Senate Bill 23-303 – the legislative cocoon that Proposition HH emerged from – was a beautiful display of political genius. Short-term relief offered in exchange for a terminal diagnosis for our TABOR tax refunds. Thanks, Guv!

Miss LaBriola is correct in her assertion our legislature has the right to petition the people regarding efforts to increase its revenues. If the state provides a valid need with a modest tax increase, there is no reason why the average voter shouldn’t give it careful consideration.

Unfortunately, that description doesn’t fit Proposition HH.

The problem is simple: Coloradans are facing an approximate $4 billion property tax increase this year because liberals in the legislature resisted implementing a long-term solution to property tax assessment rates. It simply wasn’t a priority.

Let the voters decide on Prop HH, TABOR | POINT

The fix could have been relatively simple: Cap the percentage that those assessment rates can grow year-over-year to avoid sudden 40% increases that threaten the financial stability of Coloradans, especially those on a fixed income. Though my counterpart claims Prop HH will be on the ballot because it is “asking to reduce and alter the state’s property tax structure,” this isn’t the case. Reductions in taxes do not need voter approval; only increases do.

Yes, the legislature could have capped assessment rates during this legislative session without the need for voter approval. In fact, that’s what they did (temporarily) during the 2022 session with Senate Bill 22-238.

What we got instead of a simple fix was a “property tax reduction” of 0.06% in exchange for a confusing modification to the TABOR refund mechanism. Adding 1% to the TABOR cap each year may not seem like a big deal, but compounding year over year means within just a few years, TABOR refunds could be eliminated forever. It was completely unnecessary for the legislature to even broach the subject of TABOR refunds, but they simply couldn’t help themselves.

Stay up to speed: Sign-up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

There is a reason Gov. Jared Polis waited until just seven days remained on the legislative calendar to introduce the idea. Prop HH intentionally buries the lede on its effect on TABOR refunds, violates the “single-subject” guidelines of our state Constitution, and fails to clarify exactly what sort of reduction in property taxes Coloradans are receiving. I don’t care what slogan Polis puts on his podium posterboards – this isn’t what Coloradans wanted when they begged for relief.

It is also worth reminding even with Prop HH’s measly reduction in property taxes, we’re still set to see the largest increase in our state’s history.

Indeed, if the Louvre had a room reserved for legislation crafted with such creative brilliance, this measure would be its Mona Lisa. We shan’t destroy art, but we should relegate it to a museum, leaving it out of our state statutes. Mark your calendar for Nov. 8, the day after we defeat this measure. Call the governor’s office that Wednesday and demand he convene a special session to pass real relief. If he’d like, he is welcome to reuse the same posterboards.

Sage Naumann is a conservative commentator and strategist. He is vice president of communications at 76 Group and was previously the spokesman for the Colorado Senate Republicans. Follow him on Twitter @SageNaumann.