Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Politics and Government

Colorado scrutinizes oil and gas tax breaks as severance taxes drop and the state budget gets tight

This year, an oil and gas tax break is expected to grow so large — and gas prices drop so low — that many of Colorado’s oil wells would owe the state $0 in severance taxes. Consider it the $308 million elephant in the room as Colorado lawmakers reassess the state’s crumbling fiscal picture amid […]

Posted inBusiness, Crime and Courts, Energy, Environment, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government

Colorado issues, like fracking and marijuana, divide the Democratic candidates for president

The race for the Democratic presidential nomination focuses on the big issues: health care, education, climate change — and who is best positioned to take on President Donald Trump in November. Ahead of the March 3 primary, Colorado voters also will weigh the candidates’ views on the issues that are uniquely important here: public lands, […]

Posted inBusiness, Politics and Government

The tax fight continues in Colorado as liberal group files 35 more ideas for the 2020 ballot

If the fight over Colorado tax policy were a sporting event, half the stadium might have emptied out by now.  With the November defeat of Proposition CC, the score has become so lopsided in favor of fiscal conservatives, the outcome of any given skirmish over the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is starting to feel like […]

Posted inNews, Politics and Government

With Proposition CC’s failure, Colorado Democrats face a budget crunch in 2020. Here are their 4 options to address it.

With the defeat of Proposition CC, voters ensured two features of Colorado state government are here to stay:  Taxpayer refunds and the periodic legislative exercise in avoiding them. The 2020 budget cycle is shaping up to be no exception. The legislative session is still weeks away, and Colorado budget writers already face a daunting list […]

Posted inUncategorized, Water

Here’s what you need to know about Colorado’s water plan before voting on Proposition DD

When then-Gov. John Hickenlooper set out to create Colorado’s first comprehensive water plan in 2013, he called the chasm between the state’s water supply and its demand “real and looming.” Colorado’s water supply is already struggling to meet the demands of a growing state today. By 2050, Colorado is expected to add another 3 million […]

Posted inEducation, Politics and Government, Transportation

Proposition CC explained: What it means to end the spending caps in TABOR and the money at stake

In one of the most significant potential changes to state fiscal policy in decades, Colorado voters this November will be asked to permanently eliminate a revenue cap that has both restrained and reshaped state government since 1992. The ask of voters is relatively modest: Forgo the occasional refund under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights — […]

Posted inCulture, Environment, Growth, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government, Water

Prop. DD explained: What sports gambling would mean in Colorado and how much (or little) it would generate

Voters will be asked in November to make Colorado the 19th state with legal sports betting — and, policymakers hope, generate a small pot of new tax revenue in the process. It comes in the wake of a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a federal prohibition of sports gambling in most of the […]

Posted inBusiness, Education, Growth, Politics and Government

TABOR faces a reckoning with Prop. CC. Here’s what you should know about its impact on state spending

In 1992, Colorado voters decided state government should stop growing. But that didn’t stop them from demanding more public services and spending from their elected officials. That’s the tension at the heart of Proposition CC, this November’s ballot measure to eliminate the state’s revenue caps. It’s the single biggest test to the Taxpayer’s Bill of […]