Author: Ed Sealover
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Vacancy taxes, real-estate transfer fees among new levies that local governments seek to assess
Local governments seeking additional revenue for housing and other priorities want to ask legislators next year to let them assess several new taxes and fees — including levies on vacant homes and real-estate sales — that could run into stiff resistance. The new revenue-raising efforts come as both the federal and state governments are cutting…
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Colorado energy board will consider sweeping homebuilding mandates
An Energy Code Board set up by a 2022 Colorado law will vote this week on recommendations that could require future homes to be built to much more efficient standards — but that also could exacerbate Colorado’s housing affordability crisis, critics fear. The final draft of the model low energy and carbon code is extensive,…
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Colorado could grant telecom industry’s wish to speed local review of cell phone towers
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save As cell-phone service has moved from being a nicety to a critical business need, wireless providers are investing $30 billion annually to grow national infrastructure. But in some parts of Colorado, they say, it can take months or years to get a permit to build…
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New effort to ban ‘junk fees’ in Colorado shifts focus to different industry
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Colorado Democrats once again are seeking to ban “junk fees” that get added without option onto the advertised prices of goods and services, but their focus this year has shifted largely from hotels and ticket sellers to landlords. Following a four-hour hearing Wednesday, the House…
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In shift, appointed commission proposes cap on property-tax revenue increases
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Faced with the increasing likelihood of having to contend with a tax-revenue cap initiative on the November ballot, the appointed Commission on Property Tax pivoted after five months of talks Friday and decided to recommend its own, slightly higher cap. Days after Sen. Chris Hansen…
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Jared Polis seeks EPA waiver for gas mandate that he says would hurt economy and environment
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Gov. Jared Polis has submitted a last-ditch waiver request to try to prevent northern Front Range gas stations from having to sell reformulated gas this summer, saying the federal mandate could cost Coloradans 60 cents per gallon and actually increase air pollution. The request, submitted…
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Businesses expected the worst in 2024 — they got ‘the most successful session in years’ | ANALYSIS
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save At the start of the 2024 legislative session, Colorado business leaders cringed at the thought of frustrated progressives not just bringing back bills that were killed by moderates in 2023 but pushing for even greater regulation. Yet, as Capitol custodians begin cleaning out the debris…
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Colorado lawmakers criticize state agencies as they look to upend recent environmental rulemakings
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Three years after passing the “Environmental Justice Act” to target polluters throughout Colorado, environmentally focused legislative Democrats returned on Thursday with a similar bill that has a new target — a state government they claim is not following their orders. House Bill 1339, which passed…
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Bill to raise short-term rental tax rates suffers defeat
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A bill that sought to quadruple tax-assessment rates for Colorado owners of active short-term rental properties died at its first legislative committee hearing on Tuesday, even after its author attempted to scrap the controversial tax hike in favor of studying the issue instead. Sponsoring Sen.…
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Large, contested fiscal notes could be obstacles for air quality bills
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As Colorado legislators sit down in the coming weeks to try to fit a large swath of spending bills into a small budget allocation that’s been left for them, three high-profile bills that came from an interim ozone committee face a two-tiered set of obstacles to becoming law. First, the proposals — Senate Bills 165…