“Promises made, results delivered” is the motto Colorado Democrats are using to describe the 2023-2024 legislative session.

With control of both the Senate and the House, the Democratic party is celebrating its achievements across a variety of key issues — from property taxes to school funding. Amidst the self-congratulatory messages, the caucus highlighted the bipartisanship that made many of their accomplishments possible during a press conference following the final day of the session.

Gov. Jared Polis hailed the session as the “most significant by far” of his tenure in office.

“We took all the big issues, and we got the job done to deliver real results on the issues that matter,” he said.

Here is an overview of some of those issues and the bills that sought to tackle them.

Housing

Polis said 95% of Coloradans agree that housing in the state is unaffordable and commended the passage of a bill aimed at increasing the number of accessory dwelling units, commonly known as “mother-in-law suites,” along with another measure focusing on transit-oriented communities.

These communities are defined in the bill as either a local government that “is entirely within a metropolitan planning organization, has a population of 4,000 or more, and contains at least 75 acres of certain transit-related areas” or a county that “contains either a part of a transit station area that is both in an unincorporated part of the county and within one-half mile of a station that serves a commuter rail service or light rail service r transit corridor area that both is in an unincorporated part of the county and is fully encompassed by one or more municipalities.”

One of the biggest bipartisan wins of the session, the Democrats said, was the property tax bill, which was the result of lengthy discussions between the governor, stakeholders, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle following a contentious special session last fall.

“For the past few years, we’ve been searching for a solution that meets the moment and provides responsible property tax relief that works for [Coloradans] and their families,” said outgoing Senate President Sen. Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder. “The bill we passed this session will save Coloradans money on their property taxes, ensure homeowners don’t see an increase in their property taxes for 2024, and, starting in ’25 and beyond, will implement additional relief and cash increases to avoid future property tax spikes.”

Education 

Polis praised the passage of the Colorado Promise Act, which creates a refundable income tax credit covering two years of tuition at a community college for students from households earning less than $90,000 a year. The legislation received bipartisan sponsorship in both chambers.

House Speaker Rep. Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, spoke of the state’s years-long efforts to eliminate the budget stabilization factor, which finally happened this year. McCluskie also sponsored a bipartisan bill making changes to the state’s school finance formula, which she said focuses more on the students rather than systems.

“Until this year, we have not made meaningful changes on Colorado’s public school funding formula for more than 30 years,” she said. “It was antiquated, old, and not serving the students it needed to most. I’m so proud of the work that we did to make sure that at-risk students, English language learners, special education students, and those schools in rural settings get the resources they need.”

Environment 

Another major deal between parties emerged in the oil and gas space.

Lawmakers approved a two-bill package centered on oil and gas production entities. One bill establishes a fee on oil and gas producers that will help fund the state’s transit initiatives, while the other directs the Department of Public Health and Environment to propose rules for the state’s air quality control commission to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) generated by the oil and gas industry in “ozone nonattainment areas” by 50% of the 2017 baseline in the next six years.

Bipartisanship

Democratic leaders also emphasized the significant bipartisanship displayed during the session, a stark contrast to the year before.

Several pieces of legislation on big-ticket items, such as property taxes, the environment and even firearms, received bipartisan sponsorship, something that was previously rare.

Although there were moments of contention between the parties, the leaders said they were, overall, very proud of the cooperative spirit exhibited by members from both sides of the aisle.

“I cannot tell you how proud I’m of Democrats and Republicans alike who showed up to deliver on the promises that they made to Coloradans in ways that were bipartisan, that were productive, and that truly make a difference for our great state,” McCluskie said.

“Promises made, results delivered” is the motto Colorado Democrats are using to describe the 2023-2024 legislative session.

With control of both the Senate and the House, the Democratic party is celebrating its achievements across a variety of key issues — from property taxes to school funding. Amidst the self-congratulatory messages, the caucus highlighted the bipartisanship that made many of their accomplishments possible during a press conference following the final day of the session.

Gov. Jared Polis hailed the session as the “most significant by far” of his tenure in office.

“We took all the big issues, and we got the job done to deliver real results on the issues that matter,” he said.

Here is an overview of some of those issues and the bills that sought to tackle them.

Housing

Polis said 95% of Coloradans agree that housing in the state is unaffordable and commended the passage of a bill aimed at increasing the number of accessory dwelling units, commonly known as “mother-in-law suites,” along with another measure focusing on transit-oriented communities.

These communities are defined in the bill as either a local government that “is entirely within a metropolitan planning organization, has a population of 4,000 or more, and contains at least 75 acres of certain transit-related areas” or a county that “contains either a part of a transit station area that is both in an unincorporated part of the county and within one-half mile of a station that serves a commuter rail service or light rail service or transit corridor area that both is in an unincorporated part of the county and is fully encompassed by one or more municipalities.”

One of the biggest bipartisan wins of the session, the Democrats said, was the property tax bill, which was the result of lengthy discussions between the governor, stakeholders, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle following a contentious special session last fall.

“For the past few years, we’ve been searching for a solution that meets the moment and provides responsible property tax relief that works for [Coloradans] and their families,” said outgoing Senate President Sen. Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder. “The bill we passed this session will save Coloradans money on their property taxes, ensure homeowners don’t see an increase in their property taxes for 2024, and, starting in ‘25 and beyond, will implement additional relief and cash increases to avoid future property tax spikes.”

Education

Polis praised the passage of the Colorado Promise Act, which creates a refundable income tax credit covering two years of tuition at a community college for students from households earning less than $90,000 a year. The legislation received bipartisan sponsorship in both chambers.

House Speaker Rep. Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, spoke of the state’s years-long efforts to eliminate the budget stabilization factor, which finally happened this year. McCluskie also sponsored a bipartisan bill making changes to the state’s school finance formula, which she said focuses more on the students rather than systems.

“Until this year, we have not made meaningful changes on Colorado’s public school funding formula for more than 30 years,” she said. “It was antiquated, old, and not serving the students it needed to most. I’m so proud of the work that we did to make sure that at-risk students, English language learners, special education students, and those schools in rural settings get the resources they need.”

Environment

Another major deal between parties emerged in the oil and gas space.

Lawmakers approved a two-bill package centered on oil and gas production entities. One bill establishes a fee on oil and gas producers that will help fund the state’s transit initiatives, while the other directs the Department of Public Health and Environment to propose rules for the state’s air quality control commission to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) generated by the oil and gas industry in “ozone nonattainment areas” by 50% of the 2017 baseline in the next six years.

Bipartisanship

Democratic leaders also emphasized the significant bipartisanship displayed during the session, a stark contrast to the year before.

Several pieces of legislation on big-ticket items, such as property taxes, the environment and even firearms, received bipartisan sponsorship, something that was previously rare.

Although there were moments of contention between the parties, the leaders said they were, overall, very proud of the cooperative spirit exhibited by members from both sides of the aisle.

“I cannot tell you how proud I’m of Democrats and Republicans alike who showed up to deliver on the promises that they made to Coloradans in ways that were bipartisan, that were productive, and that truly make a difference for our great state,” McCluskie said.