Proposition 120 on Colorado’s statewide fall ballot made the news again the other day when it picked up the support of Gov. Jared Polis. Glad to have him aboard, of course, but there are bigger reasons for the rest of the public to vote YES on this citizens initiative:

• It cuts property taxes;
• It rebukes the legislature for its outrageous attempt last June to sabotage the proposal;
• It defies state lawmakers’ assaults on a fundamental civil right — the public’s power to petition government directly for change.

As explained in the state’s “Blue Book” ballot guide mailed recently to voters, Proposition 120 will lower property tax assessment rates for apartments and other multifamily housing. It will lower rates on “lodging properties” like hotels, as well. And the measure will let the state retain $25 million a year in revenue through 2027, over and above constitutional spending limits, so the funds can be used by counties to offset local “homestead” property-tax exemptions for seniors and disabled veterans.

The roughly $100 million in property taxes Prop 120 will cut over its first two years will benefit a lot of Coloradans. Most notably, those who live in apartments — who essentially pay property taxes through their monthly rent. The same goes for anyone who ever stays in a hotel room in the state. Hoteliers pass on property taxes in their room rates. And Prop 120, like all tax cuts, will have a ripple effect across the economy, benefiting many, many more people.

Prop 120 could have done much more — and still might, pending possible legal action in court.

The proposal as originally drafted and proposed to the public last spring would have cut assessment rates for single-family homes and other kinds of real property. That would have saved Colorado homeowners and other property owners an estimated $1 billion-plus a year. It would have been a big hedge against soaring home prices.

But Prop 120 was gutted — by the treachery of the Colorado General Assembly.

Back in June, when the COVID-delayed 2021 legislature was winding down, lawmakers pulled a stunt that was beneath even their usual, low standard for integrity. What they did was a slap in the face to all Colorado taxpayers and a betrayal of the basic democratic principles they all claim to hold dear.

Having gotten wind of Prop 120 in its early stages — while its rank-and-file supporters were diligently gathering enough signatures statewide to qualify the proposal for this fall’s ballot — the legislature pulled the rug out from under them. Lawmakers did so by essentially rewriting the state’s property tax code so that that Prop 120 wouldn’t apply to most real property.

They filed a last-minute bill that replaced the state’s two property tax classifications — commercial and residential — with multiple new categories. It lumped most of the state’s taxable property into those new categories. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver, and Sen. Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale, effectively took much of Colorado’s commercial and residential property off of the previous tax rolls. So, any subsequent tax cut drafted to apply to the old categories would have much less to cut. And Prop 120’s official ballot language and scope already had been approved by the state. It couldn’t be changed without restarting the initiative and beginning the epic process of gathering signatures all over again.

Make no mistake, Prop 120 still offers important tax relief and is worth adopting. It would merit a YES vote even on that basis alone.

What’s more, if the proposal passes on Nov. 2, 120’s proponents are said to be preparing for a court battle to restore it to its original strength. Their aim is for a court to nullify last spring’s legislative trickery on the basis it undermines our ability to petition government — a civil right enshrined in Colorado’s constitution. If a court ruled in their favor, it would unscramble the property tax assessment classifications and restore the more than $1 billion tax cut. Amendment backers have promised a significant and robust legal effort toward that end.

Such a court ruling would have another effect, too. It would make clear lawmakers may not monkey-wrench the citizens initiative process. It would be held sacrosanct.

In other words, there is much more at stake here than tax cuts or fiscal policy in general, as important as those are. After all, if lawmakers simply can rewrite statutes to no longer apply to any pending ballot issues they don’t like, it would to all intents and purposes kill the citizens initiative process. It would concentrate all lawmaking power in the hands of the legislature. Which, sadly, is what so many lawmakers have wanted all along.

A YES vote for Prop 120’s property tax cut is also a YES vote for a potentially much bigger property tax cut down the line. It’s a YES vote to push back at the legislature for its gall. And it’s a YES vote to fight for our fundamental civil right to petition for change. Vote YES on 120.