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Sept. 21, 1999 By Gail Binkly For the fourth time, the Colorado Supreme Court is set to consider whether it is constitutional for the state Legislature to exempt certain users of public lands from paying property taxes on their use of those lands. The issue stems from a decision made by the Montezuma County commissioners 10 years ago to start taxing the Mesa Verde Company, concessionaire at Mesa Verde National Park, for its use of tracts of national park land. Those commissioners and their attorney, Bob Slough, believed that a state law exempting such concessionaires from property taxes violated a provision of the state constitution which says, "All corporations in this state, or doing business therein, shall be subject to taxation for state, county, school, municipal and other purposes, on the real and personal property owned or used by them within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax." On Sept. 13, the state supreme court issued orders in two separate cases related to that tax question granting the petitioners' requests that the issue be heard again. The long-running battle has already gone before the state's high court three times. After Montezuma County began taxing the Mesa Verde Company in 1989, the comapny challenged the decision. The case made its way to the state supreme court, which ruled in 1992 that the county did not have legal standing to challenge a state law. However, the legislature passed a law in 1993 that gave counties the authority to challenge the state, so Montezuma County re-filed its case, and it made its way through the courts again. In 1994, the supreme court ruled 4-3 in favor of the company again. The county filed for a re-hearing, which was granted, an unusual move. After re-hearing the case, the Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in 1995 in favor of Montezuma County, finding that exemptions for possessory interests violated the state constitution. The landmark decision sent shock waves through the sports community and other commercial users of public lands. Denver sports franchises -- which have arenas on public sites -- airport concessionaires, and others pressured the legislature to act to reverse the court's ruling because they would have faced thousands of dollars in new taxes. The General Assembly hastily passed a bill in the final moments of its session in 1995 that said counties could not assess possessory interests. Gov. Roy Romer vetoed that bill, but a year later the legislature passed another, similar one, and Romer signed it. Believing that the new law was as unconstitutional as the old, Montezuma County officials continued to tax the Mesa Verde Company, and 17 other counties continued taxing the possessory interests within their boundaries as well. Those companies challenged that taxation, and eventually the issue developed into two separate cases -- one involving Vail Associates and Eagle County, and the other involving seven counties, including Montezuma, and the State Board of Equalization. Both of those will now come before the supreme court once again. According to the court orders, the petitioners (the counties) have 40 days from Sept. 13 to file their opening briefs, the respondents have 30 days after that to reply, and the petitioners may respond again 14 days after that. |
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