Colorado voters will be asked in November to vote on Proposition HH. As with most ballot measures, it is written to sound very good and appealing. It starts out, “Shall the State reduce property taxes….” And, of course, like most ballot measures, that’s misleading and the actual text of the measure is complex.

You will, and are already, seeing social media posts and news coverage, and have probably received the first of many mail pieces about Proposition HH. You will be bombarded with numbers and formulas and forecasts. One such piece, designed to “simplify” the measure included the following dollar amounts – in just one piece: $1,074 million; $620 million; $2 billion; $145 million; $72 million; $287 million; $3.5 billion; $21 million; $94.3 million; $2.2 billion; $128 million; $161.3 million; $278 million; $351 million.

So, here’s what it all boils down to. Here are the two sentences that you need to know when you vote your ballot this fall:
1) If Proposition HH passes, it will only temporarily reduce property taxes.
2) If Proposition HH passes, it will reduce your Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) refunds permanently.

That’s it. All that mumbo jumbo, simply explained in two sentences.

Property owners – your property taxes will still go up, just not as drastically, for a limited time.

Renters – your rent will still go up, because your landlord needs to recoup the increase in taxes.

Everybody – your TABOR refunds (remember those $750 or $1,500 checks?) will permanently be decreased and, because of a change in formula, eventually will go away forever.

The Colorado Women’s Alliance urges you to remember those two simple sentences when it comes time to mark your ballots. Vote “no” on Proposition HH.

Joni Inman, Golden

Executive Director of Colorado Women’s Alliance

Letter: Colorado Women’s Alliance explains Proposition HH in 2 easy sentences