This article contains firsthand information gathered by reporters. This includes directly interviewing sources and analyzing primary source documents.
When the Colorado legislative session began in January, Peter Kaldes counted up nearly 50 bills related to aging.
As CEO of Next50, a Denver nonprofit on a mission to make Colorado a better place for residents as they grow older, Kaldes said he was being generous when he came up with 50. Most weren’t related to people over 65 directly. When he narrowed it down again to bills that dealt with economic issues related to getting older, there were 18.
Twelve passed.
“We were surprised that a number of them passed. It’s a good sign,” said Kaldes, who joined the Next50 last summer. “But in the grand scheme of things, aging is not a priority in terms of legislative activity. … It’s really expensive to get old in this country.”
Colorado is getting older due to a slowdown in births and increase in deaths. As the state’s demographer has put it, there are more Coloradans over 60 than residents under 18 and soon it will be those aged 65 and older. That’s why organizations like Next50 have emerged in the past decade to push for state policies that help Coloradans as they age. It’s still tough to get that message across, even for a group like AARP, which has been advocating for decades.
“The 2024 session was very challenging, especially in terms of funding for senior services that allow older adults to remain in their communities and age in place,” said AARP Colorado State Director Sara Schueneman. “However, overall some very good issues are being addressed and we will be back next year to continue to fight for older Coloradans.”
AARP Colorado was tracking 75 bills and counted nine wins, though not necessarily because the bills passed. Senate Bill 60, for example, failed in the Senate leaving AARP “pleased with the outcome, as it would have limited the expensive medications eligible for Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board review,” Schueneman said in an email.
Here’s a look at the legislation highlighted by AARP and Next50 to help Colorado Sun readers better understand new laws impacting anyone who’s getting older.
House Bill 1142 lowers the age that folks receiving social security benefits can reduce their taxable state income. Instead of residents older than 64 (“an arbitrary line,” Kaldes pointed out), those 55 and older now have no cap on those federal benefits, though there’s a $20,000 reduction limit for other forms of pensions or annuity income.
Another bill very much in line with Coloradans getting older is an income tax credit for care workers. House Bill 1312 allows care workers to take a tax credit of $1,200 per individual. There are income limits and cover direct-care workers in nursing facilities and home health care (it also applies to child care workers in eligible programs).
“It’s fantastic because if you’re a direct care worker, you’re already making minimum wage and to get a tax credit for that work honors that work and it’s increasingly needed to age in place,” Kaldes said.
He said he was disappointed that while Senate Bill 40 passed, lawmakers removed a $5 million appropriation that could have replaced federal COVID relief money no longer available this year. But the bill does require a periodic review to see if funding for senior services is adequate.
Additionally, House Bill 1211, which passed, provides a $2 million contingency reserve for the aging agencies in a pinch, as was the case in December when a Meals on Wheels program ran out of money, leaving 550 elderly people without meals.
And an amendment to the state budget added $2 million for senior services in the long bill, a win noted by AARP as well.
A number of housing bills did pass that could impact older residents. Among them was House Bill 1152, which creates a statewide approach for accessory dwelling units. It overrides certain local regulations restricting homeowners who want to build ADUs, sometimes called mother-in-law units, in the backyard. “It supports the idea of aging and community aging in place,” Kaldes said.
Similarly, House Bill 1007 prohibits local governments from enforcing restrictions on how many people can live in a house. That helps budget-minded roommates trying to scrape together rent money, or extended families who are taking care of older family members.
“We’re excited about it because it could allow for more multigenerational housing solutions,” Kaldes said. “Home sharing, really innovative ideas around a modern version of how the Golden Girls lived, and actually having policy that supports that.”
The state’s homestead exemption, which reduces property taxes for qualified homeowners 65 and older, also got a few new features. Senate Bill 111 passed as a two-year program for portability so “Aging homeowners who need to move and/or downsize, but did not previously qualify, will benefit from this expanded tax exemption,” Schueneman said.
Another bill that passed, House Bill 1052, reinstates a senior housing income tax credit for tax year 2024 to help renters and homeowners who don’t qualify for the homestead property tax exemption. This credit was initially created in 2022.
One that didn’t pass, House Bill 1057, seemed like it would help prevent age discrimination by landlords by prohibiting the use of an algorithmic device to determine rent, Kaldes said. It failed after an amendment was added that was allegedly written by a software company under investigation for price fixing, according to a Denver Post report.
➔ AARP Colorado’s 75 bills. See what AARP followed in its bill tracker. >> VIEW HERE
CATCH UP: 101 bills debated by the Colorado legislature in 2024 that you need to know about
The Colorado Sun pored through the more than 700 measures debated at the Capitol this year to highlight the most notable ones that passed and failed.
In-depth:
➔ Abortion seekers continue to flood Colorado for care. 85% of people requesting travel help are Texans. A fund that helps people pay for abortions and the travel costs to reach Colorado is anticipating $2.5 million in requests this year >> Read story
➔ Denver youth homeless shelter set to open in July scales back costs after losing wage dispute. Urban Peak, which is building a four-story, 136-bed shelter for young people ages 15-24, will have to pay an estimated $2 million in labor costs after losing its appeal >> Read story
➔ Colorado companies share how they use AI to make business better. Local AI startups are using generative artificial intelligence to add features and automation to achieve what they never thought possible. Where do the guardrails go? >> Read story
➔ A rare win after nearly 40 years for Texas investors planning Wolf Creek Village. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month threw out previous rulings and affirmed the Forest Service’s approval of a road accessing the island of private land atop Wolf Creek Pass >> Read story
➔ Denver’s wages kept up with rents much better than U.S. That’s what the data shows for 2023, when rents increased 3% while wages improved by 5.1%, according to an analysis by Zillow and StreetEasy. Step back five years though to compare wage increases to rent growth and Denver metro area renters are slightly negative. Between 2019-2023, Denver rents grew 23.1% while wages increased 20.3% for a 2.8-point gap. That’s better than the U.S., where the gap was 10.2. And much better than Tampa, Fla., where the gap was 34.7 points. >> See map
➔ 7 out of 8 bills dubbed “job killers” are defeated. The Colorado Chamber of Commerce fought eight bills this session that would create an “overly complex regulatory environment” and kill jobs, the Chamber said. The one that got away from the Chamber? House Bill 1008, which requires general contractors to cover wage theft committed by a subcontractor. Wage theft, which happens when an employer doesn’t pay the full amount owed, is most common in professions like construction, agricultural work and day laborers.
➔ Hayden creating entrepreneurial center. The town of Hayden plans to use a $400,000 grant from Colorado’s Office of Just Transition to build the Yampa Valley Entrepreneurship Center to spur innovation and entrepreneurship in a community transitioning after closures of coal-fired power plants and coal mines. It’ll complement another venture to build the Northwest Colorado Business District in town. The city broke ground on the 117-acre business district earlier this month, according to officials. In addition to the grant for the new center, the state’s Department of Local Affairs provided a $150,000 grant and the Boettcher Foundation also awarded the project $50,000. >> Grant info
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What’s Working is a Colorado Sun column about surviving in today’s economy. Email tamara@coloradosun.com with stories, tips or questions. Read the archive, ask a question at cosun.co/heyww and don’t miss the next one by signing up at coloradosun.com/getww.
