Colorado General Assembly, special session, day four: wolves, health insurance and taxes

Day three of the legislature's special session ended with the Senate working late into the night to begin debate on the House tax bills sent over earlier in the day after representatives wrapped up voting on those measures, along with measures on health insurance and the ballot measure dealing with the state's free meals program.

The House's work Saturday night included debate on Senate Bill 5, which would prohibit Colorado Parks and Wildlife from using general fund dollars to acquire more wolves in the current fiscal year. The bill also diverts $264,000 to the Health Insurance Accountability Enterprise to pay for subsidies for health insurance premiums purchased through the state exchange. Those premiums are expected to soar for the individual market by as much as 38% on the Western Slope. That's due to the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits, federal subsidies that have helped cover the costs of health insurance for years. Discussions continued at the federal level over extending those tax credits.

One amendment that didn't make it onto the bill, but has been the subject of a lot of discussion at the Capitol, would change the kind of funding CPW could use to pay for more wolves.

The bill currently prohibits CPW from using general fund dollars to acquire more wolves but that doesn't stop the state from taking donations that could substitute for those dollars.

Lawmakers and other have said the governor — or his wealthy friends — would likely cover the loss of wolf funds being diverted to health insurance subsidies. However, the amendment discussed Saturday would say CPW could not use any state dollars, which would include cash funds. Donations are a form of cash funds.

Rep. Megan Lukens, D-Steamboat Springs, acknowledged such a change would likely earn a gubernatorial veto. But she added that ranchers in her district are satisfied that their tax dollars — that's what makes up the state's general fund — won't be used to acquire more wolves in the current budget year.

On Sunday, the bill was amended again to remove its legislative declaration, which stated that "other sources of funding outside of the general fund should be used instead to procure new wolves from other states or other countries, to enable the state to lower costs for Coloradans' everyday expenses." General fund dollars should support livestock producers, the declaration said.

The bill's prohibition against using general fund dollars, rather than a outright ban on using any state dollars, is problematic for ranchers and their allies.

House Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Ty Winter of Trinidad said that he was prepared to vote against the bill for that reason. But with the amendment, he'd willing to support it. The bill isn't perfect but, he said, it sends a message to ranchers and livestock producers that "we're hearing them and that we have to make a starting point somewhere. I wish there had been a halt."

Senate Bill 5 won a bipartisan 43-19 vote in the House and heads back to the Senate for review of amendments.

The House also approved the change to the ballot measure on revenue retention tied to the Healthy Meals for All program. The 44-17 vote sends the bill to the governor.

The program has run in the red almost from the beginning, due to an estimate in the General Assembly's Blue Book that was at least $50 million short of the program's costs. There are two ballot measures facing voters on the program in November, but the bill approved Sunday changes the ballot measure to allow some of the taxes going to the Healthy Meals program to cover food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. A portion of SNAP funding is being shifted to the states from the federal government.

The House also gave final approval to Senate Bill 1, which modifies the governor's authority in dealing with a revenue shortfall. The governor still can create a spending reduction plan, but SB 1 requires him to make a presentation on that plan to the Joint Budget Committee before it can go into effect.

Gov. Jared Polis is meeting with the JBC on Thursday to review a plan that could go into effect as early as Sept. 1.

SB 1 won a rare bipartisan vote from the House, 56-4, and now heads to the governor for signature.

The most intense debate in the House on Sunday dealt with Senate Bill 2, which would cover reimbursements to Planned Parenthood that Medicaid would no longer pay for as a result of H.R. 1, the Trump administration's budget.

House Speaker Julie McCluskie warned members to keep the debate on point, with Rep. Max Brooks, R-Castle Rock, asking his colleagues to avoid engaging in "trench warfare" discussions.

"I understand there are other services provided by Planned Parenthood," he told the House. But there is a percentage that goes to abortion, he insisted, and that compels the taxpayers to pay for something they fundamentally oppose. "Understand, you will always get an argument about that from us."

Rep. Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, reminded lawmakers that voters approved enshrining the right to an abortion in the state Constitution just last year, an amendment voters approved by 24 percentage points and won majority support in 34 counties, including in El Paso.

SB 2 won a party-line 43-19 vote from the House and heads to the governor for signing.

The Senate worked until 10:30 Saturday night, finishing debate on just one bill, House Bill 2, which applies to corporate income tax for foreign jurisdictions.

The bill won a party-line 5-2 vote from a changed Senate Appropriations Committee. Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez changed the committee's makeup Saturday in preparation for a possible vote on his artificial intelligence bill, taking away one Republican, Sen. Larry Liston of Colorado Springs, removing the committee's vice-chair, Joint Budget Committee Chair Jeff Bridges of Greenwood Village, and adding two Democrats, Sens. Mike Weissman of and Katie Wallace of Longmont.

The committee, however, did not review that measure Saturday.

On Sunday, the Senate began with committee hearings on the remaining House bills.

That started with House Bill 1006, which seeks to take $100 million from the state's unclaimed property tax fund to cover subsidies for health insurance premiums that are expected to increase by as much as 38% on the Western Slope and 28% statewide. Those subsidies replace enhanced premium tax credits that expire at the end of the year under H.R. 1 and which had helped pay for health insurance premiums for individual health insurance purchased through the exchange.

But that plan has now gone by the wayside. Instead of tapping the unclaimed property tax fund, the bill as amended Sunday by the Senate Finance Committee, relies on tax credits contained in House Bill 4.

Should that tax credit sale fail to raise the entire $100 million, general fund dollars would make up the rest, according to the amendment.

Who would buy these tax credits? The bill said that would be corporations and insurance companies that want to prepay their tax liabilities, as the tax credits would reduce that liability.

"We have tried to find a solution that's viable. It's not long term, but it's something we can do to protect the people of Colorado," said Sen. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, the bill's Senate co-sponsor.

HB 6 won a 5-2 vote from the appropriations committee and now heads to the full Senate for debate.

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