JBC approves drafting of legislation to move disability‑plate grantmaking to a Special Purpose Authority; TABOR impact to be clarified

The Joint Budget Committee on Feb. 12 heard a detailed staff proposal to create a Special Purpose Authority (SPA) that would assume the Colorado Disability Funding Committee’s grant‑making functions and the revenue stream tied to a specialty historical license plate. Phoebe Kanagaraja, JBC staff, said staff recommends creating the SPA but not pausing the historical‑plate fee in fiscal year 2026‑27, and proposed statutory fee and donation amounts rather than annual department adjustments.

Kanagaraja told the committee the department’s request would have paused the $25 plate fee and used roughly $9.3 million in one‑time startup funding so the SPA could issue grants immediately. “The $9,300,000 warrant is essentially a transfer from some of the balance of the disability support fund into the special purpose authority so that in their first year they can make grants out of that 9,300,000.0,” she said. Staff’s alternative was to start the SPA without a year‑long pause and allow about $10 million to flow to the SPA that first year, with a proposed $2.50 ongoing fee directed to the SPA thereafter.

Committee members pressed staff on how the change would interact with TABOR (the state revenue limit) and whether moving revenue to an SPA would lower the state’s TABOR cap. Craig Harper, JBC staff, summarized the accounting tradeoffs: the department’s $14.9 million figure assumed a pause in collections (and therefore not counting as TABOR revenue), while staff’s $10 million projection reflects revenue directed to the SPA and complications from a July–October implementation window. “That $14,900,000…is from pausing the fee. It’s just not collected at all in 2627 and that means it’s not collected as TABOR revenue,” Harper said.

Several members asked staff to confirm the controller’s and auditor’s view; Kanagaraja said she had consulted the Office of Legislative Legal Services and the state auditor but was awaiting the controller’s clarification. Vice Chair Bridges urged checking the controller’s determination because the question would shape whether pausing collections is necessary.

Members also debated statutory versus administrative fee setting. Staff recommended defining donation and fee amounts in statute to increase committee oversight; some legislators argued that creating a statutory fee would impose a legislative maintenance burden and could confuse consumers if fees were paused and then restarted.

The committee approved drafting authority to prepare legislation implementing the SPA and related technical changes but tabled final decisions on R1, R1b and the R7 refinance pending additional clarification from the controller and auditor about TABOR and cap impacts. Director Craig Harper and staff indicated the committee already had authority to draft and that returning with controller guidance would inform the committee’s final vote.