Colorado legislature asks voters to approve 10-year property tax relief plan, make $2B in taxpayer refund checks equal

Colorado voters will decide in November whether to approve a 10-year plan to rein in skyrocketing property taxes, as well as whether the state should distribute about $2 billion in Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds checks next year in equal amounts rather than linking their size to people’s income level, with more money being sent to higher earners.

The questions were placed on the November ballot Monday by Democrats in the Colorado legislature as the General Assembly wrapped up its 120-day lawmaking term. The legislature worked until about 10 p.m., just before its 11:59 p.m. deadline, to complete its work, when the Capitol carriage back into a pumpkin.

The last few hours of the session were chaotic, with Republicans walking out of the House chamber in protest, Democrats in the House lambasting each other and the Senate limiting debate to stop a GOP filibuster.

The property tax plan, pushed for by Gov. Jared Polis, will appear on the ballot as Proposition HH and would work by tamping down the effect of rising residential and commercial property values on the tax burden for homeowners and businesses. 

Read more via The Colorado Sun.