Senate appropriations committee advances bill pausing some transportation changes tied to Initiative 175 after fiscal debate

The Senate Committee on Appropriations on Thursday advanced House Bill 1430 on a 4–3 vote after extended questioning about the measure’s conditional fiscal impacts and a failed amendment to accelerate a working-group deadline.

Economist Amanda Little, who wrote the bill’s fiscal note, told the committee the measure has two conditional elements: a small, CDOT‑facilitated working group and a set of changes that would take effect only if Initiative 175 is approved by voters. Little said the working group is estimated to cost $10,000 in FY2526 and $40,000 the following year, to be paid from the State Highway Fund. She said the larger, initiative‑linked changes would reduce HUTF revenue by about $226.7 million in FY27 and about $500 million in FY27–28 and similar future years, and would reduce TABOR refunds, freeing general fund space for other uses.

"Those reductions total to a 226,700,000, reduction in HUTF revenue in '27, and then about 500,000,000 reduction in 27‑28," Little said during her presentation.

Senator Derek Kirkmeyer pressed staff on how those revenue shifts would affect the Homestead Exemption Act and whether the bill is truly "revenue neutral." Little said the homestead exemption would need to be funded from the general fund and that the fiscal note increases the general‑fund estimate by $136,100,000 in FY2728, while distinguishing that the working‑group costs are paid from continuously appropriated highway funds. Pierce Lively of the Office of Legislative Legal Services explained the timing: some impacts begin Jan. 1, 2027, but homestead payments are paid in arrears, so effects can show up later.

"I think the distinction that she was drawing is that we pay the homestead exemption in arrears," Lively told the committee, describing how the timing affects which fiscal year shows the impact.

Committee members also asked how the bill would interact with existing lease‑purchase payments enacted in prior legislation; Little said moving some payments into the new road support/transportation fund would lower general‑fund lease payments by roughly $45.5 million in FY2627 and show a full‑year general‑fund impact of about $91 million in later years after accounting for amounts already paid from the State Highway Fund.

A substantive floor of the hearing focused on amendment L009, proposed by Senator Kirkmeyer. L009 would have tightened the working‑group schedule so the committee would have a resolved proposal by Aug. 10 — a timeline the sponsor and proponents said was too rushed. Kirkmeyer argued an earlier deadline was necessary to give ballot proponents certainty if they were to withdraw Initiative 175.

"So we pick — I picked the date of August 10 because I thought that's a good date to work towards," Kirkmeyer said, urging the committee to adopt the amendment.

The committee polled on L009; the clerk recorded a 3–4 vote and the amendment failed. The final committee poll on House Bill 1430 showed Senators Gonzales, Kolker, the vice chair and the chair voting aye and Senators Kirkmeyer, Liston and Elton B. voting no; the chair announced the bill passed 4–3.

Senator Mabile, the bill sponsor, said the bill is intended to give state leaders time to "figure out how to protect critical services" and to negotiate a longer‑term, sustainable solution if voters approve Initiative 175. Opponents argued the measure could be perceived as undercutting a voter‑led constitutional amendment and warned it could shift budget pain onto social services.

The committee had no consent‑calendar business and adjourned after the vote. The bill will move next in the Senate process according to standard committee and floor scheduling.