In a supermajority, when one party has control over the House, Senate, and Governor’s office, the majority can pass almost any bill into law. This imbalance in the legislature and party line voting eliminates healthy moderation in policy which results when two parties compromise. Colorado’s economy is suffering due to ideological initiatives which are unsustainable, and the outcome is a tenfold decrease in the number of people who want to move to Colorado. In 2013, 1 in 12 people who were moving to a new state were moving to Colorado. In 2023, only 1 in 120 people were moving to Colorado. Colorado has also become a state with excessive taxes and regulations which are hostile to homeowners, ranchers, and the oil and gas industry. For the sake of reclaiming Colorado from out-of-control government, Colorado learned in 2024 that there are three ways to stop the Democrat supermajority.
SB24-033 aimed to increase taxes from 7% (residential) to 28% (commercial) for short term rental properties. This bill was justified as “tax parity” or “tax equity,” and claimed that small, privately-owned homes rented as AirBnBs and VRBOs should be taxed like large hotels with higher consumption rates of public services.
In “Case Study: Defeating Colorado Senate Bill 33 Short Term Rental Property Tax Bill,” the details of the successful campaign by Colorado Lodging and Resort Alliance (CLARA) are outlined. First, CLARA organized a survey of 2500 rental homeowners and published an economic impact study. The report found that most rental homeowners would either evade the tax by renting less than 90 days, or they would stop renting completely. Most of these rentals are for winter tourism areas which cannot support year-round hotels. The loss of rentals would reduce tourism spending by over a billion dollars and eliminate over 8,000 tourism jobs. Second, CLARA conducted a rental network and media campaign to communicate the findings in the economic impact study. Third, CLARA coordinated an advocacy day at the capitol for 150 people wearing blue shirts and giving opposition materials to legislators.
The key takeaways from this strategy are economic evidence and personal engagement. The bill also highlights a common flawed origin of Colorado legislation: lack of stakeholder process with the public prior to introduction, and lack of analysis of impact prior to introduction.
The American Rental Car Association of America has filed a lawsuit against Colorado’s $3-a-day “congestion impact fee” on rental cars, which went into effect on January 1, 2025. (Colorado leads the nation in extreme taxation renamed “fees” to circumvent taxpayer approval.) The case claims that SB184 violates federal law.
According to CPR, “But through its lawsuit, the association is continuing to make the same argument now that it made when the legislation was being debated: that federal laws, including the 2018 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, make new rental car fees illegal if, among other reasons, they apply to airport-based rentals and the revenue is used for non-airport purposes.”
The take-away is that a legal challenge can deter or halt an illegal tax and can also deter many types of other bills which violate the rights of citizens.
HB24-1292 was an assault weapons ban bill which passed the House after failing the previous year. But in a halt of momentum, bill sponsor Sen. Julie Gonzales (D) withdrew the bill, or postponed indefinitely, from the Senate, and the bill died. In most news reports, Gonzales was quoted as congratulating the House for passing the bill and expressing her commitment to a future assault weapons ban after more discussion with various groups.
But the Gazette reported possibly the real reason why the bill died: “A decade ago, two lawmakers were ousted in the state’s first recall elections over their support for bills that set limits on ammunition magazines and expanded background checks.
“That history, I think, lingers,’ said Democrat state Sen. Julie Gonzales, one of the semi-automatic ban bill’s sponsors. She added that the proposal’s success in the House ‘signals that there is a new space for us to have different conversations.’”
This statement by Gonzales indicates that the Democrat supermajority is cautious of recalls. Therefore, the Democrats are incrementally advancing their gun control agenda with several bills each year under Governor Polis, instead of an overt and swift removal of Second Amendment rights.
The key take-away is that opposition to the supermajority is underutilizing recalls. Not all recalls will be successful, but these campaigns drain time, resources, and the reputation of the recalled party. Recalls also bring public attention to the overstepping of rights within the legislature that most citizens are not aware of and create needed backlash to reform the party.
In summary, three ways to defeat supermajority legislation are: 1. Show up in large numbers for opposition and provide an impact report, 2. Hire attorneys to draft a legal challenge, 3. Organize a recall for bill sponsors.
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