Colorado Politics

Link to Prop II

Ballot Question: Without raising taxes, may the state retain and spend revenues from taxes on cigarettes, tobacco, and other nicotine products and maintain tax rates on cigarettes, tobacco, and other nicotine products and use these revenues to invest twenty-three million six hundred fifty thousand dollars to enhance the voluntary Colorado preschool program and make it widely available for free instead of reducing these tax rates and refunding revenues to cigarette wholesalers, tobacco product distributors, nicotine products distributors, and other taxpayers, for exceeding an estimate included in the ballot information booklet for proposition EE?

Proposition II, if approved, would:

• allow the state to keep and spend $23.65 million in tax revenue that has already been collected from the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products, including interest, rather than refund it to wholesalers and distributors of these products; and

• allow the state to maintain the current tax rates that apply to cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products rather than reduce the rates in the future, and to keep and spend the revenue collected under these rates on preschool programs.

What Your Vote Means

A “yes” vote on Proposition II allows the state to keep and spend $23.65 million in tax revenue that has already been collected from the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products, including interest, and to maintain the current tax rates on cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products. The future tax revenue will be spent on preschool programs.

A “no” vote on Proposition II means that $23.65 million will be refunded to wholesalers and distributors of cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products, and tax rates on cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products will be reduced.

Results

Yes: 66.73% | 946,617

No: 33.27% | 471,905

Total: 1,418,522

Link to Prop HH

Ballot Question: Shall the state reduce property taxes for homes and businesses, including expanding property tax relief for seniors, and backfill counties, water districts, fire districts, ambulance and hospital districts, and other local governments and fund school districts by using a portion of the state surplus up to the proposition HH cap as defined in this measure?

Proposition HH, if approved, would:

• lower property taxes owed for homes and businesses for at least ten years, compared to what would be owed under current law;

• allow the state to retain money that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) through at least 2032;

• authorize the state legislature to retain revenue after 2032 without further voter approval, if property tax decreases equivalent to those in the measure are maintained;

• allow the retained revenue to be spent on education, reimbursements to local governments for some of their reduced property tax revenue and rental assistance programs;

• distribute TABOR refunds to taxpayers in equal amounts for tax year 2023 only; and

• create a new limit on the growth of property tax revenue for most local governments.

What Your Vote Means

A “yes” vote on Proposition HH lowers property taxes owed, allows the state to keep additional money that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers, temporarily changes how taxpayer TABOR refunds are distributed, and creates a new property tax limit for most local governments.

A “no” vote on Proposition HH maintains current law for property taxes, TABOR refunds, and state and local government revenue limits

Results

Yes: 39.83% | 566,663

No: 60.17% | 858,182

Total: 1,422,845