The latest developments in Colorado’s general election as voters decide issues including whether to retain marijuana taxes.
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Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers panicked at the prospect of having to refund the new windfall back to taxpayers, but fortunately for them the new ballot measure securing the money for their use has passed easily.
Colorado reaffirmed its support for taxing marijuana in an election that showed that a state skeptical of most taxes fully supports extracting revenue from a growing pot industry.
Because overall state tax revenue was higher than projected during that 2013 vote, the pot taxes must be refunded unless voters give the state permission to keep them. That number is expected to climb significantly in 2015 as more shops open. That’s when a little-known provision of Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights kicked in. Denver voter John Liptak told CBS Denver, “I think there are enough issues with marijuana that we need a few of that money to deal with them”. Marijuana has been on sale since the beginning of 2014 in Colorado, and there’s been plenty of time for the state’s residents to grow disillusioned with the ease of access, grow concerned about the abundance of the drug in social life and popular culture, or simply view the sales taxes as overly onerous (recreational marijuana is taxed at a rate of around 13%).
If Proposition BB fails, the money would be refunded three ways. Roadside marijuana impairment could be the training topic, but the measure does not require the money to spend on anything pot-related.
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With the passing of Proposition BB, the $66.1 million will be redistributed as follows: $40 million will go to school construction, $12 million will go to youth and substance-abuse programs and $14.1 million will be left for use at the legislator’s discretion. Sen. Pat Steadman, a Denver Democrat and one of the Legislature’s main budget writers.
