Just days before the Colorado legislature is slated to hold a special session to pass a compromise and thereby stop Proposition 108, the Secretary of State announced it officially qualified for the November ballot.

Proposition 108 aims to reduce assessment rates for residential and commercial properties to 5.7% and 24%, respectively.  

Last week, Gov. Jared Polis announced he would be convening a three-day session on property taxes starting on Aug. 26.

Polis told Colorado Politics the goal is to pass a compromise on property taxes and pull from the ballot both Proposition 108 and a proposed Constitutional amendment, Proposition 50, which would cap future property tax growth at 4%. 

Advance Colorado and Colorado Concern, the groups behind the two initiatives, confirmed that a compromise has been reached between the governor and legislative leaders, and that they will withdraw their initiatives from the ballot if the agreement is signed into law. 

“Because the agreement offers a permanent solution to Colorado’s property tax crisis, Advance Colorado and Colorado Concern will not bring similar ballot measures in the future — provided that the legislative, executive or judicial branches do not go back on the provisions of the agreement in the years ahead,” the groups said in a news release.

The agreement would cut the effective residential property tax to 6.3% or 6.4%, depending on assessment growth, and reduce the commercial property tax rate to 25%. It also caps growth for local governments at 5.25% and sets a limit for school districts at either 6% or inflation growth, whichever is higher. Additionally, it ensures that the ballot language for opting out of the local cap is “clear and non-biased.”  

Combined with legislation already enacted earlier this year, the deal yields nearly $1.6 billion in annual tax savings, according to Advance Colorado and Colorado Concern. 

Read more about the agreement here.