On May 6, 2019, I published my first piece in Colorado Politics as a regular columnist – unwittingly embarking on a newfound career as a columnist, which would later include a separate weekly article in The Denver Gazette.

Four years later, the subject I chose for my first CoPo entry is arguably more important today than ever before. Following sine die on Monday night, we must again reflect on how crucial the Colorado Constitution’s 120-day limit on legislative sessions is at stopping the clock on a runaway legislature – and the fundamental role the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights plays, too.

Colorado has always embodied the spirit of the West – the idea that, in the words of territorial secretary Frank Hall (when Colorado was Jefferson Territory), we’re a “free and radically independent people.” That’s why the state’s constitution has empowered voters to amend it, propose and approve initiatives and referenda and recall elected officials.

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It’s also why the legislative session has been constrained from the start – originally to 40 days biennially (1876) and ultimately 120 days annually (1988). We’ve always held tightly to limiting the General Assembly in both time and scope.

“It was sheer genius of the framers of the Colorado Constitution to limit the damage one legislative session can do – and for Coloradans to hold closely to this idea,” I wrote in 2019. By mandating the legislature to finish its work in a fixed amount of time, it tempers the damage legislators can do through a flurry of sweeping, one-sided legislation.

“Just think of all the things a single party – whichever party – one that’s been emboldened with greater power than at any other time in memory and guided by an extreme agenda, could do with a lot more time,” I added.

In this session, Democrats managed to cram through a sweeping array of massive and controversial bills. The laundry list of items is for another column. But one prime example where the 120-day limit was essential came with the failure of Senate Bill 213 – a crushing defeat for Gov. Jared Polis’s radical effort to effectively revoke local governments’ longstanding authority over land use and zoning.

SB213 originally passed the Senate after a bipartisan coalition worked together to scale back the original legislation’s affront to local control, having faced unparalleled opposition from local governments statewide. But last week, after it got to the House, Polis cracked the whip. The OG bill was restored. The House quickly added numerous amendments that brought the bill from 99 pages to 154 pages – done so fast, no one knew what it said.

So, when SB213 made it back to the Senate, the 120-day time limit helped guide wiser action on the bill – namely, after a deal couldn’t be reached, Polis’s radical effort to subordinate local officials to his one-size-fits-all vision collapsed in a heap of embarrassment.

If you can’t get it done within 120 days, and reach a reasonable agreement, it probably shouldn’t be done in the first place.

Of course, sometimes politics and agendas outweigh other considerations. Early last week, Polis announced another sudden, radical effort on property taxes and the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. It’s not like this issue wasn’t known previously: in 2020, Colorado voters approved the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment, with no alternative ready to go. Now, residential property owners’ tax bills are skyrocketing 30% to 50%.

So, you would think Democrats would address this issue early on, with seriousness and deliberation rather than haste and radicalism. They didn’t – waiting until the tail-end to introduce Senate Bill 303, shutting out Republicans entirely and ignoring calls from Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen for a special session instead.

In less than a week, Democrats rammed through SB303, which in part takes some TABOR refunds and puts it toward a tiny offset of property tax increases. Basically, robbing Peter to pay Paul – with Peter sometimes being homeowners also named Paul, and other times being renters who would subsidize Paul.

It gets worse: On Saturday – the third-to-last day of the session – Democrats introduced last-minute House Bill 1311 to flatten our next round of TABOR refunds to $661 for individual tax filers and $1,332 for joint filers. The refund would come next year during tax season. Part of the argument is to help renters who will get screwed by SB303 –  but in actuality, it’s because Democrats would again prove that last year’s $750 “Colorado Cashback” gimmick was indeed an election-year political ploy.

The TABOR mechanisms in SB303 and HB1311 are tied to forthcoming Proposition HH, meaning voters must pass HH in November. Here, Democrats are playing dirty political games. Are you a property owner who wants some property tax crumbs? Vote for HH. Do you make less than $50,000 and want a flat-lump sum of $661, instead of a minimum $434? Vote for HH. To Democrats, TABOR is merely a toy for them to play games with.

If voters pass HH, they will gut TABOR in the long-term, as SB303 siphons off Coloradans’ refunds entirely over the next decade-or-so – thereby accomplishing Democrats’ ceaseless effort to terminate TABOR.

The amendment has been in Colorado’s Constitution for 30 years, serving as a critical check on the government’s ability to take our money and spend it without limit – promoting fiscal responsibility and restraining government power. Together with the 120-day limit on legislative sessions, Coloradans are fortunate to have such profound – if not impenetrable – checks on a runaway legislature. We must protect both.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS. Reach Jimmy online at JimmySengenberger.com or on Twitter @SengCenter.