Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday urged lawmakers to call a special session of the state legislature for the second time in a year to provide property tax relief to Colorado residents. The move is in response to a series of measures on the ballot in November that threaten to undermine the state’s tax system.

“The cost of inaction is too high,” Polis said in a statement. “We refuse to gamble with our schools, our economy and our future. The proposed ballot measures threaten to cut funding for K-12 and higher education, and Coloradans are counting on us to find a path forward that saves people money on property taxes while preserving these important institutions.”

This is the second time in less than a year that Polis has called a special session to address the property tax issue. convened last November after voters rejected Proposition HH, an earlier property tax plan supported by the governor and Democratic lawmakers.

This time, the special session is part of an agreement already reached with the backers of the two initiatives, the business group Colorado Concern and the conservative political nonprofit Advance Colorado. They agreed to withdraw the measures in exchange for legislation that would further cut taxes and more aggressively curb tax growth.

The General Assembly meets Aug. 26. The special session must last at least three days for a bill to be sent to the governor. Polis said he will not sign any legislation passed during the special session until the initiatives are taken off the ballot.

“I am confident that lawmakers will take bipartisan action to finally end the property tax war,” Polis said.

Michael Fields, president of Advance Colorado, called the special session a “huge victory” for Coloradans in a post on X.

The voting measures at the centre of the fight, Initiatives 50 And 108would cap property tax revenue growth at 4%, with no option for municipalities to opt out, and reduce residential and commercial property taxes by an estimated $2.4 billion. They would then require lawmakers to make up the funding losses. In Colorado, public schools, fire departments and other local services are funded by property tax revenue.

“Our vision for Colorado is a place where everyone, from the youngest learners to working families and older Coloradans, can succeed and afford a good life,” said House Speaker Julie McCluskie, Democrat of Dillon. “Initiatives 50 and 108 would do the opposite and jeopardize the future of our state by cutting funding for public schools, fire departments, health care, libraries, water infrastructure, and municipal parks and recreation centers.”

The initiatives would also directly support the long-negotiated bipartisan bill on property tax State lawmakers passed a bill this spring. The law prevented taxes from increasing too much while preventing or offsetting local funding losses, particularly for schools, but it did not result in an actual tax cut.

“As much as we are pleased with our monumental accomplishment, we have always stressed that more work is needed to provide relief to Colorado’s taxpayers,” Senate Republicans said in a joint statement. “We look forward to returning to the Gold Dome later this month and continuing our efforts to provide permanent and substantial relief to Colorado’s taxpayers by reducing residential and commercial property assessment rates.”

The meeting and the deal behind it take place in the middle of growing concerns about the increasing use of ballot proposals as a tool for wealthy interests to influence elected officials and the legislative process.

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