Support for Proposition HH began eroding the moment the Colorado property tax relief plan was introduced
Support for Proposition HH started to unravel from the moment the bill placing the Colorado property tax relief plan on the November 2023 ballot was unveiled by Gov. Jared Polis’ at a news conference in his office at the state Capitol.
The governor was flanked at the May 1 event by high-profile supporters of the measure — liberals and conservatives. Polis pointed to their presence as evidence that the proposal was a well-crafted approach to a problem that had dogged state lawmakers since voters repealed the Gallagher Amendment in 2020, removing guardrails from the state’s property tax system.
“I certainly look forward to working with the business community and many other supporters to make sure that voters are aware of the importance of delivering on these property tax cuts,” Polis said, adding that he was “confident” the initiative would be approved by Coloradans.
But the reality was many of the people standing next to the governor at that news conference either had doubts about the complex policy, which also would have boosted funding for schools and cut into the amount of money for state taxpayer refunds, or didn’t fully understand how it worked, according to The Colorado Sun’s reporting. That weak foundation was reflected in how voters rejected Proposition HH, a 10-year property tax relief and state spending overhaul, by an 18 percentage-point margin last week in one of Polis’ biggest policy failures since he became governor in 2019.
The legislature will gather at the Capitol starting Friday for a special session to try to quickly offer Coloradans property tax relief for the 2023 tax year before reconvening in January to take another stab at a long-term solution. The negotiations will be colored by Proposition HH’s political collapse.