Colorado lawmakers consider Prop 130 implementation bill in final days of session
The Colorado Legislature intends to use investment revenue to pay for the implementation of Proposition 130, the measure voters approved last fall to direct $350 million to law enforcement.
Under a bill nearing final passage, local law enforcement agencies would get at least $15,000 per year to use for recruitment, continuing education and additional compensation. Surviving spouses or family members of an officer killed during duty would receive a $1 million survivor's benefit.
To pay for it, members of the bipartisan Joint Budget Committee want to send $500 million to the Public Employees Retirement Association to invest.
'The bill before you represents a fair and faithful, balanced implementation of the voters' intent, while ensuring that we can continue to fund equally-important priorities across our state budget and maintain our necessary reserves,' Rep. Shannon Bird, a Westminster Democrat, told the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
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Proposition 130, backed by the conservative nonprofit Advance Colorado, passed with about 53% of the vote last November. That means lawmakers needed to grapple with its implementation during an ultra-tight budget year in which they already faced a $1.2 billion gap.
Senate Bill 25-310 would establish the Peace Officer Support and Training Fund, which would receive an initial transfer of $15 million in general fund money next year. Then, $500 million from the state's general fund reserve — money set aside as a buffer for emergencies — would get sent to PERA to invest. Up to $35 million generated from that investment would be sent to the support fund annually, and other revenue would be used to offset a portion of what the state owes to PERA for pension liability every year.
The plan is to always have $15 million per year in the law enforcement support fund. Rep. Rick Taggart, a Grand Junction Republican, said that the average return on PERA investments is about 7%. An expected average annual return of $35 million on the investment would mean the Legislature would fulfill its $350 million obligation under Proposition 130 in 10 years.
'This is how we are using our existing state assets to generate revenues to meet the voters' intent,' Bird said.
Local law enforcement agencies would get at least $15,000 per year, and if there is enough revenue available, additional money using a formula based on department size. That would begin in December 2026. Agencies would need to prove compliance with allowable spending through an annual audit.
Adam Turk with the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police told lawmakers in committee that the funding mechanism would not kick in fast enough.
'The funding structure as currently written, delays the impact of this critical investment far beyond the time frame in which departments need it most,' he said. 'The timeline does not align with the pressing public safety, staffing and resource challenges agencies are facing today. Proposition 130 was passed by voters with the expectation that the funding would help stabilize and strengthen law enforcement capacity now, not decades into the future.'
The Colorado Municipal League, Colorado Counties Inc. County Sheriffs of Colorado and the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police support the bill.
It passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday. It needs to clear the House floor, including debate and preliminary voice vote followed by a final recorded vote on a separate day, before the end of the legislative session on May 7. Representatives began that debate on Thursday, but the preliminary vote was delayed on that day and again on Friday morning.
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