Colorado State Capital
\n200 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80203<\/p>\n
Honorable Senators of Colorado,<\/p>\n
Vail Valley Partnership (VVP) is the regional chamber of commerce representing Eagle County, Colorado. Our organization has over 860 member organizations, representing over 80% of the local workforce from Vail Pass to Glenwood Canyon.<\/p>\n
I am writing today in support of SB 262<\/strong>, and as important, the amendments which will be offered thereto.\u00a0 SB 262, as you know, proposes to repeal and replace the SB 228 funding mechanism\/formula with a fixed appropriation for the balance of the 3 years left in the 228 commitment. \u00a0The proposal and its fixed appropriation to transportation present the opportunity to restore transportation in the general fund on a long-term basis without harming other aspects of the budget and provides the path for inclusion of an existing general fund source into the transportation funding\/finance debate \u2014 HB 1242 in particular, but certainly in whatever form the final resolution should take.<\/p>\n We encourage you to show your support for this important legislation. It is our belief that dedicated transportation funding will have a positive impact on the state of Colorado and that SB262 \u2013 with dedicated funding appropriations \u2013 can serve as the base funding for transportation.<\/p>\n We are especially enthused about the opportunity for amendments\u00a0 to extend the timeline for funding to help achieve the goal of having\u00a0\u201cexisting revenues\u201d in the transportation\u00a0funding package for which we and many others have advocated. \u00a0Additionally, passage of $160M in existing General Fund revenue, when connected to HB 1242, would allow the sales tax rate in HB 1242 to be decreased to a .46% increase rather than the proposed .62%. \u00a0Such reduction could make the tax increase more palatable to voters and would provide more tax capacity for local governments while providing the same level of funding ($702M\/year) for the proposal.<\/p>\n