The special session recently called by Gov. Jared Polis offers a path forward for policies that can protect Colorado’s children and families from the potentially devastating impacts of two ballot initiatives that would permanently cut property tax rates and limit property tax revenue.
Removing Initiative 50 and proposed Initiative 108 from the 2024 ballot is the responsible thing to do. These ballot measures pose catastrophic risks to the state and local budgets that support schools and many other vital programs in our communities.
The Colorado Children’s Campaign is committed to ensuring that our state government prioritizes children and families in policy and funding efforts.
“We encourage legislators to use this special session to focus on a narrow compromise that will help stabilize the state budget and preserve critical programs and services that support kids and families,” said Heather Tritten, President and CEO of the Colorado Children‘s Campaign. “We are particularly concerned that legislators protect recent progress on funding for public schools by ensuring the more equitable and adequate school funding formula that was passed earlier this year goes into effect and by preventing the state from returning to the use of the Budget Stabilization Factor.”
The Colorado Children’s Campaign also calls on the proponents of these measures to stop bringing forth these and similarly reckless ballot measures. The proposals in these ballot measures do not offer constructive solutions to Colorado’s affordability challenges and would harm families and communities by forcing sudden, dramatic, and lasting cuts to services that support their well-being. Colorado needs a productive and civil discourse through open public conversations that offer all Coloradans, and especially our children, policy solutions that support and strengthen the quality, affordable communities they deserve.
