Initiative diverting $200M a year in existing tax revenue to Colorado land management is too close to call

The outcome of Proposition 137, which would divert an estimated $200 million annually in existing sales tax revenue to land management, was too close to call late Tuesday. 

With nearly 1.95 million votes counted — roughly 69% of the ballots — the difference between the “yes” and “no” votes was less than 500 at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday.  

Proposition 137 would divert $175 million to $180 million a year at first and potentially more in the future in already collected state taxes on sporting goods equipment sales. The money would be split between state-led wildfire mitigation and rehabilitation work and conservation by Great Outdoors Colorado, with small portions directed toward the Colorado outdoor recreation office and a grant program expanding access to the outdoors. 

Proposition 137 would exempt sporting goods sales tax revenue from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, cap on government growth and spending, which is calculated based on inflation and population changes. But the legislature could bypass Proposition 137’s spending directives in tough budget years when the TABOR surplus is small.

The measure, if passed by voters, will distribute $83 million a year to Great Outdoors Colorado, nearly doubling the conservation group’s annual distribution from the Colorado Lottery. Another $83 million would be split between the Department of Natural Resources and the Colorado State Forest Service for wildfire risk reduction and rehabilitation of watersheds damaged by wildfire. The state currently spends about $16.4 million on wildfire risk reduction and another $5 million a year on restoring burned landscapes. 

The Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Equity Grant Program would each get about $4.5 million a year under Proposition 137.

If passed, Proposition 137 will mark one of the largest ever investments in Colorado’s public lands at a time when the federal government is slashing spending on land management. 

Supporters of the measure include a long list of national environmental groups and elected leaders, including Colorado Attorney General and Democratic candidate for governor Phil Weiser and former Secretary of the Interior and former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, another Democrat. Opponents included the Colorado Democratic Party, which expressed concerns that the measure could impact lawmakers’ ability to address budget shortfalls in lean years. 

Nonpartisan legislative analysts estimate Proposition 137 could reduce TABOR refunds by $26 to $83 for single taxpayers and $52 for $166 for joint filers at first. 

Luis Benitez, the first director of the Colorado outdoor recreation office, recently chided Democrats for their party’s opposition to Prop. 137 while speaking Oct. 16 at the third annual DemWest rally — a gathering for Western Slope Democrats. 

Benitez, who became the nation’s second director of a state outdoor recreation office in 2016 under then Gov. John Hickenlooper, said Prop. 137 is “the most significant piece of OREC legation we have ever seen in our lifetimes. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“I never in a million years thought that the thing standing in the way of this legislation would be the Democratic Party,” he said. “We sell the outdoors in Colorado and now the bill has come due.”

The Protect Colorado’s Land and Water and Prevent Wildfires committee raised $6.2 million to support Proposition 137, according to the latest filings with the Colorado secretary of state. That includes more than $2.75 million from The Nature Conservancy, $525,000 from the New York-based Environmental Defense Action Fund, $524,000 from the WRA Action Fund in Boulder and more than $450,000 from Western Resource Advocates in Boulder.

Opponents of the measure, who worry the increased funding could spur widespread logging in Colorado’s forests, raised $12,965.

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