ECCLA Endorses Proposition EE

HB20-1427: Cigarette Tobacco And Nicotine Products Tax, passed the Colorado General Assembly as a referred measure to the 2020 November Election Ballot. ECCLA has endorsed the Proposition EE campaign which is a historic opportunity to expand early childhood education in Colorado. 

Over the first 2 ½ years, the revenue is allocated to relieve the tremendous damage the COVID19 pandemic has done to our state budget, filling in critical need areas:

• $11.7 million per year to assist Coloradans struggling with housing costs in the face of the pandemic;
• $90 million over the three years for rural education;
• A total of $330 million into the state education fund, which is facing massive cuts due to COVID19.

Universal Preschool would get the balance of the revenue beginning in FY 2024, which will allow preschool programs to begin in the Fall of 2023. This measure will provide an estimated $187 million for preschool in the 2023-24 school year. The funding will grow in future years as the tax rates step up and will provide an estimated $2 billion for preschool over the next decade.