General Assembly works to help National Guard, ease property taxes
Members of the Colorado National Guard, who are called out by the governor to help with natural disasters, should not have to use vacation time from their jobs when they’re out for longer periods of time, under a bill approved by the General Assembly’s House State, Civil, Military & Veterans Committee on Jan. 26.
Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling is the Senate sponsor of House Bill 1045, which won unanimous approval from the committee and now awaits action from the full House.
The bill would require employers to grant up to three weeks of leave, paid or unpaid, for members of the Guard. Previously, state law said the service member could take up to 15 days. The bill clarifies that the three weeks are calculated on the employee’s regular work schedule.
The National Guard is the only component that can perform both federal and state missions, said House sponsor Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton. When they’re on federal missions, which is 90% of the time, members are covered under federal law, which offers “robust” protections that ensure a member has a job to go back to when the Guard service is over.
When on state duties, however, they are no longer covered under the reemployment protections provided by federal law.
In state law, National Guard members are granted 15 days of leave for military duties. But many National Guard members don’t work the traditional 8 to 5 jobs, Evans said. Firefighters, for example, may work 24-hour shifts, and that could equal as much as six weeks of leave. The bill clarifies that the member is entitled to three weeks of leave, based on the member’s regular work schedule.
State law is also unclear about what happens when the leave is exhausted, Evans said. Some employers require that paid leave must be used up before granting unpaid leave, a situation that could arise during lengthy time spent away from the job fighting wildfires, for example. That could force a member to take vacation time while out on duty, Evans said. The bill would allow the service member to take either unpaid or paid leave from the employer to do their Guard duty, at the member’s choice.
Property tax bump expected
Pelton is working on another issue with several House members: property taxes.
Lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis have been talking about a big bump in property taxes, expected in the 2023 and 2024 property tax years. In his state of the state address, Polis said residential property values have grown by more than 26% over the last two years, far exceeding the increase in people’s incomes.
Lawmakers set aside $700 million in tax credits during the 2022 session to cover a portion of that increase for 2023 and 2024. Polis is seeking another $200 million in the 2023-24 state budget.
But the governor also said the state needs long-term property tax relief to protect people from being priced out of their homes and – at the same time – protect school funding, which relies heavily on property taxes.
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