The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act (2016)
Concern over the detrimental effects of secondhand tobacco smoke on nonsmokers has grown in recent years. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classified secondhand tobacco smoke as a known cause of cancer in humans in a December 1992 report. In an effort to reduce the risk of tobacco smoke-...
Statutory Transfer to Fund Transportation and Capital Construction (2016)
Senate Bill 09-228, adopted by the General Assembly during the 2009 legislative session, created a five-year block of statutory transfers from the General Fund to pay for transportation and capital construction projects. This issue brief discusses the state law that specifies the amounts of...
Senate Bill 16-197: Changes to Retail Liquor Sales (2016)
Senate Bill 16-197, signed into law on June 10, 2016, makes significant changes to laws regulating the retail sale of fermented malt beverages (3.2 percent alcohol by weight beer, commonly known as 3.2 beer), full-strength beer, wine, and spirits for off-premises consumption. This issue brief...
Use of State Tobacco Revenue
In FY 2020-21, Colorado received $314.5 million from tobacco-related sources. These include taxes on cigarettes, other tobacco products, and nicotine products and payments from tobacco manufacturers as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. This memorandum describes the sources and...
Colorado's Constitutional Spending Limit (2015)
In 1992, voters approved an amendment to the Colorado Constitution — Article X, Section 20 — known as the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR). TABOR limits annual growth in state spending.
Certificates of Participation (18-09)
In lieu of issuing bonds, or using another form of long-term debt, the state often uses a form of lease-purchase agreement called certificates of participation (COPs) to finance the construction of its new facilities. A certificate refers to an investor's proportionate interest in the state's...
Colorado Conservation Easement Tax Credit Program
The federal and state governments each provide tax incentives for landowners who designate their land as a conservation easement, foregoing certain use rights in order to preserve the land in perpetuity. This memorandum provides information on federal and state conservation easement tax...
The Smart Government Act (2013)
The Colorado General Assembly has considered and made changes to the state budget process during the past three years. Specifically, House Bill 10-1119 established a performance-based budgeting program through the State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government...
Electronic Device Recycling (2013)
In 2012, the General Assembly enacted and the Governor signed the Electronic Recycling Jobs Act (Senate Bill 12-133), which prohibits the disposal of certain personal-use electronic items in landfills. This issue brief provides an overview of electronic waste (e-waste) legislation, the types of...
State Highway Fund Revenue (2013)
State Highway Fund (SHF), the primary operating fund used by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to manage state transportation projects. The SHF receives revenue from the HighwayUsers Tax Fund (HUTF), various other revenue and fees, federal funds, and the General Fund. Each of...
Capital Development Committee Fiscal Year 2015-16 Annual Report (2016)
Final report of the Capital Development Committee for FY 2015-16.
Forecast March 2014
Focus Colorado presents forecasts for the economy and state government revenue through FY 2015-16. Implications of the forecast for the state's General Fund budget and spending limit are described in the report's highlights and executive summary sections. The report is based on current law,...
History of Senior Property Tax Exemption
The senior homestead property tax exemption became available beginning in property tax year 2002, following voter approval of Referendum A in the 2000 General Election. The number of seniors claiming the exemption has grown over time, from 123,326 qualifying seniors in tax year 2002, to 266,538...
Information Technology and the Role of the Joint Technology Committee (2016)
Information technology (IT) is used by every state agency to make operations more efficient and services more widely available to the citizens of Colorado. Along with other day-to-day expenses of state government, expenses related to IT are paid through the operating budget in the state's annual...