Each week, we talk with our colleagues at The Colorado Sun about the stories they're following. This time, we spoke with Editor David Krause.
The Colorado Sun reported on ozone level violations. Colorado’s Front Range has already recorded violations of federal ozone caps for 2023 that put the state into the “serious” pollution infraction category. Colorado has been under the Environmental Protection Agency’s radar for Ozone issues since 2008. Krause said watchdog groups have raised the question – “If we've already hit the number that we're allowed for this year, why don't we just go ahead and call it?”
“And that would give the state the ability to change rules and enforce stricter bans on oil and gas drilling, and [potentially] transportation," Krause said. "And so, it would help the state really get going instead of waiting on deadlines that were previously set by the EPA in 2024.”
Colorado regulators have said they are “evaluating” the idea of asking the EPA for a voluntary reclassification before the federal agency’s reevaluation in 2024. Speeding up that process would mean tighter regulations for oil and gas developers and other pollution permits.
“The state has said we're interested in doing this, but we've already implemented some new things, like clean truck and car rules to speed replacement of fossil fuel cars, lower emissions, things like that” Krause said.
Air Pollution Control Division spokesperson Leah Schleifer has said her division doesn’t want to wait for a reclassification.
The second topic discussed was TABOR refunds. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) limits the amount the state can spend and requires excess revenue to be refunded to taxpayers. State tax revenues finished the fiscal year much higher than budget analysts thought, meaning the surplus for TABOR refunds is much more than originally predicted..
“So now they're saying they're going to have more, nearly a billion dollars more to give to people in next year's returns," Krause said. "And so that means that people are going to see a nicer refund like we did last year.”
There's one more wrinkle to how much Colorado taxpayers will get back as a refund: Voters will consider Proposition HH on the November ballot. If that proposition passes, everyone who qualifies for a refund would get the same amount of money, instead of being tied to income tiers.
“The refund checks, though, are tied to when you file your taxes next year," Krause said. "So, after you file your taxes, then the state will send out your refund check. But I think right now, last year we were at $750 and $1,500 for joint. I think this year could be $850 for single filers and $1,700 or more for joint.”
If Proposition HH fails, the refund checks would be tied to income levels. Under the default TABOR refund system, people who make more money get bigger refund checks based on a six-tier system.
