Senate Finance advances technical fix to let a bridge purchaser buy unsold tax credits to meet budget target

The Senate Finance Committee advanced House Bill 26-1346, a technical measure intended to ensure Colorado raises the revenue projected under prior special‑session tax‑credit legislation by allowing a bridge purchaser to buy unsold insurance premium tax credits and transfer them, when needed, to qualified insurance companies.

Leah Marvin Riley, policy director at the Treasury Department, said the state has sold roughly three‑quarters of the authorized credits and faces a projected shortfall of about $30 million unless remaining credits can be sold by the June deadline. The bill would allow a bridge purchaser to acquire any unsold credits at the average sale price realized so far (with a statutory floor of 80¢ on the dollar) and then transfer them annually to insurers as those buyers declare tax liabilities.

Committee members questioned the market dynamics and pricing: witnesses and Treasury staff explained that credits sold so far have averaged about 82–83¢ on the dollar, that the bridge purchaser bears the risk of holding and reselling credits, and that the Treasury retains oversight. Advantage Capital, the vendor running the auction process under contract, said it expects to bid for the bridge‑purchase role but that any selection would follow procurement procedures.

The committee adopted amendment L002, a drafting clarification of the transfer process, by unanimous consent. Sponsors then moved the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; the clerk recorded the committee vote as 6 in favor and 3 opposed. The bill’s sponsors and Treasury said the change does not alter the state's fiscal position but ensures the budgeted receipts are realizable under market conditions.