Colorado lawmakers will return to the Capitol later this month to cut property taxes after Gov. Jared Polis called a special session of the legislature on Thursday. It is the second year in a row that Polis has called lawmakers into a special session. to fix the problem.

The aim of the meeting, which will last at least three days starting August 26, is to find a compromise with supporters of two ballot proposals on property taxes. If approved by voters in November, these could place a heavy burden on the state budget.

“The cost of inaction is too high,” Polis said in a press release. “We refuse to gamble with our schools, our economy and our future.”

During the regular session this year, lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 233, which was intended as a compromise with groups seeking to cut taxes. Supporters of Initiatives 108 and 50 said the agreement still did not go far enough.

Initiative 50 would set a 4% annual cap on property tax revenue growth statewide. As a proposed constitutional amendment, it would require 55% approval of voters to pass.

Initiative 108 would lower the assessment rate used to calculate both residential and commercial properties, reducing property taxes by an estimated $3 billion in 2025. The majority of these tax revenues, which would otherwise go to local governments such as school districts, would have to be taken by the state.

As Election Day approaches, fears are growing about the impact of the ballot measures. Local governments and school districts have been pressuring the governor to call a special session in the hope that the groups supporting the initiatives will agree to remove them from discussion if a new deal is reached.

Club 20, a group representing counties on the Western Slope, signed a letter calling for the special session.

“What we really want is a long-term solution,” Brittany Dixon, the organization’s executive director, said in an interview. “We don’t know if a special session could help with that, but I think it would be good if we could get those ballot measures passed. And, you know, we should really try to think through the next steps.”

Advance Colorado and Colorado Concern, the two groups supporting the initiatives, have said they would withdraw their measures from the ballot if some minor changes were made to Senate Bill 233.

Senate Bill 233 provided millions of dollars in property tax cuts, proposed a separate assessment rate for school districts and other local districts, and established a 5.5% property tax cap for local governments, among other things.

A new compromise proposed to the state Property Tax Commission on Monday would include many of the same elements, with more property tax cuts and a slightly modified tax cap. Lawmakers must discuss the details of that plan during the special session.

Polis said he would not sign any bills until the groups removed the relevant measures from the ballot.

Voting will be completed by September 9.