Front Range rail bill SB26-172 advances with appointed subdistrict boards holding ad valorem taxing power

DENVER — Colorado’s Front Range Passenger Rail District would be empowered to divide itself into subdistricts whose appointed boards inherit the financial powers of any other Colorado special district, under SB26-172, the bill heading to Senate Appropriations on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. in Legislative Services Building Room B.

Those powers are listed in Colorado Revised Statutes section 32-1-1101, the common-financial-powers chapter of the Colorado Special District Act. They include the authority to levy and collect ad valorem taxes on all taxable property within the special district, the authority to levy taxes when indebtedness has been incurred to fund reserve accounts for interest and operating costs, and the authority to issue negotiable coupon bonds. Any new tax established by the district or by any subdistrict still requires voter approval at a statewide general election or on the first Tuesday of November in an odd-numbered year, per Section 4 of the bill.

The legislation is sponsored by four Democrats: Senator Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo, the lead Senate sponsor, Senator Cathy Kipp of Larimer County, who serves as President Pro Tempore, Representative Andrew Boesenecker of Larimer County, who serves as Speaker Pro Tempore, and Representative Amy Paschal of Colorado Springs.

The Front Range Passenger Rail District itself was established by SB21-238 to plan an interconnected passenger rail system along the Interstate 25 corridor between Wyoming and New Mexico. According to the bill’s initial fiscal note, the existing district is governed by a board of 17 voting and 7 non-voting members, and is already authorized to seek voter approval for taxes, assessments, or bonds.

What SB26-172 changes

Section 1 of the preamended bill enumerates 30 municipalities whose entire territory is included in the district by operation of law, from Fort Collins south to Trinidad and Starkville, and including Sterling Ranch’s metropolitan districts in unincorporated Douglas County. Northglenn was on the introduced list but was struck on April 27 by a Senate Transportation & Energy committee amendment (SB172_L.003) requested by Senator Kyle Mullica (D-Adams County), whose district includes the city.

Section 2 requires that any director appointed to the district board on or after July 1, 2026 reside within the district, while preserving the appointments of directors already serving.

Section 3 is the structural change at the center of public debate. It authorizes the existing district board to “divide the district into one or more subdistricts” under the procedures of CRS 32-1-1101, and provides that each subdistrict “has the same board, powers, duties, function, and form” as a 32-1-1101(1)(f) subdistrict. The voting members of a subdistrict board must either be appointed by an entity that includes territory within the subdistrict, or reside within the subdistrict.

Because Colorado’s special-district financial powers section grants a special-district board the authority to levy ad valorem taxes on all taxable property within the district, to levy taxes for bond-servicing reserves once indebtedness has been incurred, and to issue negotiable coupon bonds, those same powers attach to subdistrict boards by reference. Any new tax, however, still has to clear the voters of the affected district or subdistrict per Section 4. The same section also requires voter approval for any multi-fiscal-year debt subject to TABOR.

The testimony angle

Mike Rawluk of the Ralston Valley Coalition, who testified in opposition before the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee and discussed the bill on The Kim Monson Show Wednesday, told Kim Monson that the structural concern is representation. “Just a concept that I’m wrestling with more than anything right now is the fact that boards of appointed districts or boards of appointed situations can actually be conferred the power to raise your taxes, yet they’re unelected,” Rawluk said.

Rawluk projected that the rail district will refer a half-cent sales tax measure to the November ballot, and used Arvada, which under the bill is included in the district but would not host a station, as a worked example. Adding a hypothetical 0.5 percent rail tax to Arvada’s current 7.96 percent combined sales-tax rate would put the city at 8.46 percent. The half-cent rate is not specified in SB26-172 itself; the bill creates the legal mechanism for the district to refer a tax measure rather than authorizing a specific rate.

Rawluk characterized the inclusion criterion sponsors articulated in committee as a station within five miles of 20 percent of a jurisdiction’s population. The bill text itself does not codify that numeric threshold. Section 1 lists municipalities by name.

On the subdistrict question, Rawluk pointed listeners to the cross-reference. “Front range passenger district will now be able to create sub districts and they get the power of a, was it 32-1-1101? I know it’s just a CRS reference, but common financial powers definition,” he said. He read the operative subsections aloud, including the language conferring the power “to levy and collect ad valorem taxes” on “all taxable property within the special district” and the authority “to issue negotiable coupon bonds.”

CUT opposes

The Colorado Union of Taxpayers, the nonprofit where Kim Monson serves as president, has rated SB26-172 as a strong NO. In its 2026 tracked-bills publication, the organization wrote: “RTD is a huge drain and strain on all taxpayers and has been for decades. It has never had the ridership to justify its completed projects yet alone, even more projects. This plan resembles something that California has done with the infamous ‘Bullet Train.’ This proposed legislation is not needed and unwarranted; there is simply no demand for such a boondoggle. It is a land grab that will entail a great deal of eminent domain all the way from Wyoming to New Mexico.”

The Front Range Passenger Rail District is currently funded in part by a $3-per-day rental car congestion impact fee created by SB24-184 in the 2024 session, plus oil and gas-related revenue mechanisms.

What’s next

Senate Appropriations is scheduled to hear SB26-172 on Thursday, April 30 at 8:30 a.m. in Legislative Services Building Room B. If the bill clears appropriations, it would proceed to Senate second and third readings, then cross over to the House. The 2026 regular session of the Colorado General Assembly ends Wednesday, May 13. Coloradans can register a position on the bill through CUT’s CUT Engaged action page or by contacting their state senator directly.