Colorado

Colorado Democrats want to use TABOR refund money to fight child poverty, help care workers with new credits

Published

3 months ago

February 17, 2024

Colorado Democrats want to use TABOR refund money to fight child poverty, help care workers with new credits

Colorado Democrats are eying a large portion of the state’s $1.8 billion-plus surplus this year to provide child tax credits targeted to help lower-income families — along with another slice devoted to helping people working in health- and child-care fields.

The proposals are costly policy moves that could put state lawmakers on a path for conflict with Gov. Jared Polis, a fellow Democrat, over what to do with the surplus and broader tax policy. The legislators, including a top member of the House, argue the money — which normally would be refunded to taxpayers — gives Colorado an opportunity to help the people most in need.

The child tax credits bill, introduced Friday afternoon, would direct up to $3,200 per child younger than 6 to the lowest-income families in the state. That credit would taper down as qualifying families’ incomes increase, up to a limit of $85,000 for single filers and $95,000 for joint filers. Those families would receive a $120 credit.

Another credit would apply for families with children ages 6 to 16 — starting at $2,400 and tapering down to $90 for single and joint filers at the same income limits.

Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy, a Lakewood Democrat, said the proposal could cut the state’s child poverty rates in half. Some 133,000 Colorado children currently live in poverty, according to the Colorado Children’s Campaign.

“When you pump this money into those families at that level, it can be a game changer for their lives,” deGruy Kennedy said.

He said the child tax credits would cost roughly $800 million per year, though an official estimate was still pending.

The proposal was modeled largely after the pandemic-era federal child tax credit expansion championed by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, he said. The federal program gave families direct cash assistance in 2021 and was credited with slashing the national childhood poverty rate, but Congress allowed the expansion to lapse after a year.

Bennet has tried to resurrect it, and a bipartisan tax bill recently passed by the U.S. House contained a new expansion of the credit; that bill is now pending in the Senate.

DeGruy Kennedy’s state proposal is still in its beginning stages, and he expects it to change as the bill moves through the legislative process — and as it’s negotiated with the governor’s office. That includes determining if a direct monthly payment, or an annual refund like what the state sends now, would be more practical.

He identified the bill’s co-sponsors as Rep. Jenny Willford of Northglenn and Sens. Faith Winter of Westminster and James Coleman of Denver. All are Democrats.

The proposed child tax credits would be permanent but would depend on the availability of surplus tax revenue above the limit set by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR.

Democrats have drawn on surplus money for other relief

The measure joins a suite of other pitches by the majority Democrats to direct tax dollars collected over the TABOR cap toward lower-income Coloradans, including a further expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and a bill to provide additional tax relief to people 65 and older.

But as a consequence, the approach would chew into the tax refunds Coloradans have come to expect in recent years.

It also pits legislative Democrats against Polis, who wants an income tax cut to be part of any broader tax reform package. That desire — reiterated in Polis’ January State of the State address — is a nonstarter for some Democratic lawmakers, who argue that such a reduction would mostly benefit the state’s wealthiest earners.

Earlier this week, a committee controlled by Democrats killed a Republican-backed income tax cut proposal.

In a statement Friday, Polis spokeswoman Shelby Wieman said the governor “looks forward to a conversation on the child tax credit and other important tax policies — including his priority of a temporary rate cut to the income tax — during this legislative session to provide relief to all Coloradans and to help our economy grow.”

DeGruy Kennedy said he’s working with the governor’s office on a compromise that would include cuts to the state’s income and sales tax rates in conjunction with the expanded tax credits for families.

He said this effort was “very much about planting the flag” to establish the view that the state can use TABOR surplus money to tackle societal issues. He expects a fight over tapping into the surplus, especially since it has become a political tripwire following the failure of Proposition HH, which voters soundly defeated in November.

Proposition HH would have raised the TABOR revenue cap to pay for education and cut property taxes. Republicans in particular have taken HH’s defeat to mean voters don’t want lawmakers to touch TABOR surpluses — or their refunds.

DeGruy Kennedy, though, framed a rhetorical question for Colorado voters: “Are you willing to give up a little bit of that (TABOR surplus) if this could be a transformational policy change for families in Colorado who are really living on the edge?”

Credit for health, early childhood workers

Also included in the tax credit package was a second bill introduced by House Democrats on Friday, which would direct a $1,500 annual tax credit to certain care workers, including those working in home health, early childhood and personal health.

The credit would be targeted to lower-income workers, which includes most of the people in those fields, said Rep. Lorena Garcia, an Adams County Democrat sponsoring the bill.

Like the child tax credit, the care workers credit would be permanent but dependent upon a TABOR surplus. It would cost more than $100 million per year, Garcia said, and would benefit as many as 70,000 lower-income workers.

“We’re able to help folks for whom $1,500 really is the difference between getting evicted or getting your car repossessed,” said Garcia, who’s backing the bill with Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat. “Whereas (for) other folks in higher-income brackets, $1,500 is something nice to add to your savings account.”

Her bill is part of the negotiations with the governor’s office, Garcia said. But including an across-the-board cut to the state’s income tax rate as part of that deal would be a “nonstarter,” she said.

“Having a flat rate income tax (cut) — while everyone benefits, it disproportionately benefits the rich,” she said, adding that lawmakers “would be happy” to discuss referring a ballot measure to voters that would cut the income tax rate for lower- and middle-income earners.

After she introduced two of the tax credit bills Friday, House Speaker Julie McCluskie said Democratic legislators had worked to “make sure that we are supporting the hard-working families of our state.”

“These are seasoned lawmakers who have brought forward some pretty big ideas,” she said, “and I look forward to the ongoing conversations.”

McCluskie demurred when asked about disagreements between Polis and Democratic legislators over an income tax cut, though she said that she hoped Polis “is thoughtful about just pushing one idea.”

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Colorado

Waivers don’t shield ski resorts that violate state law from liability, Colorado Supreme Court rules

Published

2 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

Waivers don’t shield ski resorts that violate state law from liability, Colorado Supreme Court rules

The pages of fine print that skiers and snowboarders must agree to when hitting the slopes in Colorado — waivers of liability — do not protect ski resorts when resorts violate state laws or regulations, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The ruling, handed down in the case of a 16-year-old girl who fell from a ski lift at Crested Butte Mountain Resort and was paralyzed two years ago, likely ends a years-long push by the ski industry to use waivers to shield resorts against almost all lawsuits, even in cases where ski areas violated state law, experts said.

“It’s a sea change, in terms of ski areas’ responsibilities and consumers’ ability to be protected from ski areas’ negligence,” said Evan Banker, a personal injury attorney at Denver firm Chalat Hatten & Banker. “…From a consumer protection standpoint, it’s huge. Because liability breeds responsibility.”

In their 5-2 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court justices considered a lawsuit brought by Annie Miller and her father, Michael Miller, over Annie’s 30-foot fall from a lift at Crested Butte, which is owned by Vail Resorts. The father and daughter from Oklahoma boarded the Paradise Express chairlift, a four-seat, high-speed lift at the resort, on March 16, 2022.

Annie couldn’t get properly seated, and grabbed the chairlift to keep from falling. Her father and others began to yell for the lift to be stopped as she was dragged forward, but the lift continued with Annie hanging from the chair and her father trying to pull her back to safety.

Eventually, Annie fell and landed on her back. Even then, the lift did not stop, and Michael Miller was forced to ride to the top and ski down to his daughter, who suffered severe injuries and was paralyzed after the fall.

Michael Miller brought a negligence lawsuit against Crested Butte, arguing that the resort employees should have stopped the lift well before Annie fell and that failing to do so violated Colorado’s Ski Safety Act and the Passenger Tramway Safety Act. A lower court ruled much of Miller’s claim was invalid, and he appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Monday’s ruling partially reversed the lower-court decision and allows Miller to continue to pursue the negligence lawsuit against the resort.

Sara Huey, a spokeswoman for Vail Resorts, declined to comment on the ruling because the Millers’ lawsuit is ongoing. In court filings, attorneys for Vail Resorts argued that the lawsuit misstated the precedent in Colorado around private liability waivers, which skiers and snowboarders must agree to when buying lift tickets and passes.

“Colorado courts have upheld private recreational waiver agreements, even where the plaintiff could have (or did) point to a statute regulating the activity,” attorney Michael Hofmann wrote. “The existence of recreational safety regulation has never been enough to prohibit private parties from agreeing that a waiver defense will be available.”

“Big victory for ski safety”

More broadly, the state high court’s decision likely ends efforts by the ski industry to expand the protections that waivers of liability give ski areas.

“This was a big victory for ski safety in Colorado,” said Bruce Braley, who represented the Millers. “It says unequivocally that ski areas cannot force skiers and snowboarders to sign away their rights to protection under the statutes and regulations that govern the ski industry in Colorado.”

The ruling turns back the clock on liability in some Colorado ski accident cases, Banker said.

“For many, many years… everyone sort of agreed that when you sign that waiver you are waiving claims of negligence, but you can always still make claims if the ski area fails to do the things it is required to by law, like maintaining the lift properly,” Banker said.

But since about 2017, the ski industry has been successfully challenging that understanding through targeted litigation, winning key court cases that strengthened the protection afforded by waivers and pushing to essentially provide complete immunity for anything that could happen at a ski resort unless there was gross negligence, Banker and Braley said.

“So what this has done is change that,” Banker said. “It brings us back to the landscape everyone understood it to be many years ago. Which is, you can waive claims of negligence, but the ski area doesn’t get to avoid its legal responsibility, its responsibility in statute and regulations, by having you sign a waiver.”

Adrienne Saia Isaac, a spokeswoman for the National Ski Areas Association, a Lakewood nonprofit that represents more than 300 sk- area members, said it is “too early to tell how the ruling will affect the Colorado ski industry.”

The association argued in court filings both that the lift operator at Crested Butte was not required to stop the lift in response to Annie Miller’s mishap, and that liability waivers do not allow ski areas to get around statutory regulations.

“While chairlift accidents within the reasonable control of ski area operators will never be eliminated, they are rare,” wrote Brian Birenbach, an attorney in Breckenridge representing the National Ski Areas Association. “This will not change by the continued enforcement of liability waivers in the courts.”

Two dissenting voices

Two justices dissented from the majority’s Monday ruling, arguing that the state Supreme Court should have upheld the lower court’s ruling in Miller’s lawsuit.

Justice Monica Márquez wrote in the dissent that the type of negligence Miller claimed, “negligence per se,” or negligence in violation of a specific statute or regulation, is practically no different from ordinary negligence — that is, negligence that violates a general reasonable duty of care — and so shouldn’t be treated differently from a claim of ordinary negligence.

“The dissent essentially says, ‘It’s still negligence, and you can waive claims of ordinary negligence, so there is nothing special about a per se duty of care,’ whereas what the majority opinion said is, ‘When the legislature speaks and sets out duties of care, it means something,’” Banker said.

Braley said the ruling should encourage Colorado ski areas to pay closer attention to safety laws and regulations.

“I think the industry as a whole is going to have to accept responsibility,” he said, “and take more seriously these statutory and regulatory requirements they have to comply with to provide safe passage on chair lifts in Colorado.”

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Colorado

Large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes expected across eastern Colorado

Published

9 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

Large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes expected across eastern Colorado

Denver weather: Strong to severe storms possible for the eastern plains

03:14

All modes of severe weather are expected across the Eastern Plains of Colorado later this afternoon and evening.

Denver, Fort Collins, and Greeley are in the marginal zone. Damaging winds and large hail (up to ~1″ diameter) will be possible as storms get organized. As storms push east of the metro area, they will enter a more favorable environment with the potential for a few tornadoes and hail up to 2″+.

An enhanced risk (level 3/5) has been issued for Sterling, Julesburg, Holyoke, and Wray. This is where the greatest confidence exists for the worst of the storms.

Storms look to develop between 2-4 PM across the Front Range. The severe potential will linger until about 10-11PM across the Eastern Plains.

Joe Ruch

Joe Ruch is a First Alert Meteorologist with CBS News Colorado. Catch his latest First Alert Weather updates on TV and on our free streaming service, CBS News Colorado. Check out his bio and send him an email.

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Colorado

CO PO Calendar | May 20-26

Published

16 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances, water meetings, book signings, county commission hearings, city council meetings and more. As a subscriber, you can submit your own events for publication to calendar@coloradopolitics.com for free publication on this page. Please include who, what, when, where and why for each event.

(Party designations: R-Republican, D-Democrat, L-Libertarian, G-Green, S-Socialist, U-Unity, F-Forward.)

MONDAY, MAY 20

· (R) Jefferson County Republican Party: Men’s Luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 565 Union Blvd., Lakewood

· (R) Broomfield County Republican Party: Republican Women Meeting & Luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 500 Interlocken Blvd., Broomfield

· DRCOG: Transportation Advisory Committee, 1:30 p.m., 1001 17th Ave., Ste. 700, Denver

· (D) Jefferson County Democratic Party: Liberal Libations, 4-6 p.m., 11911 W. 6th Ave., Lakewood

· (D) Denver Democratic Party: Tech Office Hours, 5-6 p.m., visit https://www.denverdemocrats.org/county-party-calendar for Zoom link

· (D) Montrose County Democratic Party: Central Committee Meeting, 6-7 p.m., 1500 E. Main St., Montrose

· (R) Denver Republican Party: HD 9 Monthly Meeting, 6:30-8 p.m., 1660 S. Albion St., Denver

TUESDAY, MAY 21

· (R) Boulder County Republican Party: Boulder Republican Women, 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m., 4760 28th St., Boulder

· Colorado Children’s Campaign: End of Session Party, 4-6 p.m., 1200 Broadway, Denver, contact sarahb@coloradokids.org for more information

· (R) Weld County Republican Party: Executive Committee Meeting, 6-7 p.m., 361 71st Ave., Greeley

· (S) Denver Democratic Socialists of America: Abolition Working Group Meeting, 6-7 p.m., visit denverdsa.org/events for Zoom link

· (R) Jefferson County Republican Party: HD 24 Committee Meeting, 6-7 p.m., contact 303-277-1113 for more information

· (D) Denver Democratic Party: Executive Committee Meeting, 6-8 p.m., 690 Colorado Blvd., Denver

· (D) Arapahoe County Democratic Party: Rep. Chad Clifford Town Hall, 6-8 p.m., 7272 S. Eagle St., Centennial

· (R) Douglas County Republican Party: Executive Committee Meeting, 6-9 p.m., 9292 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Littleton

· (D) Arapahoe County Democratic Party: HD 61 Monthly Meeting, 6:30-8 p.m., 5428 S. Parker Rd., Aurora

· (D) Denver Democratic Party: Executive Committee Meeting, 6:30-8 p.m., 690 Colorado Blvd., Denver

· (R) Log Cabin Republicans: Meeting, 6:30-8:30 p.m., 221 W. 13th Ave., Denver

· (R) Denver Republican Party: HD 2 Monthly Meeting, 7-8 p.m., 700 S. Franklin St., Denver

· (D) Grand County Democratic Party: Monthly Meeting, 7-8 p.m., contact chair@grandcountydems.org for more information

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22

· Lincoln Club of Colorado: 2024 Legislative Session Recap with Rose Pugliese and Cleave Simpson, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 5400 E. Yale Ave., Denver, cost $25, RSVP at https://secure.anedot.com/lincolnclubofcolorado/donatetothelincolnclubofcolorado

· (D) Colorado Democratic Party: South Asian Initiative, 4-5 p.m., visit https://www.coloradodems.org/calendar-of-events/ for Zoom link

· Colorado Black Women for Political Action: End of Legislative Session 2024 Happy Hour, 5:30-7:30 p.m., 2736 Welton St., Denver

· (D) Arapahoe County Democratic Party: Sen. Michaelson-Jenet Town Hall, 6-7 p.m., visit https://www.arapahoedems.org/ for RSVP link

· (L) Denver Libertarian Party: Liberty on the Rocks, 6-9 p.m., 727 E. 16th Ave., Denver

· (R) Denver Republican Party: HD 7 & 8 Meeting, contact 1vc@denvergop.org for more information

· (S) Denver Democratic Socialists of America: Orientation Call, 7-8:30 p.m., register in advance at http://bit.ly/DDSA-Orientation

· (D) Denver Democratic Party: Healthcare Study Group, 7-8:30 p.m., contact belwood0328@gmail.com for more information

· (D) Arapahoe County Democratic Party: HD 37 Meeting, 7-8:30 p.m., 7272 S. Eagle St., Centennial

THURSDAY, MAY 23

· Colorado General Assembly: Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy & TaskForce, 1 p.m., 200 E. Colfax Ave., SCR 354, Denver

· (D) Chaffee County Democratic Party: Monthly Meeting, 5:30-7 p.m., contact info@chaffeecountydemocrats.org for more information

· (R) Jefferson County Republican Party: HD 30 Meeting, 6-8 p.m., contact 303-277-1113 for more information

· Rep. Chad Clifford Town Hall, 6-8 p.m., 6060 S. Quebec St., Greenwood Village

· (D) Weld County Democratic Party: Executive Committee Meeting, 6-8 p.m., contact info@weldcountydems.org for more information

· (D) Denver Democratic Party: HD 2 Monthly Meeting, 6:30-8 p.m., 1955 E. Arizona Ave., Denver

· (D) Jefferson County Democratic Party: HD 27 Monthly Meeting, 6:30-8 p.m., visit https://www.jeffcodems.org/calendar for Zoom link

· (D) Arapahoe County Democratic Party: HD 41 Monthly Meeting, 6:30-8 p.m., 15200 E. Girard Ave., Ste. 1400, Aurora

· Latinas Increasing Political Strength: Qunceañera, 6:30-9:30 p.m., 3034 Larimer St., Denver

· (R) CU Republicans: Meeting, 7-8 p.m., contact coloradocr@gmail.com for more information

· (R) Boulder County Republican Party: Executive Committee Meeting, contact twatson@bocogop.org for more information

FRIDAY, MAY 24

· DRCOG: Advisory Committee on Aging, 11 a.m., 1001 17th Ave., Ste. 700, Denver

· (R) Republicans @ Denver Athletic Club: Meeting, 12-1 p.m., 1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver

· (D) Colorado Democratic Party: RCV for Colorado Policy Committee, 2-3 p.m., visit https://rcvforcolorado-org.zoom.us/j/82762945516 to join the meeting

· (R) Jefferson County Republican Party: JeffCo EIC Zoom Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m., contact makeadifferenceinco@gmail.com for more information

SATURDAY, MAY 25

· (L) Boulder County Libertarian Party: Liberty Toastmasters, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., 315 S. Bowen St., Longmont

· (D) Denver Democratic Party: HD 7 Monthly Meeting, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 12000 E. 47th Ave., Denver

· (D) Jefferson County Democratic Party: Open House, 4-6 p.m., 393 S. Harlan St., Ste. 190, Lakewood

SUNDAY, MAY 26

· (S) Denver Democratic Socialists of America: Brunch & Podcast Discussion, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., contact info@denverdsa.org for more information

· Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today: ‘CRAZY HAS A NAME’ Mental Health Awareness Month, 4-7 p.m., 13200 E. 14th Pl., Aurora, purchase tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crazy-has-a-name-tickets-869328754707?aff=oddtdtcreator

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