For What It’s Worth: CFI’s View on the 2019 Colorado Legislative Session

By Colorado Fiscal Institute Staff

The first regular session of the 72nd Colorado General Assembly is in the books. As of Friday, May 3, lawmakers are finished with their legislative work, and won’t return until next January. It could just be us, but for some reason the end of session reminded us of the late 1960s. Maybe it’s the flowers coming back (flower power!), or maybe it was a particularly contentious legislative session bringing out the protesting agitator in us. Whatever the reason, the ’60s, especially the music, were on our mind.

This session wasn’t quite as tumultuous as the ’60s, but it sure felt like one of the busiest in recent memory. CFI advocated for or against over two dozen bills–and those were just the ones that were introduced. We attended or listened to hundreds of hours of committee hearings. We testified. We shared research. We added our voice to the chorus calling for evidence-based policies that help people regardless of their race or zip code. CFI and our partner organizations played a critical role in finally passing into law some of the policies we’ve spent years working to advance. Not to be outdone, a bit of late-hour suspense had some of the most important bills of the session waiting until the last few days before passing (some even underwent major changes along the way).

With the ’60s on our minds, it’s no wonder all that uncertainty had us humming Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” And to paraphrase that tune, the best way we can describe the 2019 session is: something was happening at the capitol, but it what it was, wasn’t always clear.

But while the legislative process on some bills was sometimes opaque at best, one thing was always clear: We’ll never stop fighting for what we believe. From giving parents and kids an easier path to saving for college, to making sure the state invests in a complete 2020 census count, we accomplished a lot this year. But our work is far from finished. We must do more to make sure the economic prosperity Colorado is experiencing is felt by everyone, whether they’re Black, white, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, or belong to any of the other diverse communities in the state. The Colorado way of life shouldn’t just be for the privileged few. It should be accessible to every single person in the state.

Below are the bills CFI staff worked on during the year. And not to mix eras too much, but as we look forward to the rest of 2019 and onto 2020, we hope next year will be a little less Buffalo Springfield, and a little more Johnny Nash. (’90s-themed legislative wrap-up next year, anyone?)

Outtasight: CFI’s Priority Bills

HB19-1164 – Child Tax Credit   
Sponsors: Rep. Singer; Sens. Zenzinger & Priola
House Bill 19-1164 would have funded the Colorado child tax credit. The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is the largest federal tax code provision benefiting working families with children. It’s a proven, targeted way to reduce childhood poverty and put money back in to the pockets of Colorado families. In 2013, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 13-001 which created a refundable child tax credit between 5 and 30 percent of the federal credit for families with children 5 and under. At that time, budget concerns resulted in a financial trigger for the full implementation of the credit. In 2018, that trigger was met, and HB19-1164 would have fully funded the state child tax credit and helped hardworking families make ends meet.

CFI led a coalition of over 30 organizations in support HB19-1164, which would benefit over 200,000 Colorado families. The coalition advocated together with videos, social media graphics, and messages about the importance of a state child tax credit. The bill passed out of House Finance and made its way to House Appropriations, where it stayed until the end of the legislative session. (This is known as “dying on the calendar.”) CFI and our partners will continue to fight for meaningful policies for Colorado families, and we hope to see this bill again next year.

HB19-1184 – Demographic Notes
Sponsors: Reps. Herod & Caraveo; Sen. William

House Bill 19-1184 creates a pilot program for “demographic notes,” also known as equity impact statements. Similar to the way a fiscal note provides in-depth information to lawmakers and members of the public about the fiscal impact of legislation, demographic notes evaluate how a bill will affect Coloradans of different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, incomes and geographic areas.

CFI first spearheaded this legislation in 2017 and was excited to see it introduced again this year. After hearing feedback from a few of our community partners, we fought hard for improvements to this year’s bill, and were happy to see the addition of equity training and further expanding the demographic list for consideration.

This bill moved through the legislature with bipartisan support and was passed on the last day of the session and is awaiting the governor’s signature. We look forward to seeing the inclusion of demographic notes in next year’s legislative process.

HB 19-1280 – College Kickstarter Program
Sponsors: Speaker Becker & Rep. Herod; Maj. Leader Fenberg

House Bill 1280 creates the “College Kickstarter Program,” which is a new strategy to help more Colorado families save for college. The Kickstarter program will help parents open a college savings account (CSA) for every baby born in Colorado beginning in 2020 and will contribute $100 of seed money to each account. It will also create an optional financial literacy program run through the Treasurer’s office for parents to learn the ins and outs of saving for college and preparing for a child’s financial future.

One of CFI’s top priority bills this year, we developed the policy after research confirmed that children with even a small amount of money in a college savings account are three times more likely to go to college and four times more likely to graduate. Additionally, college savings accounts raise the hopes and aspirations for the future for both children and their parents. Programs like the College Kickstarter have been identified as a tool to help break down racial wealth barriers and increase economic asset-building. 

And though this is a policy we wholeheartedly support, the program’s funding mechanism is not ideal. The final version of the bill asks College Invest, a quasi-governmental entity that manages Colorado’s 529 accounts, to pay for each $100 College Kickstarter account incentive. Instead, CFI would have preferred setting a cap of $6,000 on the tax deduction for individuals who contribute to a 529 college saving account. Nonetheless, we are very excited about the passage of the bill and encouraged by the guardrails we advocated for being added to the bill – including an advisory committee and a legislative reporting process. Lawmakers passed the bill on April 29, and it is expected to be signed by the governor soon.

HB19-1239 – Census Outreach Grant Program
Sponsors: Reps. Tipper & Caraveo; Sens. Priola & Winter

The US census is one of the most fundamental aspects of our democracy. Every 10 years since 1790, we have conducted a count of every person living in the US. Along with determining legislative representation, the results of the census are used to determine the appropriation of federal funds to states. An accurate count of every Coloradan ensures the state receives its share of federal dollars, which are crucial to helping fund public investments like Medicaid, SNAP (formerly food stamps), and the National School Lunch Program. Unfortunately, the 2020 Census is facing many barriers including lack of funding and an untested (and potentially unconstitutional) citizenship question. These barriers will make it difficult for the state to ensure an accurate count of all Coloradans, particularly residents in “hard-to-count” communities.

CFI conducted an analysis that found the state would need to invest $12 million to ensure all Coloradans, including nearly 1.5 million hard-to-count people, participate in the census. This analysis served as the basis for House Bill 19-1239. Passed by the legislature on April 29, the bill creates a grant program in the Department of Local Affairs to distribute funds to community groups to conduct census outreach. Along with leading partners Common Cause, Together We Count, Mi Familia Vota, and the Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable, we were able to secure the passage of the bill, and $6 million for census outreach efforts.

HB19-1245 – Vendor Credit for Affordable Housing
Sponsors: Rep. Weissman; Sens. Gonzales and Foote

Most Colorado businesses are required to collect sales tax on behalf of consumers. To help make the process easier for businesses, the law allows retailers to keep a portion of the sales tax they collect. This is called the vendor fee. House Bill 19-1245 increases the vendor credit and caps it at $1,000 per month. The changes in this bill will benefit more than 98 percent of all businesses and generates close to $50 million per year in revenue. Originally this money was earmarked for affordable housing. After some negotiation, the increased revenue was re-directed to support health care reinsurance for two years and then affordable housing every year after.  CFI has advocated for changes to the vendor credit for years, recognizing that the majority of the benefit goes to very large retailers in the state – those who have automated sales tax collections and remittal systems.  We were excited to work with Rep. Weissman on this bill to support small business and invest in sustainable funding for affordable housing. 

HB19-1317 – Senior Housing Security Act of 2019
Sponsors: Reps. Kennedy and Weissman; Sen. Court

CFI has been working with Rep. Kennedy and Rep. Weissman to address the inequities and sustainability issues in the senior homestead exemption for several years. After continued research, analysis and stakeholder input, House Bill 19-1317 was introduced with less than one month left in the session. HB19-1317 would have created an income tax credit for older Coloradans in lieu of the senior homestead exemption. The income-based, refundable credit would have been available to all seniors who make $65,000 or less per year, regardless of housing situation.

After the bill was introduced, the sponsors didn’t feel that the policy was ready to move through the process. They made a strategic decision to hear testimony on the bill and then postpone it indefinitely at the sponsor’s request on April 18. CFI testified on the bill about our recent report addressing the inequities in the current senior homestead exemption. We look forward to continuing to work on this issue over the summer and next session. 

SB 19-188 – FAMLI Act
Sponsors: Sens. Winter & Williams, Reps. Gray & Duran

One of CFI’s main priority bills in 2019 was the passage of a strong and inclusive paid family and medical leave program. After working with a diverse coalition of more than 100 organizations as well as a number of business stakeholders, Senate Bill 19-188, the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI) was introduced. The initial bill, based on comprehensive data and objective research, created a state-run social insurance program that would provide up to 12 weeks of wage replacement for workers needing time off to care for themselves or a loved one when faced with a serious medical illness, to bond with a new baby, or to address needs arising from military deployment or the effects of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault. The program was available to all workers and businesses, offered progressive wage replacement and job protection so workers who needed leave would not fear retaliation or job loss.

SB19-188 was the most lobbied bill of the 2019 legislative session with nearly 200 lobbyists, most affiliated with large corporations, working actively to kill the bill. Facing this intense pressure, a handful of Senate Democrats and the Governor’s office forced bill sponsors to amend the bill to be an implementation plan that includes a feasibility and actuarial study.

As amended, SB19-188 does not create the program that we at CFI believe, based on research and evidence, is the most equitable, adequate and affordable program for Colorado. But it keeps us on the path to such a program – one that helps ensure the lowest wage workers and those who lack access to paid leave today are not excluded.

Groovy Bills to Protect Colorado’s Health, Safety, and Environment

SB 19-181 – Protect Public Welfare Oil And Gas Operations
Sponsors: Maj. Leader Fenberg & Sen. Foote; Speaker Becker & Rep. Caraveo

Senate Bill 181 prioritizes the protection of public health, safety and the environment by updating and clarifying oil and gas regulations. The bill has several components; the highlights include:

• Changing the mission of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from fostering oil and gas development to regulating oil and gas development.
• Restructuring the make-up of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission by reducing the number of industry members to one and requiring one member with training or substantial experience in wildlife protection; environmental protection; soil conservation or reclamation; public health; and one member who is an active agricultural producer or a royalty owner.
• Allowing local governments more autonomy over the impacts of oil and gas development.
• Removing the permit fee cap.
• Increasing the threshold of forced pooling from 0% to more than 50% of the mineral interest owners.
  

CFI was asked to testify on the bill and speak about our analysis of the impact of oil and gas on the Colorado economy. We were glad to play a role in this important environmental policy and encouraged by the strides Colorado made towards protecting our communities. 

HB 19-1261 – Climate Action Plan to Reduce Pollution
Sponsors: Speaker Becker & Rep. Jackson; Sens. Winter & Williams

Colorado is already seeing the negative impacts of climate change in increasing wildfires, lower water levels impacting agriculture and fishing, shorter ski seasons, and poor air quality impacting public health. This session, the legislature took the bold and forward-thinking step to implement a climate policy that allows Colorado to reduce harmful pollution and protect the Colorado way of life.

House Bill 1261 outlines a framework for Colorado to reduce carbon pollution from 2005 levels at least 25 percent by 2026, 50 percent by 2030, and 90 percent by 2050.  CFI testified on the bill and was excited to see it pass in the last days of the session.

HB 19-1314 – Just Transition
Sponsors: Speaker Becker & Rep. Galindo; Sens. Winter & Donovan

With the move away from fossil fuels, many Colorado communities that are economically dependent on these industries are struggling to transition. House Bill 1314 paves the way for an equitable transition by creating a “Just Transition Office” responsible for determining the timing and location of mine and powerplant closures and the impact on workers, businesses, and coal transition communities and providing resources and benefits to coal transition workers including wage replacement and job training. CFI testified on this bill and worked with both the environmental and labor community to craft and support this important policy for Colorado workers. 

HB 19-1159 – Modify Innovative Motor Vehicle Income Tax Credits
Sponsors: Reps. Jaquez Lewis & Gray; Sen. Danielson

House Bill 1159 extends Colorado’s tax credit for new purchased or leased electric vehicles through 2025. The amount of the credit for passenger vehicles will be $2,500 in 2022 and $2,000 in 2023-2025 for passenger vehicles and $1,500 for leased vehicles.

Because the electric vehicle tax credit is only available to new purchased or leased vehicles, individuals who purchase pre-owned or used electric vehicles are not eligible to receive the credit. This creates more inequity in Colorado’s already “upside down” tax code. CFI is continuing to work with partners to increase the equity of this credit and make the credit more effective in building a robust EV market.

Right On: Bills to Help Housing Affordability(HB19-1118, SB19-180, SB19-225, HB19-1170)        

This legislative session, CFI continued our work with housing advocates to make significant advancements in renters’ rights and affordable housing in Colorado. First, we worked with partners on a bill to secure much needed tenant protections for renters across the state. As a top ten landlord friendly state, Colorado statutes overwhelmingly benefit landlords over tenants, making it increasingly difficult for Coloradans to stay in their homes, especially with skyrocketing rents. That’s why CFI signed on in support of HB19-1170, the Residential Tenants Health and Safety Act, to strengthen the state’s Warranty of Habitability statute.

CFI also testified in support of HB19-1118, Time Period to Cure Lease Violation and SB19-180, Eviction Legal Defense Fund, both of which would provide more support and resources for Coloradans facing eviction. Due to the great efforts of our housing partners at 9to5, Enterprise Community Partners, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, and the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, the two bills passed and are on their way to the governor’s desk.

Finally, CFI testified in support of SB19-225, which would have repealed the state ban on rent control. Because housing issues vary widely across the state, CFI believes that local governments are best situated to make housing decisions that will benefit Coloradans in their respective communities. Unfortunately, SB19-225 died in the Senate, but advocates look forward to continuing this work and introducing the bill in future sessions.      

Far Out: Economic Security and Financial Equity Bills

SB 19-238 – Improve Wages and Accountability For Home Care Workers
Sponsors: Sens. Danielson & Moreno; Rep. Kennedy & Duran

CFI supported home healthcare and personal care workers through Senate Bill 238, a bill that will make sure more of the money that Medicaid pays service providers gets to the paychecks of workers. CFI wrote an issue brief analyzing personal care worker wages and testified about our findings in committee. 

SB 19-173 – Colorado Secure Savings Plan Board
Sponsors: Sens. Donovan & Pettersen; Reps. Kraft-Tharp & Hansen

This bill creates the Secure Savings Plan Board, which will oversee the completion of several studies of various retirement system options for Colorado’s private sector workers who do not currently have a way to save for retirement through their job. The Board will be comprised of seven people with financial and other expertise appointed by the Governor, and the State Treasurer. The studies will determine the feasibility of an automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA system (also called an auto-IRA) and a small business retirement plan marketplace system, an analysis of the effects of greater retirement savings among Colorado residents, and an analysis of the effects of not establishing some kind of statewide retirement savings system for Colorado. The Board will be tasked with reviewing the results of these studies and making recommendations to the legislature about the best path forward.

SB19-002 – Regulate Student Education Loan Servicers
Sponsors: Sen. Winter & Maj. Leader Fenberg; Reps. Roberts & Jackson

Under current law, student loan servicers – companies that administers loans for borrowers – are unregulated. This bill creates a requirement that student loan servicers be licensed under the Uniform Consumer Credit Code. It also specifies which actions by a servicer are prohibited, and when violations of the law constitute a deceptive trade practice. SB19-002 also creates a student loan ombudsperson to help borrowers who run into problems with their loan servicers.

Fab Bills to Help Immigrant Communities

SB 19-139 – More Road and Community Safety Act Offices
Sponsors: Sens. Moreno & Coram; Reps. Galindo & Singer

Senate Bill 139 is the I-Drive coalition’s legislation to expand the number of motor vehicle offices that process licenses for undocumented immigrants from three to eight. This bi-partisan bill passed both chambers and sent to the Governor, who has indicated that he will sign it. The Long Bill, 2019-2020 budget, also contained a footnote that lifts the arbitrary cap on the number of licenses that can be issued under the program.

House Bill 19- 1124 – Protect Coloradans from Federal Government Oversight
Sponsors: Reps. Benavidez & Lontine, Sens. Foote & Gonzales

CFI also supported the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition’s main priority bill, Virginia’s Law, a bill that would designate public spaces like courts, hospitals and schools as safe spaces for immigrants from ICE operations. Unfortunately, Virginia’s Law never materialized as Democratic leadership in the House and Governor’s office signaled that they would not support it.
In place of a more comprehensive bill, CIRC brought forward House Bill 19-1124. This bill incorporated many of the enforcement priorities that would have been contained in Virginia’s Law, but was greatly diminished in order to win support from the governor and majority leadership. HB19-1124 now merely requires a judicial warrant for detaining an immigrant and requires probation officers to advise immigrants of their rights.

What a Drag: Bills We Opposed

SB19-055 – Reduce State Income Tax
Sponsors: Sen. Sonnenberg, Rep. Pelton
HB19-1097 – General Fund Reductions
Sponsor: Min. Leader Neville

Our issue brief on income tax reductions heavily shaped the debate around two bills coming from the Republicans and one from the Governor’s office that never materialized. Senate Bill 19-055 would have reduced the income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.49%. House Bill 19-1097 would have dropped the income tax to 4.25%. Both bills were defeated this session and CFI was the first to point out the inequities these types of plans exacerbate in the tax code. 

House Bill 19-1058 – Income Tax Benefits For Family Leave
Sponsor: Reps. Landgraf & Beckman, Sen. Priola

This bill would have created tax deferred savings accounts for paid leave and tax incentives to businesses that contribute to those accounts for their employees. Tax-preferred savings accounts and other tax breaks for paid family and medical leave are untargeted, inefficient giveaways that provide larger tax shelters and enhanced benefits to high income earners, while doing little to give average working families access to paid family and medical leave. These policies widen inequality, take resources from other general fund priorities, and do little to expand available resources for the benefit policymakers want to create. We were glad to see this bill fail in a House committee.

Referred Ballot Measures

HB 19-1257 – “De-Brucing”
Sponsors: Speaker Becker & Rep. McCluskie; Sens. Court & Priola

House Bill 1257 refers a ballot measure to voters in 2019 that would, if approved, allow the state to keep and use all the revenue it collects from all sources of revenue. Known as “de-Brucing,” this measure would align Colorado revenue policy with the policy in most states by allowing the legislature, rather than an arbitrary formula added to the state constitution nearly 30 years ago, to determine how to allocate revenue for state priorities. The revenue retained due to the proposed changes would be used for K-12, higher education, and roads, bridges, and transit.  And while HB 1257 is not a solution to the state’s fiscal woes, it is a necessary and logical step toward fiscal prudency. For our full analysis, click here. A companion bill with the same sponsors, HB19-1258, allocates where the money goes if voters decide to “de-bruce.”

HB 19-1333 – Cigarette Tobacco & Nicotine Products Tax
Sponsors: Rep. Caraveo; Sen. Fields

House Bill 19-1333 would have referred a measure to voters in 2019 to tax a broader set of nicotine products and increase excise tax rates on cigarettes and other tobacco products. The measure was projected to raise $317 million in revenue that would have been used to help fund new programs in health care and education.

If voters had approved HB19-1333, it would have been the first tax on E-cigarettes. The new tax was proposed to be 62% of the manufacture price.  The proposed tax rate for non-cigarette tobacco products would also have been 62%, an increase from the current 40% of manufacture price. For cigarettes, the proposed per-pack tax was $1.75, up from the current tax of $.84.

The heath care spending authorized in HB19-1333 includes money for prevention and cessation programs, efforts to reduce health insurance premiums and enhancements for child and youth behavioral health services. The education spending authorized would be used for Pre-K program enhancement including expansion of the Colorado Preschool program and for an expansion of out of school activities funding.

The bill narrowly passed the House but died on second reading in the Senate on the penultimate day of the Session.

HB19-1327 – Authorize and Tax Sports Betting
Sponsors: Maj. Leader Garnett & Min. Leader Neville; Sens. Donovan & Cooke

House Bill 19-1327 refers a measure to voters in 2019 to legalize sports betting in Colorado. If voters agree, the state would be authorized to issue licenses to casino license holders in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek. The measure would authorize a 10% tax on “Net Sports Betting Proceeds” (the revenue that the license holder makes after paying out winnings) that would be deposited in the Sports Betting Fund. 

The proposed tax is estimated to raise between $9.7 million to $11.2 million. The proceeds will be used for startup costs for the sports betting activities, operation of sports betting within the Division of Gaming, and a hold harmless requirement if other gaming tax funds are reduced due to sports betting. The bulk of the funds are to be used to contribute to the costs of implementing the State Water Plan. The bill passed the legislature and is awaiting the governor’s signature.