The Secretary of State’s office on Monday announced that Initiative 306, on a reduction in the state income tax rate, has qualified for the November ballot.

Initiative 306 is the brainchild of Republican state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, Sterling, who tried for two years to persuade the General Assembly to lower the state income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.5%. 

Despite a claim by Gov. Jared Polis that he, too, wanted a reduction in the income tax rate, Democrats in the General Assembly have said no. So Sonnenberg turned to the ballot box.

The measure also is backed by the Independence Institute’s Jon Caldara.

“We’re excited,” Sonnenberg told Colorado Politics Tuesday. “Now we go to work, talking to the people of Colorado and why that money is better off in their pockets. I think it will be easy to sell; people have been out of work for months who need that money. Everybody has had to tighten their belt, and it’s only reasonable that government tightens its belt too and let taxpayers keep their own money.”

Most of the campaigning will be at the grassroots level, Sonnenberg said. 

According to the secretary of state, supporters turned in 198,538 signatures. Based on the 5% random sample, the number of valid signatures turned in was set at 140,058. A total of 124.632 is required to make the ballot. 

The ballot measure changes state statute, so it must win approval at 50% plus one vote.

The fiscal impact statement for initiative #306 says it will reduce state revenues by $78.1 million in fiscal year 2019-20, $158.4 million in 2020-21 and $169.8 million in 2021-22.

The fiscal statement says that the measure applies to the 2020 tax year, which is why it could have an impact in the 2019-20 fiscal year. 

For an individual taxpayer who earns $50,000 per year, the amount of income taxes they will keep under initiative #306 is $40. A taxpayer earning $100,000 per year will keep an additional $80; a taxpayer earning $250,000 per year will retain $200.

Due to revenue reductions tied to the pandemic and the recession, the General Assembly cut $3.3 billion from the 2020-21 budget, slashing spending for K-12 education by $621.42 million. That increased the debt to K-12 that dates back a decade to more than $1.1 billion. Higher education lost $493.2 million. A $250 million balloon payment to the state’s pension plan, intended to help it reduce its unfunded liability, also was eliminated in the 2020-21 budget.

Initiative #306 becomes the eighth voter question that will appear on the November ballot. Five citizen initiatives, on late-term abortions (#120), re-introducing gray wolves (#107), whether to repeal SB 19-042 on National Popular Vote and on citizen voters (#76), have already qualified. In addition, the General Assembly referred three measures: to repeal the Gallagher Amendment on property tax ratios, an increase on taxes for tobacco and vaping products and to loosen the restrictions on bingo-gaming licenses.