No doubt the presidential election was the most talked about in history, but the huge changes in Colorado are even more profound and will have major impacts on your daily life and wallet. What initiatives do you need to know about that will impact your wallet and real estate? What state is Colorado most aligned with, the answer will definitely surprise (look at the chart below)! What passed and failed? What is happening in Denver County that will ultimately impact the entire state of Colorado?
Colorado had so many initiatives the blue book voting guide was 150 pages long so I put together a quick summary of the top items that will impact your wallet and real estate.
Overall Summary of the 2024 Colorado election
The chart above is profound. Colorado has skewed very far left and is becoming much more closely aligned with Oregon and California policies of tax and spend which will continue to place burdens on Colorado residents and property owners. Look no further than Denver County for where the state is headed.
First, look how closely aligned the presidential numbers are with Oregon. I was floored that Colorado is now almost lockstep with one of the most liberal states in the country. As I drilled down more, take a look at Denver County. Unfortunately for businesses and property owners, be prepared for much higher taxes and considerably more regulation that will ultimately substantially reduce the bottom line. We can take cues from OR and CA as to how this will unfold
For the election I’ve highlighted some of the bigger initiatives in Colorado and also highlighted a number of ordinances/initiatives in Denver county.
Statewide ballot initiatives:
- House Bill 24-1349 – Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax – PASSED—
SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED BY $39,000,000 ANNUALLY TO FUND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, INCLUDING FOR MILITARY VETERANS AND AT-RISK YOUTH, SCHOOL SAFETY AND GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION, AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES BY AUTHORIZING A TAX ON GUN DEALERS, GUN MANUFACTURERS, AND AMMUNITION VENDORS AT THE RATE OF 6.5% OF THE NET TAXABLE SALES FROM THE RETAIL SALE OF ANY GUN, GUN PRECURSOR PART, OR AMMUNITION, WITH THE STATE KEEPING AND SPENDING ALL OF THE NEW TAX REVENUE AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE?
- I had to comment on this one, although it is not monumental it is bizarre, voters in essence want to tax people who legally purchase guns to help stop gun violence while it is well known that the overwhelming majority of gun violence is committed using guns that were not purchased legally. The whole idea makes no sense but is an indication of the profound changes in Colorado politics.
- Initiative #91 – Prohibit Bobcat, Lynx, and Mountain Lion Hunting (Prohibit Trophy Hunting)— FAILED —
Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning a prohibition on the hunting of mountain lions, lynx, and bobcats, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting the intentional killing, wounding, pursuing, entrapping, or discharging or releasing of a deadly weapon at a mountain lion, lynx, or bobcat; creating eight exceptions to this prohibition including for the protection of human life, property, and livestock; establishing a violation of this prohibition as a class 1 misdemeanor; and increasing fines and limiting wildlife license privileges for persons convicted of this crime?
- This is another initiative that is not overly monumental other than it shows huge changes in the Colorado electorate. Colorado has a robust parks and wildlife staff full of scientists who daily monitor Colorado’s wildlife and yet the voters of Colorado feel they are now experts in wildlife management? This initiative is a slippery slope as special interest groups will now use the ballot box to ban industries that they no longer like. This is terrible public policy regardless of your stance on mountain lion hunting.
- Initiative 157 – Funding for Law Enforcement – Passed (as of this writing was leading)
Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning state funding for peace officer training and support, and, in connection therewith, directing the legislature to appropriate 350 million dollars to the peace officer training and support fund for municipal and county law enforcement agencies to hire and retain peace officers; allowing the fund to be used for pay, bonuses, initial and continuing education and training, and a death benefit for a peace officer, police, fire and first responder killed in the line of duty; and requiring the funding to supplement existing appropriations?
- This is an interesting initiative as many came out against providing more support for police officers not necessarily because they were against police, but the way the initiative is written these funds come out of the general budget and ultimately require cutbacks in spending on other items. This initiative will force the legislature to make hard choices on spending for other social programs.
Denver County 2024 election results:
With all the new initiatives it would be hard to discern Denver from Portland OR or a host of California cities. They are taking tax and spending to the extreme and driving business and residents out.
Denver is a driver of the Colorado economy and one of the largest and most populous counties in the state. We can get a snapshot of where the state of Colorado is heading by focusing on Denver county. Historically initiatives that pass in Denver will ultimately roll out to the entire state of Colorado. Here are some notable election items from Denver County:
- Ordinance 309: — FAILED Measure seeks to ban existing and future slaughterhouses in Denver. The measure would ban the construction, maintenance and use of slaughterhouses in Denver starting in 2026. There is only one slaughterhouse in Denver that this initiative is targeting. Here is a more in depth discussion of the Denver slaughterhouse ban that I published prior.
- Ordinance 308: — FAILED — Ban the sale of new fur in Denver. This one seems pretty innocuous as wearing real fur has been fading from fashion for a while, but even Democrats are coming out against this bad as it would impact cowboy hat makers along with fly fishing stores. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat, opposes the ban, as does The Denver Post Editorial Board, which argued Ballot Measure 308 is “misguided.”
Here is a quote from the organization behind 308 and 309: “And I think that a lot of farmers and ranchers see that as a threat to their way of life, because it is a threat,” Fulton said. “We are trying to tackle the corporate meat industry and the fur industry, and we are not going to stop fighting until these industries are banned.” Their next goal are statewide bans just like the initiatives in Denver.
Although the two ordinances above are limited to targeting the fur and meat industry, the two ordinances will have profound impacts on every businesses confidence in investing in Denver or Colorado. The ordinances will have far reaching consequences for business sentiment as they portray and extremely unfriendly business atmosphere. Businesses have a ton of choices on location and will choose much more favorable locations without the risk of huge upsets to their business. In essence these ordinances beg the question as to who/what is next to be targeted and it is not worth the risk for a business as they could just locate to Salt Lake City or Kansas city.
Tax and Spending soars in Denver County
- Ballot Issue 2Q: — PASSED– SHALL CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER SALES AND USE TAXES BE INCREASED BY $70 MILLION ANNUALLY, COMMENCING IN JANUARY 1, 2025, AND BY WHATEVER ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, FROM A THIRTY-FOUR ONE-HUNDREDTHS OF ONE PERCENT (0.34%) SALES AND USE TAX RATE (3.4 CENTS ON A TEN-DOLLAR PURCHASE), TO BE COLLECTED ON TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES CURRENTLY SUBJECT TO SALES AND USE TAX, IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN AND EXPAND DENVER HEALTH AND HOSPITAL AUTHORITY SERVICES.
- Ballot Issue 2R: — FAILED– SHALL DENVER SALES AND USE TAXES BE INCREASED $100 MILLION ANNUALLY, COMMENCING JANUARY 1, 2025, AND BY WHATEVER ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2064, TO EXPAND AND PRESERVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS, THROUGH A ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENT (0.5%) SALES AND USE TAX INCREASE (5 CENTS ON A $10 PURCHASE)
- Ballot issue 4a: — PASSED– WITHOUT IMPOSING ANY NEW TAX, SHALL DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS DEBT BE INCREASED $975 MILLION WITH A REPAYMENT COST OF $1900 MILLION TO FINANCE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS OF THE DISTRICT,
- Ballot Issue 6a: — PASSED– WITHOUT INCREASING TAXES, SHALL THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, COLORADO (“CITY”) DEBT BE INCREASED $570,000,000, WITH A TOTAL REPAYMENT COST OF NOT MORE THAN $847,000,000 (MAXIMUM TOTAL PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST) FOR USE BY AND ON BEHALF OF THE DENVER DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (THE “DDDA”), FOR OBLIGATIONS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO TABOR’S ELECTION REQUIREMENTS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING THE COSTS OF PUBLIC FACILITIES AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS,
- Ballot issue 7a: — PASSED– WITHOUT IMPOSING ANY NEW TAX OR INCREASING ANY TAX RATE, SHALL THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT’S (“RTD”) AUTHORIZATION TO COLLECT, RETAIN AND SPEND ALL REVENUES IT RECEIVES FROM ALL SOURCES, INCLUDING ITS SALES TAX REVENUES, GRANT FUNDS AND OTHER MONEYS LAWFULLY RECEIVED BY RTD FROM THE STATE OF COLORADO OR ANY OTHER SOURCE, ORIGINALLY APPROVED BY THE VOTERS IN 1999, BE CONTINUED TO PERMIT RTD TO RETAIN REVENUE NECESSARY TO PROVIDE VITAL RTD SERVICES
Denver’s taxes will increase substantially, the only initiative that I see that lost is for affordable housing. I love how each initiative starts, without raising taxes. If you don’t raise taxes then where does the money come from? Is there a money tree out back??? Unfortunately taxes will go up substantially by allowing Denver county to continue to keep more of your taxes furthermore voters approved over 170 million more in taxes for hospitals and everything else. Not that each of these items aren’t important, but at some point, the money must run out and hard decisions must be made just like everyone else who must balance a personal budget.
Summary of 2024 Colorado Election
The Colorado Election is a game changer highlighting the huge changes in demographics for the state. Colorado now is almost in lockstep with the most liberal state in the country, Oregon with Denver skewing even more blue.
The election clearly highlighted the hard shift left not only in the presidential election but in Denver County where the tax and spend ideology is on full display with hundreds of millions allocated for more spending.
Look for the tax and spend to continue to expand in the upcoming legislative session as one party remains a supermajority and also keep your eyes out for even more housing initiatives including nightly rental taxes, second home taxes, expanded renter friendly laws, etc…
Long and short, Colorado’s shift to Oregon policies will have profound impacts on businesses and property owners that cannot be underestimated. If you missed it, here is a blog I did on the presidential election of Trump.
Additional Reading/Resources
https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/elections/Initiatives/ballot/contacts/2024.html
https://www.rmpbs.org/blogs/election-2024/denver-fur-ban-308
https://coloradohardmoney.com/denver-will-vote-to-ban-one-business-in-the-city/
https://www.denverpost.com/2024/11/05/colorado-2024-election-results/
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Glen Weinberg personally writes these weekly real estate blogs based on his real estate experience as a lender and property owner. He is the owner of Fairview Commercial Lending. Glen has been published as an expert in hard money lending, real estate valuation, financing, and various other real estate topics in Bloomberg, Businessweek ,the Colorado Real Estate Journal, National Association of Realtors Magazine, The Real Deal real estate news, the CO Biz Magazine, The Denver Post, The Scotsman mortgage broker guide, Mortgage Professional America and various other national publications.
Glen resides in Colorado, lends in Colorado, owns property in Colorado, and services loans in Colorado which provides a unique real estate prospective of what is actually happening on the ground both in Denver and throughout Colorado. My goal of this real estate blog is to provide an honest assessment of what I see happening in Colorado real estate and how it will impact real estate owners, buyers, realtors, mortgage professionals, etc…
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