A Bill for an Act
Page 1, Line 101Concerning the classification of certain state revenue for
Page 1, Line 102purposes of calculating state fiscal year spending
Page 1, Line 103pursuant to section 20 of article X of the state
Page 1, Line 104constitution, and, in connection therewith, clarifying
Page 1, Line 105the statutory definitions of damage awards and
Page 1, Line 106property sale for purposes of calculating state fiscal
Page 1, Line 107year spending.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.)
Section 20 of article X of the state constitution (TABOR) defines "fiscal year spending" as not including either "damage awards" or "property sales". Although TABOR does not define either "damage award" or "property sale", the TABOR implementing statutes do. The bill clarifies both of these definitions for state fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2024.
The bill clarifies that "damage award", as used for the purpose of determining whether specific money received by the state is subject to the TABOR limitation on state fiscal year spending, includes certain civil penalties imposed by the state.
The bill also clarifies that "property sale", as used for the purpose of determining whether specific money received by the state is subject to the TABOR limitation on state fiscal year spending, includes certain specified sales by the state.
Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that:
Page 2, Line 3(a) Section 20 (2)(e) of article X of the state constitution exempts
Page 2, Line 4"damage awards" and "property sales" from "fiscal year spending", as defined in section 20 (2)(e) of article X of the state constitution;
Page 2, Line 5(b) Under the existing statutory definition of "damage award",
Page 2, Line 6some money that the state collects as fines or penalties for violations of
Page 2, Line 7certain legal requirements is treated as state fiscal year spending when
Page 2, Line 8determining whether the state has exceeded the state's fiscal year spending limit despite the constitutional exemption for such collections;
Page 2, Line 9(c) It is inconsistent with section 20 of article X of the state
Page 2, Line 10constitution to treat money that the state collects as fines or penalties for
Page 2, Line 11violations of certain legal requirements as state revenue in light of the specific exemption for "damage awards";
Page 2, Line 12(d) Under the existing statutory definition of "property sales",
Page 2, Line 13some money that the state collects from sales of tangible or intangible
Page 3, Line 1assets is treated as state fiscal year spending when determining whether
Page 3, Line 2the state has exceeded the state's fiscal year spending limit despite the constitutional exemption for such collections;
Page 3, Line 3(e) It is inconsistent with section 20 of article X of the state
Page 3, Line 4constitution to treat money that the state collects from sales of tangible or
Page 3, Line 5intangible assets as state fiscal year spending in light of the specific exemption for "property sales"; and
Page 3, Line 6(f) Nothing in this act operates to exclude any money that has
Page 3, Line 7been included as "damage awards" or "property sales" under the
Page 3, Line 8preexisting definitions of those terms from the clarified definitions of
Page 3, Line 9those terms in this act - that money continues to be included in these clarified definitions.
Page 3, Line 10SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-77-102, amend (2) and (11) as follows:
Page 3, Line 1124-77-102. Definitions. As used in this article 77, unless the context otherwise requires:
Page 3, Line 12(2) "Damage award" means any pecuniary compensation received by the state as a result of:
Page 3, Line 13(a) Any judgment or allowance in favor of the state; and
Page 3, Line 14(b) For state fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2024:
Page 3, Line 15(I) A civil monetary penalty assessed by the department
Page 3, Line 16of health care policy and financing pursuant to section 25.5-6-205;
Page 3, Line 17(II) A civil monetary penalty imposed by the division of
Page 3, Line 18administration of the department of public health and
Page 3, Line 19environment pursuant to section 25-8-608;
Page 4, Line 1(III) A monetary penalty imposed by the energy and
Page 4, Line 2carbon management commission pursuant to section 34-60-121 (1);
Page 4, Line 3(IV) A monetary fine or penalty collected by the division
Page 4, Line 4of administration of the department of public health and
Page 4, Line 5environment pursuant to section 25-7-115, 25-7-122, or 25-7-123
Page 4, Line 6and deposited in the community impact cash fund created in section 25-7-129; and
Page 4, Line 7(V) A monetary penalty collected by the division of labor
Page 4, Line 8standards and statistics of the department of labor and pursuant to section 8-1-114.
Page 4, Line 9(11) "Property sale" means:
Page 4, Line 10(a) Any transfer of the ownership of an estate in tangible assets or
Page 4, Line 11intangible rights, excluding leasehold interests, in which or to which the
Page 4, Line 12state has rights protected by law from the state to any party for consideration;
orPage 4, Line 13(b) Any contract resulting in the payment of pecuniary
Page 4, Line 14compensation to the state for permitting another to exploit, use, or market
Page 4, Line 15nonrenewable natural resources which are located on real property owned by the state and which are subject to depletion with use; or
Page 4, Line 16(c) For state fiscal years commencing on or after July 1,
Page 4, Line 172024, a transfer of rights in tangible or intangible property,
Page 4, Line 18excluding leasehold interests, in which or to which the state
Page 4, Line 19has rights protected by law from the state to any party for consideration. Such a transfer of rights includes:
Page 4, Line 20(I) Sales at the History Colorado Center;
Page 4, Line 21(II) Sales at state historical society museums other than the History Colorado Center;
Page 5, Line 1(III) Sales of supplies related to agricultural inspections;
(IV) Sales of supplies related to wildfire equipment repair;
Page 5, Line 2(V) Sales of supplies related to pesticide inspections;
Page 5, Line 3(VI) Sales related to the correctional education program established in section 17-32-105;
Page 5, Line 4(VII) Sales related to the business enterprise program created in part 2 of article 84 of title 8;
Page 5, Line 5(VIII) Non-concession sales at the Colorado state fair; and
Page 5, Line 6(IX) The sale of wine for promotional purposes by the
Page 5, Line 7Colorado wine industry development board, created in article 29.5 of title 35.
Page 5, Line 8SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,
Page 5, Line 9determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
Page 5, Line 10preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for
Page 5, Line 11the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state institutions.