Free Republic

Two years ago, lawmakers asked voters for a "time-out" from the spending restrictions of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights in order to allow the state budget to rebound from the recession of 2001-2002. Referendum C, which passed by a narrow 52-48 percent margin, erased the TABOR spending limits for five years and permanently increased spending caps thereafter. Following the 2005 vote, Colorado Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald said, “‘We already agreed, if Ref D failed, it would be (one-third each) for schools, colleges and health.” But a funny thing happened after the election. Spending on programs not associated with Ref C...

special interest groups from higher education to prisons to capital construction are demanding more state aid, many saying they've waited long enough for funding, and now it's their turn. At the same time, opponents of Referendum C are saying, "we told you so," over the proposed changes. Several said the ballot question that allowed the state to keep billions of dollars it otherwise would have returned to taxpayers should be more than enough to handle the state's needs. Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, said he fears the new Democratic governor and the now Democratic-controlled Legislature will go hog...

Colorado businesses might think that with the Colorado fiscal crunch eased thanks to Referendum C, now might be the perfect time to sell tax breaks that stimulate industry in the name of job creation. Actually, say political observers, the exact opposite is true for the 2006 legislative session - and perhaps several sessions thereafter. "The political dynamic is such that no tax-reduction or relief measures would have any chance of passage for the next five years," said Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Auto Dealers Association. "It's just a fact of life." Freed from TABOR restraints Ward said the chamber...

Republicans, Democrats Disagree On What To Do With Money One day after voters agreed to let the state keep an extra $3.7 billion in taxes...Democrats and Republicans were already disagreeing on how to spend it. GOP Gov. Bill Owens said the money should be used to shore up transportation, fix crumbling schools, hold down college tuition increases and strengthen police and fire pensions. Democrats said the state should restore Medicaid programs and ... Referendum C suspends the tax limits in the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment, for five years, allowing the state to keep money that otherwise would...

Gov. Bill Owens on Monday offered his road-heavy budget proposal to state lawmakers while acknowledging that he probably won't get the entire $296 million he's seeking for transportation projects this year. "Now, I'm aware that there are other requests being made for this revenue, specifically for higher education, and I'm certainly open to having that discussion with you," Owens said of the extra money the state will collect under Referendum C. "I'm stating my preference, and obviously I understand that, during this process, while some of my preferences may make it into law, not all of my preferences will." After...

Former University of Colorado President Betsy Hoffman "thought long and hard" before hiring a car last year to wait outside a donor dinner in Seattle for several hours, she said this week. The $534 charge criticized by state auditors Tuesday was an unusual circumstance, Hoffman said. The house was hard to find, it was dark and she didn't want to be late. But a Rocky Mountain News review of CU payments to limousine services shows hired drivers idled outside at least 10 events Hoffman attended, from a dinner at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science to the funeral of...

Opponents of Referendum C counted on voters rejecting a bigger tax bite, $3,100 for the average family in the next five years, under the pressure of high prices for gasoline, home heating, health care and housing. We appealed to people's skepticism that the Democrat-led legislature would use the new money responsibly. Polling even last weekend suggested proponents hadn't made the sale. But they surged to victory with the help of respected Republicans like Gov. Bill Owens, former party chairman Bruce Benson and University of Colorado president Hank Brown. Those heavy hitters outweighed the more numerous antitax Republican voices, including the...

Supporters have repeatedly claimed that the $3.7 billion the State plans to collect under Referendum C will be used exclusively to fund health care, public education, transportation, and local fire and police pensions. The reality is that restrictions on where the additional tax revenue can be spent are meaningless. Money is fungible – that is, it can easily be transferred from one program to another. There is no guarantee that any of these funding priorities will receive additional resources and not be used on politicians’ pet projects.