Unconstitutional equity theft
A local realtor recently wrote a terrific article describing how one can purchase property tax liens. In the article, he described an auction where 85 buyers paid $6.4 million to purchase 1,130 tax liens, $400,415 more than was owed for the property taxes, accrued interest and fees (with the overage going into the countyâs general fund).
Retaining excess funds from a tax foreclosure sale is illegal under the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (ânor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.â). In a unanimous decision this past Spring, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Hennepin County v. Tyler that governments could not keep funds from tax foreclosures that exceeded the taxes owed and administrative costs to recover the tax debt.
After this âobviousâ property rights decision issued, I shockingly discovered Colorado is one of 12 states whose tax foreclosure processes allow unconstitutional equity theft. So this past Fall, a GOP colleague and I worked with county treasurers from around the state to draft one of the most important, but unacclaimed, bills introduced this legislative session. HB24-1056 directs the most dramatic reforms to Coloradoâs property tax lien/foreclosure processes in decades. If not ever.
The bill will require county treasurers to return funds in excess to that required to satisfy a property ownerâs tax debt to the property owner. And if the owner cannot be located, the funds will be disposed of in accordance with Coloradoâs unclaimed property statute.
We hope to have as near unanimous support for these reforms in the legislature as the Supreme Court had coming in its unanimous 9-0 decision. We are particularly optimistic as we reached out to the public interest law firm that brought the Tyler lawsuit for feedback on the bill and our proposed reforms.
This firm, whose work focuses on individual liberty and property rights, recently informed us that: âHB24-1056 is one of the best reforms that has been introduced since Tyler v. Hennepin County was decided . .. [w]e are putting together coalition support and we are happy to offer testimony on the bill.â
This type of boring, uncelebrated but important bipartisan good governance reform work is something which I hope we can all do a lot more in the upcoming legislative session.
State Rep. Bob Marshall
Highlands Ranch
Ways to increase revenue
Re: Butch Montoya opinion article.
I totally agree with Mr. Montoyaâs idea about citing drivers with expired license plates as a revenue source for Denver. Friday I took a photo of a plate which expired April 2020, almost four years ago. One wonders if emissions or insurance has also been neglected. Instead of cutting budgets, increase revenue!
Jim Bain
Denver
Focus on mental health
Today, now more than ever, there is a big focus on mental health. It has become a hot topic and people have become more open and honest about their experiences and struggles. This also means that people are receiving much needed diagnoses and getting the help they need to improve their life for the better. While as a society we have greatly improved how mental illnesses are talked about and viewed, there is still progress to be made. The gender gap in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD is evidence of that.
Most people, when they think of ADHD, they imagine a child who cannot sit still, who incessantly fidgets, and who has no impulse control. While that is a fair idea, that is not all ADHD is.
The type of ADHD I just described is the hyperactive/impulsive type and the other two types are inattentive and combined. Girls more frequently display symptoms of the inattentive type, such as distraction and disorganization which is unfortunately what leads to ADHD going undiagnosed in girls. One study found that of their sample of children diagnosed with ADHD, 72% of those children were boys (Mowlem et al., 2018). In the same study it was also found that about 36% of patients that we undiagnosed were girls. This just goes to show boys are frequently diagnosed and ADHD in girls can go unnoticed. There are many possible reasons for this disparity such as a lack of awareness or a lack of research. The symptoms that girls usually present are more internal and due to a lack of awareness of the gender differences in ADHD symptoms physicians can overlook diagnoses.
Gender differences are also prevalent in the research used to from the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. One group looked at 70 studies focused on ADHD.
Lizzie Urquhart
Fort Collins
Insurance delays treatment
As a healthcare provider specializing in treating uveitis, a condition causing inflammation within the eye, I am deeply concerned about the barriers patients face in accessing vital treatments due to bureaucratic hurdles imposed by insurance companies. The recent ordeal of one of my young patients underscores the urgent need for reform, particularly in supporting HB24-1149.
Uveitis, especially in children, presents a serious threat to vision due to delays in diagnosis and the risk of complications such as cataracts and glaucoma. Prompt treatment is crucial, often necessitating the use of potent steroid eye drops like difluprednate (Durezol) to rapidly reduce inflammation.
Despite providing compelling evidence of the urgent need for Durezol, insurance denial forced my patient to endure two weeks of inadequate treatment with weaker steroids, resulting in exacerbated inflammation and distressing side effects from oral prednisone. This unnecessary delay in accessing the appropriate medication compromised the patientâs health.
HB24-1149 offers a crucial opportunity to streamline the prior authorization process and prioritize patient well-being over administrative red tape. I urge our lawmakers to support this bill and ensure timely access to essential treatments for all individuals, especially those battling debilitating conditions like uveitis. Healthcantwaitco.org
Jennifer Jung
Denver