Advance Colorado and Englewood City Council member Steven Ward filed a lawsuit on May 15, 2023, in Denver County District Court, challenging the property tax measure recently placed on Colorado’s Nov. 2023 ballot. The lawsuit alleges that the measure violates the state’s single-subject rule, which requires ballot measures to concern a single subject, and alleges that the ballot language is misleading.
Senate Bill 303, referred to the 2023 ballot by the Legislature, would make several changes to state property taxes and revenue limits. Among its provisions are the reduction of property tax rates, the retention and spending of state revenues that would otherwise be refunded to residents under the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), the allocation of funds to local governments to compensate for decreased tax revenues, the implementation of a limit on local government property tax revenue, and the establishment of a new cap on state revenue.
Michael Fields, president of Advance Colorado, argues that the measure contains multiple subjects. Fields stated, “This ballot measure clearly violates the single-subject provision in our Colorado Constitution. We’re talking about TABOR refunds going to education, we’re talking about money going to renters, we’re talking about long-term changes to TABOR formula, and we’re talking about limited property tax relief in the same measure.” Fields also said “On top of that, the ballot language is unclear and misleading. Voters deserve to know that they would be giving up their TABOR tax refunds in exchange for very little property tax relief.”
