Colorado
As new tax credits reroute money from budget, lawmakers brace for less certain budget growth
Even as Colorado enacts drastic changes to its tax policy, economic forecasters still expect the state to hit the constitutional cap on revenue collections in coming years.
But, the state could flirt with falling below the cap, set by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, for the first time in half a decade during the adjustment period. The TABOR cap grows based on population growth and inflation, and money collected over it needs to be refunded to taxpayers.
Greg Sobetski, the chief economist for the Legislative Council Staff, didn’t raise any red flags during a forecast Thursday but acknowledged “a new set of budget circumstances” for state officials to navigate after years of explosive growth in state revenues. That growth resulted in billions of dollars being refunded to taxpayers in recent years, most notably through direct payments in fall 2022 and through tax returns this year.
Lawmakers this past legislative session, however, passed more than 30 bills either adjusting or creating new tax credits, according to a tally by the governor’s office. They include expansions to the earned income tax credit for the lowest-income Coloradans, senior housing tax credits and, if certain economic triggers are met, a new credit potentially worth thousands of dollars to families.
Collectively, the credits will reroute hundreds of millions of dollars — if not more than a billion — per year in coming years from state coffers, though it still ends up Coloradans’ wallets. In the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, the credits could also push state revenues below the TABOR cap. Economists for the legislative branch and governor’s office both expect revenue to remain above the cap, but Sobetskis’s office, in particular, warned a routine margin of error that comes with predicting the future could drop that below the TABOR cap.
Legislative forecasters expect $1.4 billion in revenue collected above the revenue cap this fiscal year, which ends July 1, will need to be refunded. They expect it to drop to about $328 million next fiscal year before bouncing back to $1 billion-plus for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2025.
“Even without a recession, you could end up in an environment, easily, within the realm of normal forecast error where state revenue is under the (TABOR) cap,” Sobetski said.
Forecasters for the governor’s office were more optimistic and still expect nearly $700 million in money over the cap will need to be refunded for the next fiscal year. Exact TABOR refunds for the upcoming tax year won’t be set for months still and depend on future forecasts.
Overall, forecasters expected continued economic growth and lower chances of a recession in the immediate term. But, economic activity is being stymied by persistently high interest rates. State economists had originally expected multiple interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, and when those didn’t materialize, they revised state economic growth expectations down, Sobetski said.
“Because we’re expecting interest rate cuts to happen later, we’re not expecting the interest rates to accelerate as quickly,” he said.
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Colorado
Colorado mother says Lakewood crash killed son, left 2 of her children critically injured as driver is arrested
A mother is grieving after a crash in the Denver metro area last weekend left her son brain-dead and two of her other children fighting for their lives.
Lakewood police say 22-year-old Andrew Logan Miller has been arrested in connection with the crash, which happened Dec. 6 around 7:30 p.m. near Kipling Parkway and West 6th Avenue.
Police say Miller was driving an SUV southbound on Kipling Parkway at a high rate of speed when it collided with a bus carrying a wrestling team from Central High School, which is located in Grand Junction in Mesa County.
Sixteen people were taken to hospitals.
Among the injured were three siblings who were riding inside the SUV.
On Friday, their mother, Suleyma Gonzalez, identified them as Julio Gonzalez, 18, Analelly Gonzalez, 17, and Christopher Gonzalez, 14.
Analelly and Christopher remain in critical condition. Julio will never wake up.
“I didn’t want to believe it, until they had to do the second testing where they didn’t find blood going through his brain,” she said. “My other two are in comas.”
Gonzalez said doctors ultimately declared Julio brain-dead.
She describes her children as disciplined students and ROTC members with plans for the future.
“Two of my kids were going to graduate this year,” she said. “No drugs. No alcohol. They were good kids.”
Gonzalez confirmed that Miller, who was driving the SUV at the time of the crash, was her daughter’s boyfriend.
“I know he loved my daughter,” she said. “I don’t think he did this on purpose or intentionally. It was an accident.”
Police say the investigation is ongoing, but believe speed played a major role in the crash.
Miller was arrested Wednesday night and is facing multiple charges, including:
• Vehicular assault (7 counts)
• Speeding 40 mph or more over the limit
• Reckless driving
• Child abuse (2 counts)
• Reckless endangerment
“My kids know when you get in somebody’s car, there’s always a risk. Always,” she said.
Julio’s organs will be donated. He’s on life support, while the hospital searches for matches.
“He wanted to give to the world,” she said. “Now that I can’t get him back, we want to give life to somebody else.”
Miller is currently being held in the Denver County Jail and is awaiting transfer to the Jefferson County Jail. His bond and court appearance have not yet been announced.
Lakewood police say the investigation remains active.
Gonzalez, a single mother of five, says her focus now is on her surviving children and getting clarity.
“I just want answers.”
DENVER, Colo. (KKTV) – The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced Thursday a lawsuit against the Colorado Secretary of State for failure to produce state voter information.
Secretary of State Jena Griswold claims the DOJ sent a “broad” request for the voter registration rolls on May 12.
Griswold says her office complied with the request and “shared the publicly available data consistent with applicable law.” However, the lawsuit against Griswold says that her office did not respond to the letter.
Griswold sent a letter in November signed by several Secretaries of State to the DOJ and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting clarification on how the data would be used, but she claims neither replied to the questions in the letter.
The lawsuit goes on to allege that DOJ attorney Eric Neff followed up by emailing Secretary Griswold on Dec. 1, requesting Colorado’s Statewide Voter Registration list.
Griswold said this request asked the office to share unredacted voter data, including a voter’s full name, date of birth, residential address, and complete state driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
Griswold responded by email on Dec. 3, stating, “We received your request. We will not be producing unredacted voter files or signing the MOU,” the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit cites the Civil Rights Act, which gives the United States Attorney General the power to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of the statewide voter registration lists.
The DOJ is requesting a judge to declare that Griswold violated the Civil Rights Act and to order her to provide the current electronic copy of Colorado’s statewide voter registration list.
Griswold’s office released the following statement:
The DOJ released the following statement regarding the lawsuit:
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