden call for a special session is nothing more than a desperate attempt to save face and push their agenda, while offering little real relief for Colorado taxpayers.