A ballot measure that would generate $270 million annually for affordable housing is headed for voter review after qualifying for the ballot.

Proponents for Initiative #108 turned in 149,072 valid signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and of those signatures, clearing the 124,632-vote threshold required to qualify for the election.

“We’re thrilled that this measure is officially on the ballot,” said Brian Rossbert, executive director of Housing Colorado. “The people of Colorado have spoken, and they want to make Colorado affordable. Too many Coloradans can no longer afford to live in the neighborhoods where they set down roots. That’s forcing families to make difficult relocation decisions, robbing our communities of essential services and intensifying our homelessness crisis. This measure is desperately needed if we want future generations of Coloradans to thrive.”

Initiative #108 proposes to divert 0.1% of the general fund into a state affordable housing fund. The measure, according to a nonpartisan fiscal analysis, is a revenue change to the state’s TABOR spending limit. It will reduce TABOR refunds by the same amount: $135 million in 2023 and $270 million to $300 million thereafter. 

Make Colorado Affordable said the measure will help build 170,000 affordable new homes and rental units. The initiative defines affordable as 60% or less of the area median income for rentals and housing at 100% or below of the area median income and a mortgage payment of less than 30% of a household’s income. 

For example, Denver’s median income from 2016-2020 was $72,661, according to the Census Bureau. Colorado Springs’ median income for the same period was $67,719.

The measure is backed by Housing Colorado, Community First Foundation, Colorado Realtors Association, Caring for Colorado, Rocky Mountain Mechanical Contractors and Unions, Civitas Resources, Urban Land Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver and Gary Ventures, which put $2 million into the initiative’s campaign finance committee, Coloradans for Affordable Housing Now. The committee has so far raised a total of $2.8 million and spent more than $2 million to gather signatures. Other donors include the National Association of Realtors, Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver and the Colorado Low Income Housing Campaign, which is run by Housing Colorado.

The November ballot now has five measures seeking voter approval. In addition to Initiative #108, they are:

• Initiative #31, which asks voters to reduce the state’s income tax rate from 4.55% to 4.41% and is backed by Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute and state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling
• Initiative #58, which would allow regulated entities, including healing centers and facilitators, to provide so-called “magic mushrooms.” It is backed by Natural Medicine Colorado, which gets its funding from the New Approach PAC of Washington, D.C., a pro-marijuana group 
• House Bill 1414, one of two measures referred by the General Assembly and known as Healthy Meals for All, would ask voters to approve a change in high-income tax deductions. That would create a new funding stream to provide free meals to all students in Colorado public schools. Hunger Free Colorado is financing the campaign for the measure
• Senate Bill 222, which would impact the information provided for ballot measures that affect the individual income tax rate. Under the measure, the fiscal summary would include a tax information table for any citizen-initiated measure that either increases or decreases the individual income tax rate. That information would show the estimated effect of the initiative on tax owned by individuals in eight different income categories. The campaign is supported by Coloradans for Ballot Transparency, which has so far raised $105,000, all but $5,000 from philanthropist and Democratic donor Merle Chambers, a former oil and natural gas CEO and lawyer and currently head of Leith Ventures, LLC

Three other initiatives are awaiting signature verification, all tied to alcohol:

• Initiative #96 would allow for more retail liquor licenses
• Initiative #121 would allow grocery stores to sell wine
• Initiative 122 would allow third-party delivery of alcohol

Initiatives #121 and #122 are backed by Wine in Grocery Stores, which has raised nearly $4 million to collect signatures, with $2.7 million on hand heading into the fall campaign season. The biggest backer is the delivery service DoorDash, which has so far contributed $3.29 million for the measures.

One issue committee Keep Colorado Local is opposed to the three alcohol-related measures and has raised $226,467 through July 27. Its biggest funders are the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, along with several local liquor stores.

Initiative #96, backed by Coloradans for Consumer Choice and Retail Fairness, is funded primarily by Robert and David Trone of Maryland. David Trone a Democratic lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives. The brothers own Total Wine & More, which has two outlets in the Denver metro area. The Trones, along with a Total Wine affiliate, Colorado Fine Wine & Spirits, LLC have so far contributed $2.22 million, with all but $200,000 spent to collect petition signatures.