Gov. Polis waited until no one was looking before doing the right thing and scribbling his veto pen all over a Democrat bill that trampled property rights by granting government the supreme power of first refusal to buy certain housing when it hits the market.
House Bill 1190 was propagandized to be a needed fix to making housing more affordable, and yet it would have suppressed the real estate market and achieved the opposite.
From the Colorado Real Estate Alliance — an organization of 17 business groups:
“While on its surface the intent of the bill appears to help alleviate issues associated with Colorado’s affordable housing crisis, it actually confiscates valuable rights from Colorado property owners and creates opportunities for local governments to cease voluntary private property transactions and suppress the real estate market and Colorado economy,” the CREA letter reads. “Along with our state’s elected leaders, residents and business community, we agree that housing affordability and availability is a critical issue that must be addressed; however, we also believe that this legislation has the potential to limit capital investments in multi-family housing, making it less attainable — the very dynamic our state is trying so diligently to avoid.”
In killing the legislation, thankfully, Polis wrote in his veto letter that he supports “local governments’ ability to buy these properties on the open market and preserve low-cost housing opportunities but am not supportive of a required right of refusal that adds costs and time to transactions.”
Polis didn’t seem to notice, or care, about the impact on private property rights.
Even more sinister, Polis suggested that perhaps the legislature could next time consider forcing notice requirements upon the housing market so that government can gobble it up for public housing.
Remember that the next time Polis goes waving the Libertarian flag in his quest for the presidency.