RBC I Election Day is coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 2. You can mail your ballot, drop it off at a ballot box or voting location, or vote in-person.
What’s on this off-year election ballot? A handful of statewide measures, and locally, school board elections for both school districts, as well as a bond measure for the Rangely RE-4 School District that will increase property taxes for residents.
Statewide, Colorado voters are tasked with deciding on a proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution (Amendment 78) and two propositions (119 and 120).
Amendment 78, if passed, would shift responsibility for certain revenue items that come into the state treasury to legislators, requiring the state legislature to draft and approve bills before allocating the money. For example, as it stands now, the state Attorney General’s office is responsible for doling out $400 million the state is due to receive in a settlement with drugmaker Purdue Pharma related to the opioid epidemic. If Amendment 78 passes, state lawmakers would decide where and how that $400 million would be shared or spent around the state. Proponents say the amendment will improve transparency and public input for money that comes into the state, while opponents say Amendment 78 would bog down allocation of funds in politicized legislative sessions.
Proposition 119 proposes raising taxes on recreational marijuana from 15 to 20% over three years, and using the added revenue to implement new after-school programs and tutoring options for underserved youth. The measure would also pull $21 million from the Public Lands Trust, which oversees revenue from public lands that go toward schools now. Opponents say public tax revenue should go to public schools, not be funneled into private programs, and argue that increasing taxes on an already heavily taxed product could increase the “black market” for marijuana. Proponents believe the proposition would increase parental choice in available programs for their children and help close education gaps for low-income families. Colorado consistently ranks far below the national average in per-pupil spending and teacher salaries.
Proposition 120’s plan to reduce property taxes in response to the rapid increase in property values around the state is made more complicated by a law passed last spring after Proposition 120 was already approved for the ballot. The changes to the tax code approved by the legislature would limit Proposition 120’s reach to multi-family properties and lodgings. Proponents of the measure, concerned about rising property tax costs for people on fixed incomes, have said if Proposition 120 passes the outcome will likely be decided in court with the state. The estimated $1 billion savings to property owners would also impact local taxing districts by reducing the share of tax revenue they receive.
By NIKI TURNER | [email protected]
