Election outcomes are in, and Proposition HH was an enormous, fats failure.
Why Proposition HH failed is clear. It was overly sophisticated, messy and pitted Coloradans towards one another. Plus, HH supporters took to low-cost techniques that may make even probably the most staunch Trump supporters proud.
And guess what? Republicans are gleeful. They’ve been taking unearned victory laps, claiming Proposition HH failed due to their stellar messaging and Coloradans’ unwavering assist for the Taxpayer’s Invoice of Rights.
Phooey. These corrupt clowns had little to do with it.
The very fact of the matter is that Colorado Democrats have few folks accountable however themselves. They’re the super-majority that failed to handle the fast spike of property taxes instantly after promising to take action following Gallagher’s repeal. They’re those who crammed a large invoice in on the finish of the session with out enough enter from constituents and stakeholders. And they’re those who sat on their excessive horses, refusing to debate alternate options or acknowledge the shortcomings of their proposed coverage.
The value for this failure? Paired with the lack of the land use invoice earlier this 12 months, Gov. Jared Polis now boasts two big, failed insurance policies that created backlash throughout the state and had been in the end kicked again to the Stone Age. Even with a minor win on Proposition II, it’s not nice.
Per politics as normal, Democrats have no real interest in admitting fault. Preliminary reactions from social gathering leaders have amounted to nothing greater than largely blaming the opposite facet for sabotaging them with zero curiosity in self-reflection. One quote by Senate President Steve Fenberg summed up the dearth of duty completely:
“Prop HH was a nuanced, balanced coverage that seems to have fallen prey to a misinformation slogan marketing campaign by the far proper, who would favor to chop property taxes on the backs of our colleges and fireplace districts.”
Balanced coverage? No. Simply admit you misplaced.
Fortunately, Democrats have a path ahead, if they need it. It begins with instantly fixing TABOR refunds.
Underneath Proposition HH, there would have been flattened TABOR refunds for one 12 months earlier than it reverted again to income-driven restoration. This made HH extra profitable for wealthier folks in the long term, and is probably going a part of why Proposition HH failed; the flattened refunds ought to have been secured all through the length of the coverage.
However now that Proposition HH has failed, there isn’t a plan to flatten the refunds, even for one 12 months. That is mistaken, and taking rapid motion to equitably disperse TABOR refunds should be Democrats’ precedence.
Sadly, Polis has beforehand threatened to not flatten them if Proposition HH failed. It’s one more instance of his strong-armed techniques which can be unfair and retaliatory towards those that dare to disagree with him, and this time his risk would straight affect the folks of Colorado if carried out. All as a result of we would like a distinct resolution.
But when Polis is prepared, Democrats may completely flatten TABOR refunds. They’ve performed it earlier than. They will do it once more. This time, they need to make the refunds much more equitably dispersed towards lower- and middle-income owners and renters, as they’re those most burdened by spiking property taxes.
Subsequent, Democrats must cease searching for state options to native issues. In Colorado, faculty districts share Ok-12 training prices, with any portion not lined by native taxes being picked up by the state. As native property tax charges lagged, faculty districts picked up a lot much less of the tab. Based on Chalkbeat, the place they used to cowl two-thirds of Ok-12 prices, in 2021, it was solely one-third. This has left the state overlaying two-thirds of the funding, all whereas owners achieve huge fairness with skyrocketing actual property costs.
This implies that whereas rising property taxes might really feel like the issue, they really aren’t. As I outlined in my authentic column on Proposition HH, the property tax spikes nonetheless solely put Colorado within the nationwide common for tax charges. That’s not unreasonable, and letting native property taxes go up a bit would in the end shift the duty for training funding again to native faculty districts, thereby decreasing the state’s total proportion of contribution.
In fact, within the meantime, rising property taxes will nonetheless be felt as a burden by lower- and middle-income owners and renters who weren’t anticipating such prices. However that is primarily attributable to ongoing financial considerations similar to inflation and lagging salaries that aren’t maintaining with prices, not inherently the property tax charges. So whereas decreasing property taxes would assist to alleviate this burden, in search of options that may higher goal reduction to these most in want, whereas not disproportionately benefiting the wealthy and nonetheless preserving funds for training, is preferable.
Coloradans have spoken. Proposition HH was not the proper resolution to handle their cost-of-living burdens. Now it’s time for Polis and Democrats to hear and make issues proper.
This begins with reinstating the equitable division of TABOR refunds.
Trish Zornio is a scientist, lecturer and author who has labored at a number of the nation’s high universities and hospitals. She’s an avid rock climber and was a 2020 candidate for the U.S. Senate in Colorado. Trish might be discovered on Twitter @trish_zornio
