CWPMA Note - The Board has not taken a position on the initiatives listed below. The information is provided as a resource. Members and friends are encouraged to thoroughly research these before making their own decisions.
Proposition DD
This proposition, if passed, would implement a $29 million tax on casino’s sports-betting proceeds to fund the Colorado Water Plan. The state’s water plan has been underfunded since its inception and this would be a huge revenue boost for it. 93% of the tax revenue will go to the water plan and the other 7% will go to regulation and enforcement of gaming. This was a bipartisan effort during the 2019 legislative session.
What types of sports betting will be allowed under Proposition DD? Sports bets will be allowed on professional, collegiate, international, and Olympic sporting events, as well as sanctioned motor sport events. Proposition DD restricts the types of bets allowed on college sporting events by prohibiting bets on individual performance statistics or events during the game. Sports betting will not be allowed on high school sporting events or unsanctioned video game competitions.
How will sports betting be taxed? This measure will establish a tax of 10 percent on casinos’ net sports betting proceeds. Net sports betting proceeds are the amount kept by casinos after deducting payouts to winners and the federal excise tax on sports bets.
Click here for more information. - Vote yes site
There is no organized opposition to this measure.
Proposition CC
This proposition, if passed, would take the excess TABOR revenue and split it evenly between: K-12, Higher Education, and Transportation. Right now, any excess money that the state has must be refunded to the taxpayers, or the voters decide where to spend the excess money. This is done by allowing people who would otherwise receive a TABOR refund to choose to donate to the charity/non-profit options that are on the Colorado return. Another part of TABOR limits the cap that government can grow each year which is tied and limited by a population growth plus an inflation formula. Proposition CC essentially renders the cap on government growth meaningless in times of economic expansion as any revenue could be retained by the state and spent on the stated purposes.
The state is projected to exceed the TABOR cap the next several years and the money the first year would be directed to the state purposes, unless changed. The supporting folks estimate about 88 million to each of the three categories. It is unclear how much and to where specifically the funds will be spent. For example, on the transportation side, it says roads and bridges and transit. Does this mean that transit projects will get 44 million of the transportation allocation? "Education" is also broad. Will it be spent on full day kindergarten, teacher salaries, or afterschool programs?
Prop. CC would eliminate the refund and put the money towards the three areas listed above. One thing to consider with Prop. CC is that it is only a statutory change and not a constitutional change. This means that future legislatures are not bound to fund these 3 priorities and they can pass a bill to change where excess funds go at any time. If it were a constitutional change the excess revenue would be protected from being raided and could only be spent on what is stated. For a state with billions of dollars of backlogged transportation projects, this money would be great but the excess TABOR revenue isn’t a reliable source. If the legislature were to take funds from this, transportation would be the first to get raided.
The initiative calls for an independent audit, but as the people who receive the audit would be the people who made the spending decisions, it may not be a sufficient check depending on where you are on TABOR and limiting government growth.
If passed, essentially the only thing left in TABOR would be the ability to continue to vote on direct tax increases.
Click here for more information. – Vote yes site
Click Here for more information – Vote no site
