DENVER – Apparently frustrated by Colorado citizens putting initiatives on the ballot forcing government to fund what should already be essential functions, Colorado Democrats have introduced a bill aimed at derailing a road funding measure planned to go before voters in November.
Initiative 175, which is in the signature gathering phase, would ensure revenue intended for building and maintaining Colorado’s highways actually goes to fixing the roads by reinstating a prior funding mechanism, repealed by the legislature decades ago after the lawmaker it was named for retired. This time, however, the method would be enshrined in the state’s constitution, if passed.
Proponents say if the measure makes it onto the November ballot, Colorado’s roads and highways may finally begin to see the much-needed repairs that, according to critics, have been pushed aside to satisfy progressive leaders’ desire for things such as mass transit.
If passed, 175 would restore an old law called the “Noble Bill” that required sales taxes paid for automotive purchases such as vehicles, fuel, tires, brakes, batteries, headlamps, etc. go into a separate pot of money, known as the Highway Users Trust Fund, to pay for road maintenance across the state.
The math was simple. The largest share (60 percent) would go to the state and the rest would be divided out to cities (18 percent) and counties (22 percent). That legislation worked for a decade, but when the bill’s sponsor, Dan Noble, left the legislature, lawmakers repealed the law, diverting millions of highway dollars into the general fund for other uses.
It is projected to put more than $1 billion a year back into road maintenance, doubling what municipalities and counties currently get.
If passed in November, 175 would mandate that 100 percent of all taxes and fees collected on vehicle sales and fuel, and 2/3 of all sales taxes collected on car parts and accessories will be dedicated exclusively to:
- Building, repairing, and maintaining roads and bridges.
- Enhancing driver safety measures.
- Funding the Colorado State Patrol.
Kneecapping citizens’ initiative
Majority Democrat legislators have been threatening to introduce something to counter 175 for much of the session. Last week they did. House Bill 26-1430 “Transportation Funding Adjustments” is aimed squarely at kneecapping 175. The bill is sponsored by Denver Representatives Andrew Boesenecker and Emily Sirota and Adams/Boulder County Senators William Lindsteadt and Judy Amabile.
“HB 1430 is proof positive that Governor Polis will bend over backwards, manipulate the legislative process, and take unbelievable risks to make sure not one dime of new investment will ever be made in Colorado’s roads. At least he is consistent,” said Wade Haerle, executive director of Club 20, which represents the interests of 22 counties across Colorado’s Western Slope.
Haerle also criticized what he called legislative abuse of late bill status to rush the passage of HB 1430. The bill was introduced May 1st in the evening and the hearing was scheduled for the morning of May 5th. “Late bill status used to have the sigma of incompetence by the bill sponsor, now it is the strategy for HB 1430,” said Haerle. “We only have (a few) days left in the session. They do not want the people to know, and it is not fair.”
The bill passed on a vote of 9-4 in the House Transportation Committee and was scheduled for Appropriations for May 6. The session ends May 13. If it passes Appropriations it will go to the House floor, where it will be fast-tracked through both second and third readings. It is expected to be introduced in the Senate before the end of the week, where the process will start all over.
HB-1430, among other things, would temporarily reduce the current gas tax and road use fees, thus limiting the amount of money available to go to highways under 175, a scheme essentially designed to shield other, majority Democrat-preferred spending items from being affected.
A “fact” sheet used by sponsors to promote the legislation claims 175 would “force the state to drastically cut funding to early childhood education, K-12 education, higher education, and healthcare …also gut cash fund, Emergency Medical Service cash fund, and alcohol/Drug Driving Safety cash fund, and many more.”
“Not my problem. Not my issue.” Haerle said previously. “They have not been prioritizing roads. And as a matter of fact, what has been cut, every time things get tight, what has been cut? Roads. I hate to be so indifferent, but not my problem. It’s been a game in Colorado. I’ve watched this for years. It’s a TABOR (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) game. If you cut transportation and let things get so bad, people will vote for more taxes. It’s the same game, over and over.”
Arm twisting
Some of those involved in Initiative 175 told Complete Colorado that legislators threatened them all session they would do this if they didn’t withdraw 175 from the ballot.
“We got letters that said you know you guys got to pull this or we’re going to have to fire a bunch of teachers. We’re going to have to get a bunch of people off Medicaid,” said one person close to the effort, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “That was back in January. Since then it’s escalated to we are going to go out and create a new tax.”
He added HB 1430 appears to make Initiative 175 a net wash. “What they are trying to say is don’t run your ballot initiative because it’s not going to get you anything.”
Haerle agreed. “HB 1430 introduces uncertainty by reducing fuel taxes and fees that have historically provided stable, user-based funding for transportation infrastructure,” he said. “HB 1430 prioritizes short-term political maneuvering over long-term infrastructure needs. Colorado’s transportation challenges require serious, durable solutions—not policy experiments that jeopardize funding and shift burdens onto future taxpayers.”
