COLORADO LEGISLATURE & GOVERNMENT: "TDIU VETS ARE ON THEIR OWN"

 Colorado voters approved Referendum E in 2006, not knowing that the legislature had already defined "qualified veteran" so as to exclude vets with the VA "total disability for individual unemployability," (TDIU.) 

Colorado's legislators and government officials chose to interpret the requirement for the "VA 100% rating" so as to exclude totally and permanently disabled veterans who are compensated at the 100% level...because they are in fact totally and permanently disabled. The only difference being, 

TDIU veterans have a totally disabling injury, worse than standard VA tables are meant to recognize, that is in fact totally and permanently disabling. These are the same totally and permanently disabled veterans – one honored by Colorado with a small property tax exemption and the other totally ignored. Are they less somehow than worthy in the eyes of our mostly non-veteran legislators?

Actually, to be completely correct, TDIU vets haven't been truly ignored. That's because the only attention given TDIU veterans by
Colorado's legislature and government has been opposition to extending to these vets, totally and permanently disabled in the line of duty, the small property tax exemption.

That's the extent of their efforts. Less than zero, because it was years of "absolutely not" instead of "let's find a way." That has meant years of being denied the specific constitutional benefit voters were told we approved as Article X Section 3.5 for all of Colorado's veterans with honorable service who became permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty. 

Have we abandoned thousands of Colorado's TDIU veterans?

Many voices now calling for Colorado's Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption to be properly applied

Today I attended Colorado Senator John Kefalas' community coffee in Fort Collins. He was impressive in his grasp of budget, transportation, energy, childhood nutrition and other issues.

He kindly invited me to explain my perspective on Colorado's Article X Section 3.5, and the imperfect way the subsequent legislation has excluded two groups of otherwise eligible disabled veterans.

Senator Kefalas explained that both chambers of the Legislature have requests for "late bills" for leadership to consider, although the President of the Senate seems to have already denied us. Not only is the Senator in support of us, but he explained that so, too, is the United Veterans Committee and its legislative representative Mr. Bill Hanna, and the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs itself! What great news.

Regardless of party, our region is well-represented in Denver.

Legislative History of HB07-1251, statutes to implement Referendum E [Article X Section 3.5 , "Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption"]

I learned more history about the senior and disabled veteran property tax exemption, based on some research conducted in the Capital Thursday morning. Kind folks in the Colorado Legislative Counsel's office provided a.complete history of the evolution of HB07-1251, the statute which implemented Article X Section 3.5 of the constitution, following approval by the electorate of Referendum E. Our next step will be listening to the audio tapes of deliberations.

CLC's Blue Book, the Legislature's "sales brochure" promoting the referendum, described the veterans to be covered by the referendum:

"Who qualifies for the tax reduction? Homeowners who have served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and are rated 100-percent permanently disabled by the federal government due to a service-connected disability qualify for the tax reduction in Referendum E. Colorado National Guard members injured while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces also qualify. Veterans are rated 100-percent permanently disabled when a mental or physical injury makes it impossible for the average person to hold a job and the disability is lifelong.Nationally, less than one percent of veterans have a 100-percent permanent disability rating. About 2,200 veterans are expected to qualify for the property tax reduction in Colorado."

The first version of HB07-1251's description of qualified veteran was exactly as per Article X Section 3.5 of the constitution as it remains today:

 (1.5) For purposes of this section, "disabled veteran" means an individual who has served on active duty in the United States armed forces, including a member of the Colorado national guard who has been ordered into the active military service of the United States, has been separated therefrom under honorable conditions, and has established a service-connected disability that has been rated by the federal department of veterans affairs as one hundred percent permanent disability through disability retirement benefits or a pension pursuant to a law or regulation administered by the department, the department of homeland security, or the department of the army, navy, or air force. 

The next version of HB07-1251 ("Engrossed" version) made the changes in definition of qualified veteran. Those changes remained static thereafter until signed by the governor.

(3.5) "Qualifying disabled veteran" means an individual who has served on active duty in the United States armed forces, including a member of the Colorado National Guard who has been ordered into the active military service of the United States, has been separated therefrom under honorable conditions, and has established a service-connected disability that has been rated by the United States department of veterans affairs as one hundred percent permanent and total disability pursuant to a law or regulation administered by the department.

(Simply dropped from the final statute was the last phrase of the constitution., "through disability retirement benefits or a pension pursuant to a law or regulation administered by the department, the department of homeland security, or the department of the army, navy, or air force.")

CONCLUSION:
1. In its Blue Book for 2006, the Legislature obviously included, and the electorate approved, Colorado veterans whose disabilities were total, permanent, service-connected and that made veterans unemployable. In the actual wording for Referendum E, however, no specific mention was made of unemployable terms, and still the VA rating for unemployability complies with the referendum's specifics. CdmVA ends up refusing these totally disabled vets the exemption, opposite the people's goal.

2. The Legislature's first pass at legislation also had no reference to employability issues but did specify military permanent and total disability retirements as qualified for the property tax exemption. By the second version (Engrossed) military disability retirements were not mentioned, and that version of the definition was carried into the stature and into effect today.

3. Colorado Division of Veterans Affairs complies with the statute, not the constitution, and denies property tax exemption to two groups of disabled veterans specified by the people when we amended the constitution to add the exemption to veterans. For some reason not apparent in the legislative history of HB07-1251, "unemployability" went from acceptable to specifically refused by CDMVA. The constitutional provision recognizing military service disability ratings was cut from HB07-1251 in the Engrossed version, without comment...it just disappeared. CMDVA also excludes those veterans which obviously conflicts with the constitution.