RBC | If you haven’t already cast your vote, sort that stack of unopened mail and find your 2025 ballot. It’s a pretty simple one for Rio Blanco County residents this year, with just two items to deliberate: Propositions LL and MM.
Both propositions have to do with free public school meals for kids, and are on the ballot because of requirements established by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights Amendment (aka TABOR, passed in 1992) that requires voter input on tax questions.
Eagle-eyed voters may wonder why one proposition is all in capital letters and the other is not. The TABOR amendment requires issues that involve tax and debt increases to appear on the ballot in all caps in an effort to get voter attention.
Proposition LL, if approved, would allow the state to keep and spend $12.4 million in tax revenue and interest, that has already been collected under Proposition FF, rather than refunding it to households earning $300,000 or more annually; and maintains current tax deduction limits for households earning $300,000 or more annually, which would otherwise be modified for 2026 to lower the taxes paid by these households.
Proposition FF, the “Healthy School Meals for All” program was approved by state voters in 2022. It reimburses participating school meal providers for offering free school breakfasts and lunches to all K-12 public school students, regardless of family income. The program is in addition to the federal reduced and free lunch program for low-income students.
In other words, unless you are one of the fewer than 6% of Colorado households making $300,000 or more, your tax bill won’t change and you won’t get anything back. If the $12.4 million is refunded, it will only be refunded to those households ($300,000 or more a year) who have paid into it.
Proposition MM (in all caps) is a tax increase only on households making more than $300,000 annually to increase funding for the Healthy Meals for All Program. Why is an increase needed? In its first two years, “costs exceeded original estimates primarily because more students participated in the free meal program than projected. The state also experienced higher inflation than expected over the past several years,” according to the state legislature’s website.
