Property Tax Reform Meets Federal Land Grabs

On August 26, 2024, Mark Baisley, Virginia Macha, and Natalie Menten joined the show. Introduced a three-page bill to decouple property taxes from property valuations, establishing 2021 district budgets as baselines with increases tied only to inflation and population growth Exposed FAST 41 as a federal mechanism bypassing state regulators to fast-track massive transmission corridors through eminent domain, threatening hundreds of miles of farmland.

A Simple Solution to Property Tax Chaos

Start listening at 16:31 – Hour 1

Mark Baisley, Colorado State Senator representing Douglas and Jefferson counties, breaks down the property tax crisis that began when voters repealed the Gallagher Amendment four years ago. Without Gallagher’s governing mechanism, property values skyrocketed 47% and taxes followed suit. Baisley sits on the 17-member property tax commission created after voters rejected Proposition HH, but expresses frustration that the commission showed little appetite for creative solutions.

The Senator introduces his alternative bill, a mere three pages compared to the 40-page bipartisan compromise. His approach decouples property valuations from property taxes entirely, establishing 2021 budgets as baselines for special districts with increases tied only to inflation and population growth. Representatives Brandi Bradley and Stephanie Luck co-sponsor the measure, along with Senator Van Winkle. Baisley anticipates Democrats will kill the bill but plans to bring it directly to voters as a ballot measure.

“What my bill that gets introduced this morning as a competitor bill, what this would do would be to dissociate, to decouple those two, property valuations and property taxes. Instead, it would establish the baseline of all our special districts, our water district, our fire district, our library districts.”

Mark Baisley, Colorado State Senator

The Federal Land Grab Nobody Saw Coming

Start listening at 34:10 – Hour 1

Virginia Macha with Stand for the Land Kansas reveals a federal power grab hiding in plain sight. FAST 41, buried within the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill, fast-tracks massive transmission corridors under the guise of national security. The Grain Belt Express, a 480-mile DC transmission line carrying 700 megawatts, will bisect Kansas with no off-ramps for local energy needs, all through eminent domain.

State regulators and the public have been locked out of the process entirely. Macha discovered that Joe Biden designated the Grain Belt Express as critical infrastructure the day after she organized a meeting in Dodge City to educate landowners. Ten giant National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors threaten the Midwest, with Colorado facing its own Mountain Plains Southwest corridor spanning 540 miles and up to 100 miles wide near Pueblo.

The good news emerges from local action. Organized landowners changed 21 incumbent county commissioners in the Kansas primary, with more challenges coming in the general election. Stand for the Land Kansas connects citizens through targeted zip code information and public hearings.

“We will literally turn western Kansas into a desert of glass and wind for energy not meant for Kansas, that will be transferred to the east and west coast, where they have terrible power policies.”

Virginia Macha, Stand for the Land Kansas

The Fight for Local Petition Rights

Start listening at 70:04 – Hour 2

Natalie Menten, Jefferson County Commissioner candidate and longtime taxpayer advocate, has saved Colorado taxpayers millions over three decades of watchdog work. She runs against an incumbent who spent ten years in court trying to overturn TABOR entirely. The incumbent recently stated publicly that he does not care if taxpayer money subsidizes undocumented immigrants through government housing programs.

Menten sounds the alarm on Senate Bill 24B-0004, sponsored by Representative Weissman and Senator Hansen. The bill would require any statewide property tax initiative to receive secondary approval from local voters, but provides no mechanism for how such votes would occur. Citizens cannot petition at the county, school district, or special district level, meaning statewide initiatives remain the only avenue for property tax reform.

Metropolitan districts exemplify the problem. Developers sitting at conference tables create taxing entities, waive TABOR rights before residents move in, and saddle homeowners with hefty mill levies. Citizens cannot petition to cap these taxes after the fact. Menten argues the legislature should refer a constitutional amendment granting citizens local petition rights rather than restricting statewide initiatives.

“But these are county commissioners who determine your property tax rates, whether you’re being overcharged and whether that county commissioner will just cut your tax bill at the beginning, so you don’t even have to put it out of pocket and wait for a TABR refund.”

Natalie Menten, Jefferson County Commissioner Candidate