House Republicans launched a brief filibuster on Friday morning over legislation to double a tax credit using Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights surplus dollars. 

House Bill 24-1084 is actually a repeal and re-enactment of a measure from the special session in November that dealt with property taxes. The 2023 measure doubles the Earned Income Tax Credit.

The filibuster, which occurred on just the third day of the new legislative session, lasted about 45 minutes. Republicans’ opposition centers around the bill’s use of TABOR surplus dollars, which they view as an attack on TABOR by reducing refunds by about $182.5 million. 

Last year’s bill is the subject of a lawsuit from Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-Colorado Springs. He filed the challenge in Denver District Court on Dec. 28 against House Speaker Julie McCluskie and Gov. Jared Polis, who signed the bill into law, claiming he had been denied his constitutional right to have the measure be read at length during its final vote on Nov. 9. 

That was the day the House devolved into chaos for about an hour, when pro-Palestinian protesters shouted from the gallery and were later joined by Rep. Elisabeth Epps, D-Denver, who had since been reprimanded for her actions.

In his lawsuit, Bottoms said he had expressed his views that the protest was not a peaceful one. He claimed McCluskie reprimanded him and told him he would not be recognized to speak the rest of the day during the third reading. 

It was at that point that Bottoms asked for the bill to be read at length, a request he submitted to a House clerk via a business card.

The lawsuit said Jennifer Gilroy, the Revisor of Statutes, told Bottoms that his request for a reading of HB-1002 was “legitimate but not fulfilled due to the rapid proceedings.”

“The lawyer’s explanation to Rep. Bottoms about the unacknowledged request indicates a recognition of the procedural missteps during the legislative session,” said the lawsuit, which seeks to have the law declared null and void.

No action has been taken on the lawsuit since it was filed on Dec. 28.

HB 1084 notes Bottoms’ lawsuit, although it does not mention him by name. 

The 2024 bill, which passed the House Appropriations Committee on a party-line 6-4 vote Friday morning, won a preliminary vote of approval from the full House just before noon Friday. It heads to a final vote in the House on Tuesday and is then off to the state Senate.

During the filibuster, Bottoms said he “always appreciates it right before I get up to speak on a bill what I can and cannot say.” 

At the conclusion of the Republicans’ remarks, the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, asked that it be read at length. That earned her a “thank you” from Bottoms, who said it strengthens his lawsuit.