House Finance Committee advances reauthorization of Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit

The House Finance Committee voted to send HB 10-14 to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation after hearing sponsor remarks and testimony from state analysts and business groups.

Representative Ty Taggart, prime sponsor, told the committee the Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit (JGITC) is a performance-based credit created after the 2008 recession to attract and retain employers. He described the program as an arrears-paid credit that requires applicants to create and maintain a minimum of 20 net new permanent jobs (a 5-job threshold applies in enhanced rural enterprise zones) and said awards are limited to projects that are competitive with other states.

The bill’s fiscal case rested largely on analysis from the Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Sean Gould, deputy director of financial analysis at OEDIT, said his conservative, direct-impact calculations show JGITC generates a minimum 4:1 return on investment and that the program typically produces about $33 million in net new state revenue per year. He explained some awarded credits go unclaimed ("breakage") because companies do not ultimately establish sufficient Colorado tax liability, which reduces the program’s cost to the general fund while still delivering jobs and investment.

Business and regional economic development witnesses supported reauthorization. Becky Nelson of Denver South and the Economic Development Council of Colorado said the credit helped attract more than 5,000 jobs to the Denver South corridor and named firms that used the tool, while witnesses from Colorado Springs and the construction industry cited projects and workforce benefits tied to the incentive.

Committee members raised questions about program scope and targeting. Representative Brooks asked whether the program ‘‘picks winners and losers’’ by repeatedly benefiting aerospace, defense and other concentrated industries. Taggart and OEDIT testified that statutory eligibility focuses on primary, export‑oriented jobs that deliver broader local economic "rub‑off" and that the program is not the right tool for every business. Members also pressed how JGITC interacts with TABOR accounting and whether the program could or should be scaled to replace broader tax policy.

After sponsors closed, the committee moved HB 10-14 to Appropriations by roll call; the motion carried and the committee reported the bill by a recorded vote of 9 to 2.

What happens next: HB 10-14 will be considered by the Appropriations Committee. Sponsors and OEDIT said they are available to provide additional fiscal detail as the bill moves forward.