This article is excerpted from a story by Jennifer Brown that appeared on Colorado Newsline on October 16, 2024. The story originally appeared in The Colorado Sun.
One of the top issues on the minds of Colorado voters this election is the cost of living, with about 15% in our Voter Voices survey saying they intend to focus first on the economy as they mark their ballots.
Coloradans are concerned about the price of housing, groceries, gas, utility bills and everything else it takes to keep households running. That’s not shocking considering that the average household has spent $34,194 more since 2020 due to inflation, according to research from the Common Sense Institute.
While economists say inflation is “cooling,” Coloradans are still feeling the economic crush of the past few years. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is about $2,000 in Denver. The average price of a home in Colorado is now above $540,000. Food prices in Colorado and across the country rose 25% from 2019 to 2023.
So if your top concern is the high price of living in Colorado, how should you vote? A large part of that answer depends on which economic policies you believe will work and how those policies match up with your other priorities. Here’s what to watch for on your ballot.
State ballot measures to collect more tax dollars
The top tax measures on the November ballot are regional and local, including some so-called “de-Brucing” measures that would remove entities from the tax limits set under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. TABOR was authored by former state Rep. Douglas Bruce.
Even ballot measures that don’t seem to be about cost of living are related. Two statewide measures force voters to consider whether it’s worth potentially paying more in taxes for public safety and educational choice.
Amendment 80 would enshrine school choice in the state Constitution, opening the door, critics say, to taking money from public education to fund private school. The proposal comes after school-choice groups have failed in the past to pass voucher programs that would allow parents to get tax refunds to help pay for private school, and after a voucher program in Douglas County School District was struck down by the courts. It’s supported by Advance Colorado, a conservative action committee.
Proposition 130 would spend a one-time $350 million in state funds on law enforcement, including for recruiting, training, salaries and death benefits for officers’ families. Proponents are hoping that the cost of the “Back the Blue” measure will be overshadowed by people’s concerns about crime.
Unlike most ballot questions proposing to spend money, it doesn’t authorize any new taxes or borrowing. That means state lawmakers would have to decide how to find the $350 million.
Presidential race
Both presidential candidates are touting economic proposals intended to decrease the burden on taxpayers.
Former President Donald Trump is proposing to end taxes on Social Security benefits and on tips for hospitality workers. He’s also vowed to offer incentives to foreign companies that relocate manufacturing to the United States and hire American workers. And he wants to impose tariffs on other countries that trade with the United States, including a tariff as high as 200% on vehicles imported from Mexico.
Vice President Kamala Harris said she also supports ending taxes on tips for restaurant workers. She has called for expanding the child tax credit to $6,000 from $2,000 for parents, and raising the minimum wage. Colorado’s minimum wage is $14.42 per hour and will rise to $14.81 on January 1, but the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009. Harris also is pitching tax breaks for small business owners and first-time homebuyers.
State candidates/legislators
During a special session this summer, Colorado lawmakers headed off ballot measures that legislative analysts said would have cut taxes by $2.4 billion, throttled their future growth and risked the state’s ability to fund K-12 schools and other public services.
Lawmakers instead agreed to cut taxes in 2025 by $769 million — the fourth round of tax cuts in less than a year. Colorado now has a $900 million budget hole.
To close the budget gap, the state will either have to cut spending or dip into its reserves, which under state law are required to set aside 15% of general fund spending.
Lawmakers in the next few years will have to make key decisions on how to fund K-12 education, which will receive less local funding because of property tax cuts. They also have to deal with unexpected Medicaid costs, after the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing overspent on the low-income health care program by as much as $154 million last budget year.
In terms of housing costs, lawmakers have power to pass wide-ranging legislation that can affect the availability of housing. Recent examples involve the state government expanding tax credits for affordable housing projects and overriding local policies.
A new law passed this year, for example, requires 31 local governments to change their zoning laws to allow more housing units along major bus and rail corridors. It requires local governments to zone for at least 40 units per acre within a quarter mile of bus stops and a half mile of rail stations. Another new law allows people who live in metropolitan planning organizations to build accessory dwelling units or “granny flats” on their properties. The law blocked many existing local regulations that prohibit ADUs.