Colorado voters have approved a pair of ballot measures that will increase funding for the state’s free school meals program and help cover its share of funding for SNAP, or food stamps, by raising taxes on wealthier Coloradans.
Proponents of Propositions LL and MM claimed victory about an hour after polls closed Tuesday night. At that time, 57% of votes supported Proposition MM and 63% of votes supported Proposition LL.
Together, the measures will pay for Healthy School Meals for All, which provides free breakfasts and lunches to all public school students. The program has experienced higher demand than the state budgeted for when it was created in 2022.
“Voters have resoundingly endorsed healthy school meals for all,” said Anya Rose, public policy director for Hunger Free Colorado, which backed the measures, as she watched results come in with other supporters. “We're relieved that Colorado kids will continue to have access to free meals at school."
Proposition MM raises additional money for school meals by reducing tax deductions for Coloradans earning $300,000 or more per year, amounting to an average tax increase of about $486 annually. Voters approved a similar tax mechanism to fund the Healthy School Meals for All program when it was launched.
The measure also triggers other support for school meals, like grants for schools to purchase food from local farmers and for technical training for cafeteria workers.
More than 600,000 meals a day are served through Healthy School Meals for All, according to state data.
The money raised by Proposition MM must first pay for the school meals program. Only then can leftover funding help the state cover its share for SNAP.
The SNAP funding provision was added to the ballot measure during this summer’s special legislative session after Congress cut funding for the program this summer.
Nonpartisan legislative analysts predict Proposition MM could raise over $27 million for SNAP in the next fiscal year and about double that for school meals. More than 600,000 Coloradans receive SNAP benefits, according to the Food Bank of the Rockies, the region’s largest food assistance provider.
State Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, said the election results highlight the support among Colorado voters for increasing taxes to pay for safety net services like food assistance.
“They know that ensuring that the wealthy are paying their fair share to make sure that we’re feeding our kids in our schools is great policy,” Gonzales said. “We all know that our first priority ought to be ensuring the safety, well-being and feeding of our babies.”
Proposition LL allows the state to keep and spend all the revenue it has already collected and will collect for the meals program. That includes roughly $12 million in excess revenue that otherwise would have been refunded under Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR.
There is no organized opposition to the ballot measures, but Republican lawmakers voted against them when they were being considered by the state legislature.
Critics of the policy argue higher taxes on wealthy people could damage the economy.
“Higher effective rates on higher earners tend to disproportionately affect economic investment in the state when you look at job creation, wage growth,” said Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects with The Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank that advocates for tax policies that don't interfere with business.
Walczak said the tax increase in Proposition MM is likely too small to have much of a direct impact but could set a precedent for the rest of the country.
