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2014 Op. Colo. Att'y Gen. 1 (2014)

handle is hein.sag/sagco2014 and id is 1 raw text is: JOHN   GeUerS                STATE OF COLORADO                RALPH L. CARR
Attorey GeeralCOLORADO JUDICIAL CENTER
CYNTHIA H. COFFMAN            DEPARTMENT OF LAW               1300 Broadway, 10th Floor
Chief Deputy Attorney General  OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL  Denver, Colorado 80203
DANIEL D. DOMENICO                                            Phone (720) 508-6000
Solicitor General
FORMAL                       )
OPINION                      )               No. 14-01
)
OF                        )     AG Alpha No. HI HP AGBDY
)
JOHN W. SUTHERS                    )            August 1, 2014
Attorney General                 )
This opinion, requested by Don Hunt, Executive Director of the Colorado Department
of Transportation (CDOT), addresses how the spending limits set forth in Colo. Const. art.
X, § 20 (commonly known as the TABOR Amendment) apply to the transfers of non-cash
assets from a TABOR-exempt enterprise operating within CDOT to CDOT, a department of
the state (State).
QUESTION PRESENTED AND CONCLUSION
Question: Is the transfer of a non-cash asset from an enterprise to the State, or a
department of the State, accounted for as State fiscal year spending for purposes of the
TABOR Amendment?
Answer: The proper treatment of the transfer of a non-cash asset from an enterprise
to the State under the TABOR Amendment depends on whether the non-cash asset can easily
be converted to cash. If so, the asset must be accounted for under State fiscal year
spending. If not, the transfer is not relevant to the spending calculation.
BACKGROUND
A. Factual
In  2009, the General Assembly     created  the Colorado  High   Performance
Transportation Enterprise (HPTE), which, as an enterprise,' is exempt from the fiscal
limitations set forth in the TABOR Amendment. Colo. Const. art. X, §20(2)(b); § 43-4-
1 The TABOR Amendment defines an enterprise as a government-owned business authorized to
issue its own revenue bonds and receiving under 10% of annual revenue in grants from all Colorado
state and local governments combined. Colo. Const. art. X, § 20(2)(d).

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