A Democratic‑backed proposal to raise Colorado’s TABOR cap and direct more money to K‑12 schools is headed to the ballot, setting up a major debate over taxpayer refunds and long‑term education funding.

If voters approve it, the average Coloradan would forfeit more than $7,000 in TABOR refunds over the next decade.

Senate Bill 135, sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, and Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins, House Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, and Rep. Meghan Lukens, D-Steamboat Springs, includes a proposal to increase the TABOR cap by the amount the state spends on K-12 education, currently about $4.5 billion per year.

Under the proposal, any funding beyond that would be allocated to services for students with disabilities and increased contractor hours.

“We have worked hard to better the quality of education in Colorado and have made great strides in many areas, but there is a fundamental lack of resources to make the big changes that are necessary to guarantee a quality education for all Coloradans,” said Lukens, who is a teacher. “Colorado students and educators have waited long enough, and this bill gives voters the chance to deliver the investment they deserve.”

Under TABOR, all proposed increases to the revenue limit, or TABOR cap, must be approved by the voters.

According to a nonpartisan staff analysis, the bill could generate up to $9 billion over the first decade. However, about 75% of the revenue generated wouldn’t actually go to schools. Instead, those dollars would go into the state’s general fund pot — to be used by lawmakers for whatever purposes they choose.

The analysis also found that every Colorado taxpayer would lose $7,381 in TABOR refunds between the 2026-27 and 2036-37 fiscal years if the proposed ballot measure passes.

The ballot initiative would essentially be asking voters to hand over their money “with no real guarantee it will actually go to what they’re being told it will go to,” said Rep. Rebecca Keltie, R-Colorado Springs, who called SB 135 a “multi-billion dollar spending spree built on assumptions, continuous failed budgeting, and blind faith in those that have shown time and time again that they cannot handle money of any amount.”

Bridges previously told Colorado Politics that the excess funds would go to pre-kindergarten education, child care, higher education, and other services for children and young adults.

He also said that the nonpartisan analysis counted on a no-recession scenario or other economic downturns. That is why, he said, analysts don’t estimate fiscal impacts beyond two or three years. 

Rep. Brandi Bradley, R‑Roxborough Park, pointed out that an advocacy group submitted the proposed initiative to the state’s Title Board, which is responsible for deciding whether citizen‑initiated measures comply with Colorado’s single‑subject rule.

The Board determined that the measure’s language violated that rule.

“Even though the title says that it goes to K-12 and the teachers, more than half of it is gonna go to other purposes that the people in here deem necessary,” Bradley said. “That is not transparent, and the Title Board deemed it to fail.”

Ballot measures sent to voters by the General Assembly do not need approval from the state’s Title Board. As Lukens emphasized, the Board also applies standards that differ from those used by lawmakers when deciding whether a proposal meets Colorado’s single‑subject requirement.

Rep. Eliza Hamrick, D-Centennial, who also worked as a teacher, said the bill offered a solution to a problem the state’s public education system has been facing for far too long.

“We know from research that when we pay our teachers fairly, students perform better, and when we invest in our schools, we see higher graduation rates and better lifetime wages,” she said. “Colorado already gets an incredible return on every dollar we spend, but our teachers shouldn’t have to spend their own out-of-pocket money just to ensure their students have the basics they need to learn. Colorado students deserve fully-funded public schools where they can learn, grow, and thrive.”

Senate Bill 135 passed on a 23-12 party-line vote in the Senate and a 42-21 vote in the House, with all Republicans and Democratic Rep. Lorena Garcia of Adams County voting against it.

Marianne Goodland contributed to this story.