It isn’t often that the public gets to see divisions between the Governor’s Office and the Democratic majority that runs the House and Senate in Colorado.

But a small fissure was briefly exposed Friday as the Senate worked on a bill dealing with income tax credits for nonprofits that help the homeless.

House Bill 1083, as amended by the Senate Thursday, would expand those tax credits that currently only apply in enterprise zones to the entire state. The tax credits currently fund temporary, emergency, or transitional housing programs for homeless persons in those zones. 

The fiscal analysis on HB 1083 says 54 projects that promote eligible housing for the homeless within Colorado enterprise zones received contributions in 2020. Of those projects, approximately 14,178 taxpayers made a total of $21.7 million in contributions in 2020, generating approximately $5.4 million in state income tax credits. The fiscal analysis estimated 150 new non-profits would seek funding from the tax credit in 2023, at a cost to the state of $6.1 million next year and increasing to $8 million two years later.

The bill was up for its final vote in the Senate Friday morning, but Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, said there is “a specific person” who prefers to see the program expire after four years, as proposed in her amendment, rather than in five years, as the original legislation has it.

Winter didn’t name the “specific person,” but it’s clear she’s referring to Gov. Jared Polis.

The majority of the chamber’s Democrats initially balked at the amendment.

Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, warned that the state is in a TABOR refund situation for the next three years, and that tax expenditures, such as HB 1083, would pull from education and higher education funding. 

Sensing trouble, Winter argued that the tax credit is already in current law – it’s just being expanded statewide.

Sen. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, also argued against the amendment.

“We have to make sure the least among us” are helped, he said, arguing the bill, as introduced, ensures that, in future years, private dollars investments will go to nonprofits that are on the ground, solving problems.

“There’s one person in this building that wants this amendment. That’s fine. He gets a vote. Not today,” Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, quipped.

A dozen Democrats, along with 11 Republicans, voted the amendment down.

The Senate then went into a “senatorial five” to discuss the matter away from the mic. When the chamber came back, Bridges asked for a reconsideration, and the amendment was adopted on a 20-15 vote, with eight Democrats switching from “no” to “yes,” including Bridges. Gonzales remained a “no.”

The bill, which passed on a 35-0 vote, now goes back to the House, which will review the Senate amendments.