United Veterans Committee Crafting State Legislative Agenda for 2022. TDIU Veterans Issue Proposed to the Committee

Among many other proposals, the United Veterans Coalition state legislative affairs committee is considering vets rated by VA as 100% Total Disability for Individual Unemployability veterans (TDIU) for the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption. This issue is being weighed for inclusion in the UVC 2022 legislative agenda to be firmed up this summer for the next legislative session.

The decision will be based on input from all levels of UVC organizational members. This is an issue I've advocated about for six years. I ask everyone to get behind this agenda item, voicing your support directly to the state legislative affairs committee and the executive committee as all such potential agenda issues are being weighed this summer.  

Inclusion of TDIU veterans affects about 2,000 Colorado vet homeowners and survivors, at a cost to Colorado at about $2.6M. Voters originally approved the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption as Referendum E in 2006. The Blue Book described the benefit for "totally disabled veterans unable to work" due to line-of-duty injuries and illnesses. Somehow, "unemployability" was written into the enabling legislation and statue after the amendment was approved. That's not what the voters thought we were approving.

I hope the legislature to include these ignored 100% disabled veterans by exercising its authority to redefine "qualified veteran." A revised statute can include TDIU vets. 

Colorado utilizes VA definitions for management of veterans benefits, so it is very telling to see VA's own rules from VAM21-1 on TDIU. Read carefully, and compare to the language of Referendum E, the enabling statute and the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption form and instructions.

As for Gold Star Wives, the Legislative Support Staff calculated the cost to Colorado would be only $93,000, so it is very, very hard to understand why every Democrat voted against these 140 Gold Star Wives' much too small a benefit.

United Veterans Coalition Considering Agenda Item: Property Tax Exemption for Gold Star Wives

 The United Veterans Coalition state legislative affairs committee is considering addition of the Gold Star Wives Disabled Veteran Survivor Property Tax Exemption for inclusion in the 2022 legislative agenda.

The decision will be based on input from the Gold Star Wives and other primary organization members. I encourage everyone having an opinion on the issue to voice it through their primary group representatives.

The issue was unanimously approved by the Colorado House in the session just ended but killed by the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. The idea was to submit a referendum to the voters next term, amending the constitution's Article X Section 3.5 to include these active-duty troops' survivors. I believe the change could have been made via statute, a much easier path than changing the consitution.

The Legislative Support Staff calculated the cost to Colorado would be only $93,000, so it is very, very hard to understand why every Democrat voted against these 140 Gold Star Wives' small benefit.

COLORADO SENATE SNUBBED FAMILIES – KILLED GOLD STAR WIVES' PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION

June 7 2021: Colorado Senate killed Gold Star Wives bill for
given survivors of totally disabled veterans (HCR21-1002

Last week the Colorado Senate really disappointed me. It killed a bill to include Gold Star Wives (widows of troops who die in the line of duty) the same small property tax exemption given widows of totally disabled veterans.

Did senators think our widows don't need the exemption to keep their homes and survive on the puny $1350 per month VA death benefit?

Thousands of survivors of Colorado's disabled vets already get this exemption as they should – but the Senate refused it to our 140 Gold Star Wives. These survivors are denied the exemption only because their servicemembers died in the line of duty on active duty rather than as disabled veterans after active duty.

Esteemed Senators: did you give this any thought before you killed HCR21-1002, passed unanimously by the House?

 

Colorado Senators - You KILLED Veteran's Survivor Property Tax Exemption for my Widow? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

         What Were You Thinking?
NOT ABOUT ME, MY WIFE OR MY KIDS!
THAT'S FOR CERTAIN!

 

Colorado Voters Have a Long Memory - especially about how veterans and their survivors are treated

I believe Colorado's Democrat legislators have initiated the more important advances in veterans' benefits, but it would be wrong to conclude that either party is truly disinterested or uncaring. Democrats controlled the House and Senate in 2006 under a Republican governor and are together credited with getting Referendum E in front of the voters. There, the constitutional amendment found overwhelming support. This established the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Exemption in 2007 and reflected well on both parties.

Yet Democrats were particularly uncaring on June 7, 2021 when the Colorado Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted down HCR21-1002 (by pure party line vote). The bill had been approved unanimously by the House to correct an awkward problem in our Disabled Veteran Survivor Property Tax Exemption. 

This small property tax exemption was initially offered to totally disabled veterans and saved them about $640 a year. The Legislature updated the exemption with HB14-1373 in 2014 to provide for veterans' survivors who were already in receipt of the exemption. Repeat: the exemption was for survivors of a vet already receiving the exemption.

Sadly, that language overlooked the real-world tragedy that not all troops survive to come home to be veterans. Colorado's current tax statute denies the exemption to every widow of every servicemember lost in the line of duty while on active service.

Get the distinction? Get disabled but survive to come home and the exemption is there for your survivor. Sacrifice far more and die in the line of duty and your survivor gets denied the exemption. Widows from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and recent conflicts are refused this exemption because their spouses died on duty, rather than surviving to come home and "be in receipt." 

HCR21-1002 was going to fix that unfortunate wording of the statute so our 140 Colorado Gold Star Widows could qualify for the same small partial property tax exemption. But the opportunity to do the right thing on June 7 was shot down when every Democrat on the state senate's veterans and military affairs committee voted against the bill. There were some heartless phrases thrown around that "we'll have to look at this important issue during next session" and "let's get focused on this next year for something by 2024."

These Democrats might not have known than 80% of these widows are over 60 and 40% are over 65. They've done without the exemption due veterans' widows since losing their husbands in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and more recent conflicts. The state senate turned its back on these survivors.

The Senate made a mistake. Voters took note.

 

C-123 Veterans Association Joins Colorado's United Veterans Coalition

To better support state and federal veterans' issues, The C-123 Veterans Association has affiliated with Colorado's United Veterans Coalition (UVC.) UVC is the single most effective voice for over 350,000 veterans in Colorado. It brings together the VA and nearly every interested organization and political entity in the state.

RADM Dick Young USNR (Ret.) was elected president last week. UVC will celebrate is annual banquet on June 27 and tickets are still available.

How'd that Colorado Senate vote go for Gold Star Wives' property tax exemption?

June 7 2021: HOW DID COLORADO STATE SENATORS VOTE TO PERMIT GOLD STAR WIDOWS THE SAME PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION COLORADO GIVES DISABLED VETS' WIDOWS? One Guess.

   DEMOCRATS = 100% NO              GOP = 100% YES

Interesting. And very, very  revealing. Every senator* who voted "YES" to honor our Gold Star Wives with SJR21-010 in May seemed to see things differently on June 7, and voted "NO" on HCR21-1002.

Thumbs down on spending $93,000 to permit these 140 widows of active-duty troops same small partial property tax exemption Colorado now gives survivors of our 100% disabled veterans.

Here are their empty words from SJR21-010 tossed to the wind, now shown to be useless and meaningless:

"That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly honor the pride and the pain of the parents and partners and children and siblings of our fallen heroes and recognize the families of these proud patriots with an expression of profound gratitude and respect."

* voting no:

• • State Sen. Julie Gonzales 
  D District 34, Chair

• 
  

• • State Sen. James Coleman
  D District 33, Vice Chair
  
  • State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis
  D District 17
  
  
  
  
  
  

COLORADO SENATE PRIORITIES FOR 2021 AND 2022

2021 SENATE PRIORITIES - what were they?

                   2022 SENATE PRIORITIES  - what will they be?

Gold Star Wives didn't do well in the 2021 session of the Colorado legislature. Let's hope both parties remember a shared and important core value next year: To support veterans when they return to the home front by working to enhance veteran benefits.

SENATORS, PLEASE DO BETTER IN 2022!

 

Genuine thanks are due the Colorado House of Representatives!

I must set aside my disappointment with the Colorado Senate Veterans Committee killing HCR21-1001 last week. The House is due a salute and my most sincere thanks for their amazing step of a unanimous vote approving HCR21-1001. 

"...submitting to the registered electors of the state of Colorado an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning the extension of the property tax exemption for qualifying seniors and disabled veterans to the Gold Star Spouses of deceased members of the United States Armed Forces. "

Thank you, Republicans and Democrats in the Colorado House of Representatives for your unanimous approval of HCR21-1002 that you forwarded to the Senate where others decided $93,000 was just too much to "honor" survivors of our servicemembers.

 Earlier, well before any news of HCR21-1002's existence, I have expected and urged a statutory approach to protecting Gold Star Wives by exercising the legislature's power to redefine terms, thus avoiding the two-year delay built into HCR21-1002, and resolving the issue with 2022 legislation.

Gold Star Wives Are Due the Disabled Veteran Survivor Property Tax Exemption

 

Colorado proudly honors survivors of our totally disabled veterans...thousands of them,
but ignores 140 equally worthy Gold Star Wives