Backers of a ballot proposal to protect funding for roads by enshrining it in the state constitution said Thursday they’re withdrawing the measure after reaching a funding deal with state lawmakers.
The proposed constitutional amendment known as Initiative 175, backed by the construction industry, would have protected road funding from cuts, something that’s currently only provided to K-12 education.
Restore Our Roads, the group working to pass the measure, said it had gotten a strong commitment for a “funding framework” after negotiations with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Democratic candidate for governor, and two Democratic lawmakers, state Rep. Andy Boesenecker of Fort Collins and Sen. Judy Amabile of Boulder, who co-sponsored a bill that would have effectively limited how much money the state is forced to spend on roads, had the measure passed.
Restore Our Roads didn’t release details about what the deal entailed in announcing it with state lawmakers, but the group’s co-chair, Jeff Keller, said it would provide more funding for roads than the ballot measure could have and address necessary road and bridge projects.
“Our goal has always been to give Colorado taxpayers a voice in how the taxes and fees they pay for transportation are used. And now they finally will,” Keller said in a news release.
Colorado primarily pays for road construction through the 22-cent state gas tax, which is losing value to inflation and the rise in electric vehicles. The state also charges a number of fees on drivers, including vehicle registrations and an additional surcharge on gasoline. Those taxes plus other fees bring in more than $1.8 billion a year.
Had Initiative 175 passed, the state would have been required to set aside all of the tax revenue generated from motor vehicle sales and 67% of the sales tax collected on auto parts for transportation projects. That would have prevented those dollars from being spent on general state services as they are now.
As a result, nonpartisan state fiscal analysts said the measure would create a $264 million hole in this fiscal year’s general fund budget, plus a $539 million deficit next year.
In reaction to the ballot proposal, Democrats passed House Bill 1430, which would offset the spending required by Initiative 175 had it passed by temporarily cutting Colorado’s main funding source for roads, the state gas tax, as well as other transportation fees. By limiting how much money went to roads, it would have spared other programs from funding cuts. With Initiative 175 dead, the House bill will not take effect.