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View of the Colorado state capitol building in the early autumn

Colorado House approves six bills on third day of special session

Colorado Capitol Building Denver © iStock - kuosumo

Delilah Brumer
(Colorado Newsline)

The Colorado House of Representatives gave final approval to six bills Saturday, sending them to the Senate for consideration as part of the ongoing special legislative session.

The bills focus on raising additional state tax revenue to help close the state’s nearly $800 million budget hole, which was triggered by federal tax code changes.

House lawmakers started off by approving House Bill 25B-1001 in a party-line vote of 43-19, with Democrats in favor. The bill would make permanent an add-back for federal qualified business income deductions on state taxes for high-income taxpayers. The bill’s fiscal note estimates it would raise about $46 million in the current fiscal year and about $95 million in the next one.

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Democrat and Republican Party symbols of an elephant and donkey in a patriotic red, white, and blue motif - fitimi - iStock-528483210

© fitimi - iStock-528483210

Next up was House Bill 25B-1002, which House lawmakers approved in a party-line vote of 43-20, after more than an hour of debate. The Democrats voted in favor of the bill, which would expand the list of countries that the state considers to be tax havens. The bill would bring in an estimated $36 million in state tax revenue for the current fiscal year, according to its fiscal note.

The bill’s sponsors have argued that the bill closes corporate tax loopholes that are costly for the state. But Republicans said the bill would harm businesses.

“It doesn’t really give these corporations and companies the motivation to expand, to hire more people, which is what we need,” said Representative Carlos Barron, a Fort Lupton Republican who voted against the bill.

House Democrats used a seldom-used chamber rule to prevent debate on four of the bills after Republicans spoke at length about the first pair of bills. They used House Rule 16 to call the question — end debate and immediately vote on the bill in question — as debate on HB25B-1002 extended past an hour. They then used Rule 16 on the next four bills.

Members are typically allotted ten minutes each ahead of the final vote on a bill, meaning that if all 21 Republicans used their time, debate would be over three hours per bill.

House Bill 25B-1003 passed the House in a 41-21 party-line vote. It would repeal a tax incentive for insurance companies that have at least 2.5 percent of their domestic employees in Colorado. The bill would raise $44 million for the state in the current fiscal year and $91 million the following year, based on the estimate in its fiscal note.

House lawmakers approved House Bill 25B-1004 in another party-line, 41-20 vote. This bill would allow qualifying companies to pay certain state taxes early at a discount, which its sponsors have argued is necessary during the state budget crunch. The bill’s fiscal note estimates it would raise up to $100 million during the current fiscal year.

The fifth proposal, House Bill 25B-1005, passed the House in a 37-25 vote. This bill would repeal a provision in state law that allows retailers to keep 4 percent of their sales tax collections, as a way for the businesses to cover the cost of collecting the taxes. The bill’s fiscal note estimates it would raise $28 million in revenue for the state in the current fiscal year, and $57 million the next year.

By mid-afternoon on Saturday, House lawmakers made it through the last of the six bills: House Bill 25B-1006. The bill, which would loan $100 million from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to prevent major health insurance premium increases, passed the House in a 41-22 vote.