Colorado Governor Vetoes Affordable Housing Bill

Colorado Governor Jared Polis vetoed a bill that would have let local governments have the first chance to purchase multifamily housing properties for sale if they pledge to maintain them as affordable housing. 

According to a story by Michael Brady in Smart Cities Dive, “Polis said he vetoed House Bill 23-1190 because it was mandatory and might have led to higher rents, delays and confusion.”

A statement from the bill’s co-sponsors, Reps. Andrew Boesenecker and Emily Sirota and Sens. Sonya Jaquez-Lewis and Faith Winter, accuses its critics of waiting until the last minute to voice their opposition. “Backroom conversations and last-minute veto letters should not usurp the public and lengthy legislative process,” the statement says. The bill’s co-sponsors said “The Governor has sided with the interests of private equity, hedge funds, and their powerful corporate lobbyists over and against the affordability concerns of people in our state.”

Yet the state’s legislature recently reined in the proposed “More Homes Now” bill, which included statewide upzoning and which local leaders said eroded local control.