DENVER – Colorado lawmakers ended a special session of the Legislature Tuesday without a fix to an intricate spending law that stripped some quasi-governmental agencies of the ability to collect sales taxes on recreational marijuana.
The session, which gaveled in Monday morning and out by Tuesday afternoon, was marked by squabbling between the Republican-led Senate and Democrat-controlled House.
The rancor shouldn’t have been a surprise; Republicans protested loudly when Gov. John Hickenlooper first ordered a special session in September, saying they were given little notice or input, and continued blasting the Democratic governor this week for a special session they considered wasteful. Hickenlooper pointed blame at the GOP-led Senate, saying they put politics first.
House Democrats said lawmakers had a duty to fix an error inserted into a negotiated spending law intended to spare rural hospitals deep budget cuts while providing $1.9 billion for transportation. In the process, the new law inadvertently removed the power of Denver’s Regional Transportation District and other so-called special districts to collect standard state sales taxes on recreational marijuana.
Lawmakers of both parties agreed that was unintentional. But Democrats and Republicans were split on how urgently the agencies needed that taxing authority restored – and whether the Legislature had the power to do it.
Senate Democrats’ proposed fix died on Monday in a committee, and a similar proposal approved by the House met the same fate on Tuesday afternoon. Both chambers adjourned soon after that 3-2 party-line vote in the Senate committee.
RTD has taken the biggest hit. The transportation district collected a 1 percent tax on retail marijuana sales within its boundaries – totaling about $600,000 a month. It could lose around $3 million if lawmakers wait until January to fix error.
There’s been no service impact yet, but RTD spokesman Scott Reed said, “The longer this stays out there, the more impact it could potentially have for riders.”
The Denver Zoo and the Denver Art Museum could also feel the impact. Those institutions, along with many others, receive funding from Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, which is missing out on about $50,000 a month because of the drafting error.
Other impacts include rural transit and housing authorities.
One irony is the lost revenue for the Montezuma County Hospital District, according to a report by Colorado Public Radio. Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 267 to shore up financing for rural hospitals. Because of the error, in Montezuma County Hospital District, located in one of the poorest counties in the state, is losing about $7,200 each month in sales taxes.
That money was meant to finance a new inpatient wing, offices and an EMS building for Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez. Representatives for the district say losses would total $1.2 million without a fix and severely limit the hospital improvement project.
The $7,200 that the Montezuma County Hospital District loses monthly because of a mistake by state lawmakers may not seem like a lot, but Keenen Lovett insists the rural health care provider is feeling the loss.
“It is an urgent matter for us,” Lovett, an attorney who represents the district, told The Denver Post. “You take out that kind of money ... and yeah, it’ll make a difference.”
RTD has taken the biggest hit. The transportation district collected a 1 percent tax on retail marijuana sales within its boundaries – totaling about $600,000 a month. It could lose around $3 million if lawmakers wait until January to fix error.
There’s been no service impact yet, but RTD spokesman Scott Reed said, “The longer this stays out there, the more impact it could potentially have for riders.”
The Denver Zoo and the Denver Art Museum could also feel the impact. Those institutions, along with many others, receive funding from Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, which is missing out on about $50,000 a month because of the drafting error.
None of the agency leaders, including representatives for Denver’s transit authority, said they plan to make cuts right now, acknowledging that the money is a fraction of most organizations’ budgets. But leaders said service cuts to programs providing transit, housing and the arts could become necessary in the coming months. “We’re talking impacts to real Coloradans,” said Democratic House Speaker Crisanta Duran in a statement. “The Summit County worker who’ll have a harder time finding an affordable apartment. The Lakewood retiree who needs the bus to get to the grocery store and the doctor.”
Republicans put much of the blame on the governor, saying Hickenlooper failed to work with them before calling a special session. Members also questioned whether a fix violated provisions of Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights.
“The three months between now and January give us the time we need to work through issues that were impossible to resolve in a surprise special session,” Republican Senate President Kevin Grantham said in a statement. “We agree that finding a solution to the bill-drafting mistake is possible, and we regret any hardships the glitch may be causing in some of the special districts.”
Hickenlooper said in a statement that the GOP-led Senate “refused to fix an error.”
“In the end, partisan politics overshadowed the clear intentions of Colorado voters,” he said. “These tactics only divide us and fuel cynicism. We have been raised to own up to our mistakes and fix them. Most Coloradans believe these values should apply to everyone, especially to government.”
Colorado Public Radio and The Denver Post contributed to this article.
