By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
When the second regular session of Colorado’s 74th General Assembly closed earlier this year, lawmakers believed they had reached consensus on a property tax plan.
Senate Bill 24-233, led by Republican prime sponsors Rep. Lisa Frizell and Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, cleared the House with about two-thirds of Republicans supporting the bill and just two Republicans in the Senate opposed.
Then a pair of citizen initiatives on the subject earned enough support to reach the fall ballot and lead Gov. Jared Polis to call a special session on property tax. That special session opened Monday, with many on the political right opposed to the deal that allowed for the special session to be called.
“We did good work [with SB 24-233],” said House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese. “I’m proud of the work we did, but there’s still more work to be done.”
She has joined Kirkmeyer in the upper chamber as prime sponsors of House Bill 24-0003, addressing property tax revenue limits and valuation reductions. The bipartisan measure also has Democrat prime sponsors in both chambers.
“We are knocking doors and talking to our constituents who are hurting and suffering, and asking us to do more and do better,” said Pugliese, during a statement to the House on the opening day of the special session. “That is why we are here, to do the work of the people.”
The special session stands to be the final run for the Mighty 19, the heavily outnumbered and generally marginalized Republican minority in the House.
“The Republicans, the minority party, is here to work,” Pugliese said. “We want to get through these bills, have good conversations and listen to our constituents…all of our constituents from across the state.”
Coloradans have been faced with the challenge to balance the family budget with a tax bill some Realtors say is greater than the mortgage.
“We know how hard it has been. We know their property taxes have gone up exponentially,” Pugliese said. “We are going to protect the senior property tax exemption for seniors who don’t want to sell their houses, who want to stay in their homes.”