Tourism-Related Measures on the November Ballot
Twenty-four measures on the November 3 ballot touch Colorado's visitor economy. Two are statewide. The rest are local. Thirteen of the local measures would create or raise taxes on lodging or short-term rentals (Colorado Health Institute ballot measure tracker).
Note: The content in this article is based on what is available online at the time of writing and is not necessarily guaranteed that all of these measures will be on the ballot in the exact form described come November. Please let us know if you see anything that does not meet your expectations of what will be on your local ballot and we will get the online version updated.
Statewide
Proposition 137 would redirect existing state sales tax on sporting goods, an estimated $175 million a year, to water and land conservation, forest protection, wildfire prevention and outdoor recreation workforce training. It does not raise the tax rate. When the state is over its TABOR limit, it would reduce refunds by an estimated $26 to $83 for single filers. It needs a simple majority (CPR). A second measure would amend the state constitution to create a right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife by traditional methods, while keeping the state's authority to regulate for conservation and safety (Colorado Secretary of State).
Lodging and short-term rental taxes
Archuleta County: 2% to 6% in unincorporated areas, about $1.08 million a year. Revenue goes 80% to roads, 10% to public safety and dispatch, and 10% to workforce childcare (Archuleta County).
Broomfield: 1.6% to 6% on stays under 30 days, up to $3.3 million a year for the Broomfield Housing Authority (Broomfield).
Clear Creek County: 2% to 6% outside Georgetown, about $800,000 a year. Up to 60% goes to infrastructure and public safety, at least 20% to workforce childcare, at least 10% to workforce housing and at least 10% to local tourism marketing.
Cortez: 2% to 6% starting January 1, 2027, up to $900,000 next year, for tourism marketing, economic development, and arts and culture.
Erie: a new 3.5% tax on hotels, B&Bs and short-term rentals, up to $150,000 a year, for parks, infrastructure and public safety (Weld County sample ballot).
Lincoln County: 2% to 6%. The existing 2% stays with marketing, beautification and events. The new 4% goes to infrastructure, public safety and community projects. This is a second try after the November 2025 measure failed 539 to 826.
Montezuma County: 2% to 5% for tourism promotion, visitor infrastructure, destination development, and tourism emergency response and recovery.
Morrison: two measures. One removes the exemption for small lodging properties, about $125,000 a year. The other raises the rate from 6% to 8%, about $500,000 a year. Both fund any lawful purpose.
Mt. Crested Butte: 4.9% to 9.9% on residentially assessed short-term rentals only, up to $2.5 million a year for community housing. Hotels and commercial lodging stay at 4.9% (Crested Butte News).
Northglenn: 5% to 8%, about $450,000 a year, for general government.
Rifle: 2.5% to 5.5%, managed by the Greater Rifle Improvement Team, for community events, beautification and the Grand Hogback Trail System. This is a re-run of the 2025 measure that failed by 21 votes (Post Independent).
San Juan County: 2% to 3%. Revenue goes 45% to housing and childcare for tourism workers, 40% to tourism marketing and 15% to visitor infrastructure (San Juan County).
Attractions and admissions
Manitou Springs would raise its admissions tax on attractions such as the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and Cliff Dwellings from 5% to 9.03%, about $1.13 million a year. The revenue would offset declining marijuana tax collections. A 14% version failed in 2025 (Gazette). Greeley proposes a 0.6% sales tax, about $20 million in 2027, for a civic campus and the West Greeley Catalyst Project, which includes an arena, ice center, water park and hotel (BizWest). Pueblo voters will decide a citizen-initiated 0.167% sales tax for the Pueblo Zoo, up to $3.77 million a year through 2031. Huerfano County proposes 2 mills of property tax, about $354,692 a year, for parks, recreation and cultural facilities.
Visitor transportation
Ballot Measure 7A asks voters in 29 Front Range municipalities and the Sterling Ranch metro districts to approve a 0.333% sales tax, about $295 million a year, and $580 million in debt for passenger rail from Pueblo to Fort Collins. The ballot text cites connecting travelers to sports arenas and entertainment hubs. Service from Denver to Fort Collins would begin in 2029 with three daily round trips, and Denver to Pueblo is proposed for 2032. The measure also funds a new Trinidad station for Amtrak's Southwest Chief (CPR, Front Range Passenger Rail District). In Routt and Moffat counties, the Yampa Valley Regional Transportation Authority seeks a 0.5% sales tax for regional transit, about $7.7 million a year (Complete Colorado).
Related measures
The Estes Valley Fire Protection District seeks up to a 0.5% sales tax, $3.5 million a year, for wildland fire response (Larimer County sample ballot). Boulder would tax homes occupied 183 days or less a year at 4,000annuallystartingin2028.CrestedButtewouldtaxnon-primaryhomes(1,400 to 3,400bysize)andvacantlots(3,000), affecting about 410 homes and 60 lots (Crested Butte News).
Why it matters
Taxes raise the cost to visit Colorado and most of this new revenue would go somewhere other than tourism marketing. Simple supply and demand rules of economics show that rising costs (taxes in this case) without an upward force (marketing) put a downward pressure on the visitor economy. Of the 13 lodging and short-term rental measures, only Clear Creek, Cortez, Montezuma and San Juan put a share of new revenue toward marketing. The rest fund housing, childcare, roads, or general government.