COLORADO (KOAA) — A pair of ballot measures to allocate more funding to universal breakfast and lunch for students in Colorado schools is gaining approval, early returns show Tuesday night.
Proposition LL and Proposition MM both allocate additional money to the program, which voters approved in 2022, just in different ways.
The state collected more than the estimated $100.7 million it predicted in 2022, which is why Proposition LL asked voters whether the state should retain an additional $11.3 million it collected under the tax.
The money would typically be refunded to taxpayers making more than $300,000 under the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR).
Proposition MM asked whether or not taxpayers making more than $300,000 should pay more to fund additional costs for the program. The state said there are parts of the program approved by voters that have not been funded because of increased costs; this includes pay raises for food workers and getting locally grown food for students.
In 2022, El Paso County narrowly passed the measure "Proposition FF" to fund the program, with 52 percent of voters approving it. Pueblo voters approved it with 55 percent.
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