SB042 revises Colorado’s statutory definitions of “collections for another government” and “damage award” for purposes of calculating state fiscal year spending under TABOR. The bill clarifies that certain revenues passed through the state to other entities are excluded from fiscal year spending, including aviation-related fuel tax and sales/use tax revenues that are deposited in the aviation fund and distributed to governmental or airport entities, as well as portions of criminal history record check fees transmitted to the FBI for the federal component of those checks.
The bill also expands the definition of “damage award” to include specified environmental and labor penalties, and, beginning in fiscal year 2025-26, money deposited in the crime victim compensation funds, including certain court costs, surcharges, restitution, and damages recovered from assailants for compensable crimes. It further changes how administrative costs for crime victim compensation are funded beginning in fiscal year 2026-27 by requiring direct appropriations to district attorneys and court executives rather than allowing those costs to be paid from the fund itself, and it includes a $2.25 million general fund appropriation for victims’ compensation administration.
Impact
The bill amends Colorado Revised Statutes sections 24-77-102 and 24-4.1-117, affecting how the state classifies revenue when measuring compliance with the constitutional state spending limit. By excluding additional pass-through revenues and certain victim-compensation-related receipts from fiscal year spending, the bill can reduce the amount counted against TABOR limits and align statutory definitions more closely with the bill’s stated reading of the constitution. It also creates a future funding structure for crime victim compensation administration and appropriates general fund money to the judicial department for that purpose.
Sentiment
The voting history suggests the bill advanced with support but not unanimity, indicating a generally favorable view among many legislators alongside some reservations. It passed key Senate stages with mixed votes, including a 22-11 third reading vote, and moved through committee with some split decisions in Finance and Appropriations. The House Finance committee later advanced it unanimously on one amendment vote and by a strong margin on referral, suggesting broad procedural support even as the bill remained somewhat contested.
Contention
The main points of contention appear to center on TABOR revenue classification and whether the bill appropriately narrows or expands what counts as state fiscal year spending. Legislators who opposed or voted no may have been concerned about the bill’s effect on the spending limit, especially the treatment of aviation fuel tax revenues, FBI-transmitted background-check fees, and crime victim compensation receipts as excluded collections or damage awards. The administrative-cost funding change for crime victim compensation may also have drawn scrutiny because it shifts costs to direct appropriations and changes how the fund is used.