DENVER – A last-minute attempt to place a Legislature-initiated transportation funding solution on the November ballot cleared its first hurdle Tuesday.
Senate Bill 303, which would establish a transfer of 5 percent of revenue generated by the state’s sales tax annually to fund transportation infrastructure, and it asks voters to approve a bonding measure for $3.5 billion, was passed by the Senate Finance Committee on a 3-2 party-line vote, which saw Republicans vote in favor of the measure.
This transfer of sales tax revenue would be paired with existing funding dedicated to transportation maintenance projects to generate more than $300 million a year for bond payments and other transportation needs.
It also represents a departure from the bipartisan effort championed by leadership in the two chambers earlier this session, which purposed a half-a-cent sales tax increase. SB 303 is more in line with the revenue-neutral solution to Colorado’s transportation woes House Republicans have been seeking since the opening days of the session, as it would prioritize existing revenue without a tax increase.
The $3.5 billion generated by bonds would be directed toward the priority list identified by CDOT in an effort to get “shovel ready” projects underway.
Similar bills, which would put Colorado in debt for billions of dollars and prioritize funds from the state’s discretionary funding for repayment, have been heard in the House and uniformly struck down by Democrats in the chamber.
SB 303 is expected to meet a similar fate once it reaches the House.
A common criticism of such measures, which resurfaced Tuesday, has been that they do not clearly outline which departments in the state would lose out in the transfer of funds and downplay the effects of these cuts. “It’s still a case of lots of gain for unspecified and minimized and not fully fleshed-out pain,” said Sen. Daniel Kagan, D-Cherry Hills Village.
Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, a right-leaning “action tank,” was among those who testified in favor of SB 303.
Central to Caldera’s argument was the failure of the Legislature to keep up with Colorado’s transportation funding needs and make tough decisions on how to allocate taxpayer dollars. “Roads are a core function of the state government, and as the numbers show, the Legislature is failing in that core function,” he said.
If SB 303 should die, it would leave a single bill on the table with a transportation component, SB 267, which does not require taxpayer input.
SB 303 now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
lperkins@durangoherald.com