Senator Jesse Ulibarri (D-Commerce City) has introduced Senate Bill 15-079 (“SB 79”) to create a statewide affordable housing investment fund to promote the construction of affordable housing across Colorado. This is an honorable goal.
SB 79 would raise funds through imposing a $2 surcharge on every document recorded with every county clerk and recorder in Colorado. To be clear, this $2 surcharge is on each document recorded and not on every page of a document which is recorded.
Is a recorder surcharge a good way to raise funds to promote the construction of affordable housing? Well it’s never easy to raise money for good causes like this one and a recorder surcharge is probably as good an approach as any. Will this bill make it through the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee? While the prospects of survival probably aren’t very good, only time will tell . . .