Big changes to Front Range Rail Taxing Boundaries Proposed

About this episode

The episode discusses a proposed Senate bill that alters the boundaries of the Front Range Passenger Rail taxing district, impacting conservative communities and potential tax increases.

DENVER–A Democrat-sponsored Senate bill changing the boundaries of the Front Range Passenger Rail special taxing district passed through its first committee hearing on Monday. The bill excludes certain conservative-leaning communities from the district as a tax hike looms for the November ballot. As previously reported by Complete Colorado , the Front Range Passenger Rail , recently named CoCo, short for Colorado Connector, has been in the works since 2021. The plan is to have an up and running passenger rail system operating from Fort Collins to Pueblo by 2029. The current special taxing district is the largest in the state, comprised of 13 counties along the I-25 corridor. All of which are highly likely to be asked for 0.5% sales tax hike this November to fund the project. Senate Bill 26-172 dramatically changes these boundaries, dropping about 40% of the existing special district population. Rather than incorporating every county along I-25 between Wyoming and New Mexico, the proposed legislation includes taxing sweet spots along the rail line. “Of the scenarios that we explored, [this] has some of the highest, but not the highest, tax base, to be able to pay for what we’re…

Topics covered

• Front Range Rail
• taxing boundaries
• Senate bill
• politics
• transportation
• local government

Keywords

• Front Range Passenger Rail
• tax hike
• Senate Bill 26-172
• special taxing district
• sales tax
• municipalities
• subdistricts

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Independence Institute, Complete Colorado

Places: Denver, Colorado, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Wyoming, New Mexico, I-25 corridor

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