Committee reviews Blue Book for proposed graduated income tax; counties ask for clearer local fiscal language

Elizabeth Ramey of Legislative Council staff walked members through Initiative 195 (Amendment 87), which would remove the constitutional requirement for a single flat state income‑tax rate and replace it with a graduated rate schedule. The draft Blue Book explains proposed brackets, examples of taxpayer impacts, the measure’s exemption of additional revenue from the TABOR limit and the intended priorities for spending (K‑12 education, health care, early childhood).

Commissioner George Marlin testified that counties need explicit language in the Blue Book explaining local impacts and how additional state funding could support county-administered safety-net programs. "We're asking that the Blue Book reflect these potential local government benefits as clearly as it reflects the benefits to schools," Marlin told the committee, urging staff to add a local‑government section to the fiscal analysis.

Other public commenters raised questions about inflation indexing, how refunds and TABOR interactions would work, and what protections would prevent future rate shifts across brackets. Staff answered detailed technical questions about refund mechanics and said the Blue Book would show how the measure interacts with existing refund mechanisms by referencing the statutory formulae used to compute refunds.

No substantive committee amendments were adopted at the end of the review; staff will finalize the Blue Book with any clarifications the committee directed prior to printing.