TABOR & Fiscal Policy

Colorado's enterprise zone program will be modified to permanently cap the amount of investment tax credit that may be claimed at $750,000 per year, place greater emphasis on job creation and workforce development and provide transparency in assessing the program's effectiveness, thanks to Gov. John Hickenlooper's signing of House Bill 1142 on Wednesday.

Under the new law:

The 2013 legislative session made extraordinary progress in expanding opportunities for more Coloradans.

In our January preview of the session, we described how legislative leaders from both sides of the aisle outlined broad goals and emphasized the role of public policy in expanding opportunity. During the session, they delivered. The result is one of the most productive and far-reaching sessions in memory.

The 2013 legislative session made extraordinary progress in expanding opportunities for more Coloradans. The legislature enacted several measures that the Bell and others have been working on for almost a decade.

Our end-of-session edition of The Opportunity News reviews many of those accomplishments, with a focus on the Bell's major bills.

Click here to read our end-of-session wrap-up

Colorado is beginning to see the "silver tsunami" – a dramatic increase in the number of residents 65 and older. In fact, by 2030, the number of 65+ households will more than double.

Because of the cost of long-term care for seniors, this growing population poses a serious challenge for the state as well as individuals and their families.

The Colorado Title Board has approved 21 ballot measures designed to provide funding for Senate Bill 13-213, which would update Colorado's school financing formula for the first time in almost 20 years. If the bill passes, voters must approve one of these ballot measures to provide funding for it.

Colorado Working Families Opportunity Act

Senate Bill 13-001

Rich Jones, Director of Policy and Research

Testimony to the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee

April 29, 2013

Thank you for the opportunity to testify to the committee today.

The Bell Policy Center and the Colorado Fiscal Institute (CFI) yesterday filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. The brief explains how TABOR works and some of the effects it has had in Colorado since voters approved it in 1992.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Wade Buchanan
The Bell Policy Center
303-297-0456, ext. 221

Carol Hedges
Colorado Fiscal Institute
720-379-3019, ext. 221

Bell Policy Center, Colorado Fiscal Institute file amicus
in case challenging Taxpayer's Bill of Rights

Urban and Rural Enterprise Zone Act Reforms

House Bill 13-1142

George Awuor, Policy Analyst
Testimony to the Senate Finance Committee
Tuesday, April 16, 2013

My name is George Awuor and I am a Policy Analyst at the Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a non-partisan, non-profit research and advocacy organization founded on progressive values and dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

The Bell Policy Center strongly supports Senate Bill 13-213, the proposal to update our state's financing formula for P-12 education. Wade Buchanan, president of the Bell, testified in favor of the proposal on Monday before the House Education Committee, noting that it helps move Colorado in the direction of expanding opportunity for all students.