Wait, what just happened? A closer look at the last few days of Colorado’s legislature - Western Colorado Alliance for Community Action

The 2020 Colorado legislative session officially adjourned Sine Die on June 15. They won’t be back in session now until January 2021. 2020 will be a year to remember for a while to come, and this legislative session is one for the books. Despite the temporary adjournment, 651 bills were still introduced this year, but nearly half (323) of the bills failed to pass.

Western Colorado Alliance’s legislative committee started the year thinking our focus would be on statewide sustainability, but we ended the session with our noses deep in COVID-19 relief bills and tax policy. As we’ve said before, the legislative committee is hard at work prepping a detailed report on the suite of COVID-19 relief bills that passed, and hope to have something to distribute to our membership by the end of July. In the meantime, here are a few bills that passed with big impact.

Let’s start with a celebration!

SB20-217, the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, passed through the legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Polis last Friday. Thanks, in part, to members of Western Colorado Alliance, our legislators heard from over 300 residents in Western Colorado asking them to support this bill. A resounding thank you to Senators Ray Scott, Bob Rankin, Don Coram, and Kerry Donovan, as well as Representatives Dylan Roberts, Julie McCluskie, Marc Catlin, Barbara McLachlan, and Janice Rich, who all voted in support of this sweeping police reform legislation. All West Slope legislators with the exception of two, Rep. Matt Soper and Rep. Perry Will, voted in support. What may have seemed like a last-minute bill was one that was years in the making. The tragic death of yet another black individual led to the opportunity to pass this legislation and provide a model for the nation for what states can do to begin addressing a history of violence. As a reminder, here is what the bill does:

Mandates the use of body cameras by July 2021.
Prohibits the use of chokeholds by police.
Requires public reporting on policing. All law enforcement agencies must track and report data, including demographic information, on uses of force, stops of civilians, searches of civilians and forced entries into homes.
Prevents the rehiring of bad officers. Officers who are found untruthful, terminated for cause, or are decertified will be listed in a database to stop the practice of bad officers moving from one law enforcement agency to another, where they continue to do predictable harm. Officers who have been convicted of violent crimes will be decertified
Reins in use of deadly force by officers. Brings Colorado law in line with Supreme Court precedent holding deadly force may only be used by an officer, including people who are fleeing the police, when there is an immediate risk of danger to human life.
Allows victims of police misconduct to bring a lawsuit against officers, and officers will not be allowed to shield themselves with the doctrine of qualified immunity.

Our kids and teachers bore the brunt of the budget shortfalls this year. Sixty bills introduced to support children and public schools were postponed. This includes the elimination of the state tax credit for teachers who buy their own school supplies. And it makes this the 11th year in a row that education is defunded in Colorado. HB20-1420, the Adjust Tax Expenditures for State Education Fund Act, attempted to make up the $250 million in shortcomings but with business pushback, was only able to make up $120 million. Still, this bill increases funding to the State Education Fund as well as expands the earned income tax credit to 15% of the Federal EITC in 2023, and closes tax loopholes, instead prioritizing lower-income taxpayers.

Speaking of taxes, the legislature passed SCR20-001, the Repeal Property Tax Assessment Rates Act, sending a statewide question to the ballot in November asking voters to repeal the Gallagher amendment. Originally approved by voters in 1982, the Gallagher amendment put the onus of property taxes on businesses and commercial building owners by limiting residential property taxation. The economic impact of the coronavirus means we’ll see a hefty cut in property taxes, leading to a larger decrease in school funding. We’re curious to get your thoughts on this ballot question, which if approved, would repeal Gallagher and allow residential property tax rates to better fund schools in the coming years.

We won’t go into them here, but if you’re in need of a closer look at the suite of COVID-19 relief bills that passed, a list follows of what we’ll be breaking down for you in the near future.

HB20-1410: COVID-19 Related Housing Assistance

HB20-1411: COVID-19 Funds for Behavioral Health

HB20-1412: COVID-19 Utility Bill Payment-Related Assistance

HB20-1413: Small Business Recovery Loan Program Premium Tax Credits

SB20-204: Additional Resources To Protect Air Quality

SB20-205: Sick Leave for Employees

SB20-211: Limitations on Extraordinary Collection Actions

SB20-212: Reimbursement for Telehealth Services

SB20-215: Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise

SB20-216: Workers’ Compensation for COVID-19

About the author

Jeriel Clark

Jeriel joined the Western Colorado Alliance staff in February 2017 (back when we were still Western Colorado Congress), but you may remember her as our Canvass Director for the successful Minimum Wage ballot initiative in 2016! In her young career, Jeriel has worked with engaged citizens across Colorado on issues ranging from veterans' affairs, healthcare and women’s rights. Jeriel has called Grand Junction and the Western Slope home for 16 years, and enjoys running, hiking, biking and crafting with her daughter Emma.