Colorado Democrats plan to introduce a bill at the statehouse on Friday, which they hope will thwart the impact of a transportation funding ballot initiative that they say would have a devastating impact on the state budget.
Democrats say they will not move forward with the bill to reduce money for transportation to neutralize the proposal if the backers of the transportation ballot initiative agree to pull the measure.
Initiative 175 from the Colorado Contractors Association is awaiting approval of the language for the measure, and then signatures must be gathered to qualify for the November ballot. It would require that state revenue collected to support roads and transportation be spent on roads and transportation. Supporters say Colorado has consistently underinvested in roads and bridges. It’s estimated to direct about $700 million annually for roads.
“Initiative 175 is a modest, targeted solution. It dedicates just 2% of the state budget to road repair and maintenance and does not raise taxes,” said Tony Milo, the president & CEO of the Colorado Contractors Association, in an earlier letter.
The bill Democrats plan to introduce would reduce the excise tax on gas and special fuel and certain transportation fees like road usage fees and registration fees. The idea is that if Initiative 175 passes, it would end up being revenue-neutral because of those reductions. The bill would not go into effect unless voters approve Initiative 175.
“The contractors have left us no choice but to put forward something to protect all of these public services,” said Democratic Rep. Emily Sirota of Denver, the chair of the Legislature’s powerful Joint Budget Committee. She referred to the initiative as “irresponsible and selfish” and said the bill is a last resort.
“This is never the bill that we all imagined we’d be running it this year. It is simply after numerous conversations, letters sent, being explicitly clear about the impact that this special interest group will have on the people of Colorado,” she said.
In addition to reducing transportation funding, the bill would direct what would have been excess TABOR surplus revenue to fund core services.
“TABOR surplus would be utilized to be able to pay for those services and things that those fee reductions would’ve otherwise funded,” said Democratic Rep. Andrew Boesenecker of Fort Collins, another of the bill’s main sponsors.
CPR News has reached out to the Colorado Contractors Association for a response to the proposed legislation.
Though Democrats say Colorado has made meaningful investments in transportation over the past decade, estimated at $470 million each year in new funding, the contractors say funds have been lacking and have led to crumbling roads and growing long-term economic and safety costs.
“There is widespread agreement that Colorado’s roads now rank among the worst in the nation due to years of underinvestment. These impacts extend far beyond commuters, affecting school transportation, emergency response, and business operations statewide,” wrote Milo.
When asked why lawmakers wanted to run a bill, and rather than focus on trying to defeat the initiative in November, they said they don’t have millions of dollars for a campaign, unlike the proponents. The contractors have a “restore our roads” campaign website and staff working on the proposal to “Join fellow Colorodans who believe taxes related to roads should actually fund our roads.”
The contractors and lawmakers say they are open to continuing conversations on the impasse. Ultimately, lawmakers say the bill is also about protecting their legislative authority to make decisions on budget spending priorities.
“We’re really not adequately funding a lot of things,” said Democratic budget committee member Sen. Judy Amabile from Boulder. “I haven’t gotten outreach from my constituents telling me, ‘Hey, the most important thing you can fund is roads.’ That’s not what I’m hearing. What I’m hearing is to make sure people have access to healthcare, make sure we’re funding K through 12, make sure that we are protecting our water and our air.”
This year, lawmakers had to fill a roughly $1.5 billion budget gap to pass a balanced budget. Medicaid took the largest share of those cuts. The Legislature cut provider reimbursement rates and capped Cover All Coloradans, a Medicaid program for immigrant children and pregnant women, that had ballooned in costs. The budget picture next year is also projected to be dire.
Copyright 2026 CPR News