By Carolyn Martin (CHEC Director of Government Relations)

TABOR Saved From Destruction … for Now

Prop HH was defeated on election day, November 7, 2023. It was a hard-won fight to educate people about the bait and switch being pulled on the public with this legislative initiative. It was defeated by an approximately 60% vote against it and TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) was saved from the greedy hands of the government … for now.

The battle against Prop HH really began in the legislature at the end of the last session. Essentially, it was the governor, through the Democrats in the legislature, who placed the question on the ballot. The Republican minority had no say in the crafting of the legislation. Even as the legislation was being rammed through on the fast track, the minority began asking for a special session to deal with the issue of the horrendous residential property tax increases the people of Colorado were seeing in their mailboxes. Property taxes were rising as much as 81% in some counties, mostly due to the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment in 2020.

Everyone in government knew the train wreck was coming. Some tried to pass laws to permanently lower residential property taxes but without the support of the majority party ruling our state, there was little that could be done on the state level, and running a citizen ballot initiative costs millions of dollars putting it out of reach for the average citizen. Just before election day, the Republican minority called again for a special session to lower property taxes before the people’s tax bills were due.
Two days after the defeat of Prop HH, the Governor issued an Executive Order calling for an extraordinary session. In his order, he lists eight things he expects the legislature to tackle. Most have to do with the property tax issue. But take note that the Governor wants to use the TABOR surplus to help offset any decrease in property taxes. They are still playing a shell game. TABOR is the only thing keeping the government in its box!

The special session begins on Friday, November 17^th. The plan is for the legislators to work over the weekend and finish by Sunday which means there will be little vetting by the public of any legislation passed. Tell your legislators to leave TABOR alone and to permanently lower residential property taxes without bending to special interests!

Trusting in the mighty power and grace of Jesus,
Carolyn Martin
CHEC Director of Government Relations 
Carolyn@CHEC.org

About the Author: Carolyn Martin

Carolyn Martin serves as CHEC’s Director of Government Relations, working for you and other liberty-loving families to protect homeschool freedom, parental rights, and religious liberty at the state capitol. Subscribe to the CHEC blog for Carolyn’s regular updates here, learn more about legal issues in Colorado here, and donate to support Homeschool Freedom here. Contact Carolyn directly at carolyn@chec.org.