Big corporations and politicians are playing a game of chicken over property taxes

A plan to permanently cut property taxes has received support from some top politicians from both parties. They are rushing to pass a bipartisan plan by the time the legislative session ends at midnight Wednesday night.

With strong support from Democrats and Republicans, the measure seems certain to pass. But this peace treaty in the property tax wars is still missing some key players.

Two influential groups say lawmakers’ plan isn’t good enough. Colorado Concern represents business interests, while Advance Colorado is a conservative political organization.

“No deal has been reached at this time,” Colorado Concern CEO Dave Davia said in a written statement.

Colorado Concern and Advance Colorado have both proposed more sweeping and dramatic changes to property taxes. They have taken steps to put these proposals on the ballot in November, putting the issue directly to voters.

Some lawmakers fear that if these plans are approved, it could have significant implications for the state budget. That leaves them with a choice to make: Do they try to expand their $1 billion tax savings plan and win over one or both groups in the process? Or are they preparing for another property tax battle in November?

Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy, a Democrat who is sponsoring the tax bill, doesn’t have much hope for a negotiated compromise.

“I’m annoyed by rich people who think they can make public policy that goes beyond what their elected officials are allowed to do. That is not how democracy works,” he said.

He said the Legislature could neutralize the threat from outside groups by passing a strong measure that would appeal to the public.

“It will take all the wind out of their sails so they can screech all they want, but it won’t be a successful ballot measure for them,” he said.

Other lawmakers involved in the deal are taking a more conciliatory tone. Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Republican, said she knew Colorado Concern was not fully behind the deal.

“They never represented anything else to me,” she said. “I’m grateful that they were willing to talk to me to let me know what their concerns were.”

One major disagreement between lawmakers and the business community, Kirkmeyer said: The tax cuts in the Legislature don’t apply to education funding. K-12 schools are usually the largest recipients of money from your property tax bill.

Lawmakers decided not to grant school tax cuts because it would undermine school funding. However, critics of the deal say it will limit savings for home and business owners.

“Colorado Concern and its leadership have worked in good faith with the Legislature for months to achieve meaningful and long-lasting property tax relief. Unfortunately, SB 24-233 does not provide material tax relief for homeowners and small business owners in Colorado,” Davia’s statement said.

Senator Kirkmeyer said it is unlikely that lawmakers will be able to make the deal much more favorable to business and conservative groups.

‘I do not think so. I think this is where we need to go,” she said. “We didn’t want to cripple the budget. … We don’t want to harm education. But at the same time, we want to make sure that we are actually providing property tax relief to our taxpayers.”

Colorado Concern, which has a long history of influence in building and building relationships with lawmakers, emphasized that it was prepared to continue talking in recent days.

In a statement, Governor Polis’ office did not immediately say whether he would support major changes to the bill.

“Governor Polis is proud of the thoughtful, bipartisan conversations that led to this bill and encourages all stakeholders, including this group, to support it,” wrote a spokeswoman, Shelby Wieman.

The property tax bill must be passed by midnight on Wednesday. If Colorado Concern and Advance Colorado decide to continue the fight over the ballot, they have a number of options on how to proceed.

Advance Colorado has already collected enough signatures to place one of its measures, Initiative 50, on the ballot. That measure would impose a strict cap on property tax revenues across the state, allowing them to grow only four percent per year. Colorado Concern has indicated that it supports this measure.

The two groups have also worked together on another measure, Initiative 108, which would make much larger cuts to property taxes — with impacts totaling about $3 billion a year — and force the state to use those lost dollars from its own budget to replace. Republican Rep. Lisa Frizell warned this could be disastrous for the state’s finances. That measure has not yet been approved for the ballot, so the groups would have to collect signatures to put it before voters.

House Speaker Julie McCluskie said a lot could change in the final days of the session.

“Two and a half days in this building is a lifetime,” she said Monday afternoon. “We can achieve a lot in that time. And I know everyone will continue to sit at the table and talk.”