It took a couple of years, a couple of regular legislative sessions and a couple of special sessions. It also took a whole lot of wrangling to overcome the political establishment’s state of denial — about how skyrocketing property taxes are crushing the average Coloradan.

The bipartisan property tax relief that emerged from last week’s special session of the Legislature — hammered out by the governor, legislative leadership and proponents of even further-reaching tax relief that had been headed for this fall’s statewide ballot — was overdue.

The ballot proposals, initiated by advocacy group Advance Colorado and business community heavyweight Colorado Concern, would have done more to ease the tax burden.

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The groups agreed, however, to withdraw their measures from the ballot so long as Gov. Jared Polis and his fellow Democrats in charge at the Legislature passed the tax relief provisions the two sides had negotiated. Such is the nature of compromise, and the agreement held together.

As Colorado Politics reported upon the special session’s conclusion Thursday, votes in the two chambers showed overwhelming support for the proposal, even though Democrats and a few Republicans balked at the deal. Polis is expected to sign the legislation this week.

Without a doubt, the finished product, though imperfect, will benefit most rank-and-file homeowners and property owners.

“Today’s vote marks a huge win for Colorado taxpayers who have been hit with 30% average property tax increases,” Advance Colorado President Michael Fields announced in a news release.  

“For two years, we have said the solution taxpayers need is to cut taxes significantly and then put a cap in place so Colorado can avoid this crisis in the future. This bill gets that job done.”

In the same release, Colorado Concern CEO Dave Davia said, “This bill is critical relief for struggling homeowners and small businesses caught in a cost-of-living crisis in Colorado. It shows the state can responsibly cut property taxes and cap future tax increases while protecting the local services communities rely on.”

The legislation goes much further than previous half-measures adopted by the Legislature and includes key features of the sidelined ballot proposals. 


Among its provisions, the legislation will cut the residential property tax rate to 6.3% or 6.4%, depending on assessment growth; cut the commercial property tax rate to 25% starting in 2025 and cap property tax revenue growth to 5.25% for local governments and 6% — or the rate of inflation, whichever is greater — for school districts. Local voters will be able to override the revenue caps on local government and school districts.

All in all, it’s a stride for Colorado taxpayers that will put a real dent in future property tax bills.

The development also represents a stride of another kind for our state. It marks a capitulation — if, perhaps, only temporary — by a political establishment bent on relentlessly spending Coloradans’ tax dollars and growing government. Years of legislative resistance to substantive property-tax relief came from one-party rule by an increasingly out-of-touch political caste.

Public outcry fell on deaf ears and was rewarded with only a sop or two of token relief.

It took mobilization and concerted pushback by key stakeholders, particularly a group such as Advance Colorado, which advocates for the workaday taxpayer.

The ballot proposals, each of which had garnered nearly 200,000 signatures of voters statewide to qualify for the ballot, were the writing on the wall that got the Legislature’s and governor’s attention. At last.

Was the legislative majority taught a lasting lesson? If not, the effective strategy that played out last week certainly offers a blueprint for future action.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board