The TABOR Committee’s position on Proposition LL and Proposition MM

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The TABOR Committee has taken a position on Proposition LL and Proposition MM.  As someone who follows our work, please consider our recommendations.

Please vote in this election and vote NO on both propositions.

Reasons for our position are stated below:

  • Both measures deal with raising taxes for school meal programs.  The program was passed just a couple years ago, is just now being implemented, and already the government is twisting the taxpayers’ arms for even more funds.  LL would cost $67 Million EACH year and MM would collect $103 Million and rising each and every year.
  • In a year when the state budget is leading to cuts, these higher taxes would be directed only to this new and untested program.
  • Colorado’s income tax report uses the federal tax report (1140) as its basis.  These measures enhance the process of creating a different method for calculating State taxes.  Our citizens are headed toward having to fill out a second report that uses a different set of rules.  That leads to many more hours to file your taxes, using a different basis, and creating real reporting headaches.

Proponents hope that you will support the measures because they “soak the rich.”  Think about how all the states that treat wealth as something terrible are seeing people escape those states and move to places where success is not punished.

These measures continue to move the state away from the citizen-approved concept of taxing income at one rate.

Under TABOR, as people earn more income, they pay more taxes, but everybody’s tax rate is the same, so no one is treated differently.

#VoteNoOnPropLL
#VoteNoOnPropMM
#OnlyTaxIncreasesAreOnTheBallot,NotTaxDecreases
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#DontBeFooled
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
#ThankGodForTABOR
#HandsOffTABOR

Webinar: Understanding TABOR

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Webinar: Understanding TABOR

October 30, 2025 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Register

The Colorado Supreme Court recently decided its first case interpreting Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) in several years.

In MetroPCS v. City of Lakewood, the Court held that the city’s revisions to a pre-TABOR business and occupation tax relating to telecommunications were “new taxes” and invalid without prior voter approval.

TABOR experts and the lawyers who litigated the case for the city will discuss the case, the Court’s reaction to the parties’ arguments, and the implications municipalities dealing with similar tax scenarios and TABOR generally.

Speakers:  David Broadwell, former CML general Counsel John VanLandschoot, senior assistant city attorney, City of Lakewood Dalton Kelley, Butler Snow LLP

https://www.cml.org/home/networking-events/event-detail/2025/10/30/default-calendar/webinar-understanding-tabor-web-103025

 

 

Step Up. Speak Out. Defend TABOR.

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The TABOR Foundation is looking to revive its’ speaker’s bureau.  Many of you will remember that we tried, with mixed results, to establish a speakers’ bureau to provide speakers for interested groups around the Denver metro area and across the state.  The goal, of course, is to educate people about the value of The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in limiting the state’s ability to tax its citizens.

 

In our past efforts to make the speakers’ bureau work, we had our ducks in a row—for the most part.  We have developed a PowerPoint presentation and have a laptop computer dedicated to that presentation.  We acquired a digital projector and a screen specifically for our speakers.  We also were able to tap into expert help with our messaging and for polishing our presenters’ skills.

 So, where’s the weak link?  Clearly, it’s in getting speaking engagements scheduled.  Doing so requires someone willing to make calls to groups that are looking for speakers for their (usually monthly) meetings.  To this point, we have had one person who committed to making calls to schedule speakers.

Let’s be honest.  There’s some tedium involved in scheduling these engagements.  The scheduler will typically need to contact the person in the organization who is responsible for the group’s programs.  There’s phone tag.  Or, you get to speak to the correct person only to find out that someone else has taken over the responsibility, and you’ll need to speak to him.

On the positive side, we plan to start approaching friendly groups—other like-minded organizations where members would be most receptive to our message.  Conversations tend to be easy.  Callers would likely find their calls to be well received.  It may take some patience to find a meeting time that matches our speaker’s schedule—a bit more tedium—but the person on the other end of the line will probably be helpful and cooperative.

Here’s the part where we want to improve on past efforts.  We’d like to find two volunteers who would commit to scheduling two speaking engagements per month.  Perhaps better still would be to find four callers, each of whom would commit to scheduling one engagement per month.  Assuming we can find multiple callers, we should probably plan on regular (monthly?) discussions to talk about how things are going and to address challenges people may be having.  I guess the bottom line is that we need volunteers who care about limited government and who want to contribute to the effort to rein in government excesses.

We’re asking for your help.  If you would be able to commit maybe a couple of hours per month to schedule engagements for us, I’d very much like to talk to you.  Or, if you might know of someone who would be willing to take on this role, I’d like to speak to you with the hope that you would make an introduction.

Bob Foland
Executive Director, The TABOR Foundation

TheTABORfoundation@gmail.com
Info@TheTABORcommittee.com

 

Oct 16

Special district tax & debt measures abound on Colorado ballots

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Special district tax & debt measures abound on Colorado ballots

DENVER– A random sampling by Complete Colorado of 2025 coordinated election ballots from just six Colorado counties turned up over 30 special district tax and debt measures.  Given the thousands of such districts with taxing power spread over 64 counties, Colorado voters will likely be deciding dozens, if not hundreds more such highly localized taxing questions in November. 

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) defines special districts as political subdivisions of the state “created to fill the gaps that may exist in the services counties provide and the services the residents may desire. The majority of districts draw their boundaries in unincorporated county land, but residents of a municipality may be included in one or more districts.”

According to DOLA, there were 3,129 special districts across Colorado as of 2024, and include such things as fire protection, ambulance and health services, parks and recreation, water and sanitation, roads and other public infrastructure. 

Thirty-two special district ballot measures are spread out across just Pitkin, Jefferson, Mesa, El Paso, Arapahoe, and Larimer counties, asking voters to increase district revenue by way of of new debt and/or taxes, extending or increasing current taxes, or removing revenue restrictions under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, also known as de-TABORing. 

Pitkin County 

Pitkin County in Colorado’s high country has seven special district tax and debt increases, including for fire protection in Aspen (extending a property tax and establish a new sales tax) and Carbondale (sales tax). A road improvement district mill levy hike, Aspen Village metropolitan district tax and debt limit increase, and Basalt library district tax extension will also appear on local ballots in Pitkin.  

 Jefferson County 

Jefferson County voters will see five new special district tax hikes including two fire protections asks for Coal Creek Canyon and South Metro. The Mountain Shadows metropolitan district proposes a tax increase and asks residents to waive the current property tax TABOR limit. The Lookout Mountain water district is also asking for a debt hike. 

 Mesa County 

The Mesa County ballot has four fire protection district tax increases. Glade Park, which would be newly formed if approved, has proposed a new mill levy to get it up and running, while Clifton is asking for a $3 million per year sales tax increase. Plateau Valley is asking its residents to both increase the current property tax and waive the existing 5.25 percent property tax revenue limit.  

El Paso County

Voters in El Paso County will decide three fire protection district tax increases. Cimarron Hills seeks to increase its sales tax, while Hanover is asking voters to both extend the current mill levy and waive the existing 5.25 percent property tax limit. Ballot Issue 6B interestingly rescinds all unused debt capacity previously authorized by voters to the Banning Lewis Metropolitan Distict #5.     

Arapahoe County 

The Arapahoe County ballot  has an astounding nine special district tax questions. Deer Trail and South Metro fire protection districts are asking voters to increase their respective mill levies. The Cherry Park general improvement district proposes both a debt and tax hike.  The metro district for Polo Reserve wants to increase its tax, while Willow Trace wishes to extend its current property tax. Sundance hills metro district proposes an increase in property taxes, debt, and the removal TABOR revenue limits.  

 Larimer County 

The Larimer County ballot has four total special district tax asks, three of which relate to public improvement districts. Thunder Mountain, Nedrah Acres, and Rolling Hills are all asking for higher taxes. The Wellington fire district proposes a $100,000 yearly tax increase, and a removal of TABOR restrictions on the money.  

Special district tax & debt measures abound on Colorado ballots

Oct 16

The 2025 Blue Book provides explanations of the two statewide ballot measures in Colorado

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#VoteNoOnPropLL
#VoteNoOnPropMM
#OnlyTaxIncreasesAreOnTheBallot,NotTaxDecreases
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#DontBeFooled
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
#ThankGodForTABOR
#HandsOffTABOR

Colorado’s November 2025 election

The 2025 Blue Book provides explanations of the two statewide ballot measures in Colorado, meant to help voters understand both sides of the issues at hand.

What’s in this year’s Blue Book? Your guide to Colorado’s November 2025 election

The 2025 Blue Book provides explanations of the two statewide ballot measures in Colorado, meant to help voters understand both sides of the issues at hand.

What’s in the blue book? Your guide to Colorado’s November election.

By: Colette Bordelon

Posted 11:09 PM, Oct 14, 2025

DENVER — As ballots begin to arrive in Colorado mailboxes, another important piece of mail is ready to greet them: the 2025 Blue Book.

This year’s book details two statewide ballot measures, the arguments for and against them, and what a “yes” and “no” votes mean.

One of the statewide ballot measures detailed in the Blue Book is Proposition LL.

The statewide ballot measures, Proposition LL and Proposition MM, were referred by the legislature and need a simple majority to pass.

Proposition LL aims to retain and spend excess state revenue collected from Proposition FF, also known as Healthy School Meals for All. Proposition FF, which was passed by Colorado voters in 2022, created a program that reimburses participating school meal providers offering free breakfast and lunch to all public school students. Schools must participate in the National School Lunch Program and receive federal meal funding to qualify.

Proposition LL would allow the state to use $12.4 million in excess tax revenue collected under Proposition FF for the Healthy School Meals for All Program, instead of refunding it to households that earn $300,000 or more a year. In addition, Proposition LL would maintain current tax deduction limits for households earning $300,000 or more annually, which are expected to be lowered next year.

A “yes” vote on Proposition LL allows the state to keep and spend $12.4 million in tax revenue that has already been collected for the Healthy School Meals for All Program and maintains current taxes on households earning $300,000 or more annually.

A “no” vote on Proposition LL means the state will refund $12.4 million to households earning $300,000 or more annually and allows deduction limits to change as scheduled under current law, which will lower taxes paid by these households.

So, why is Proposition LL on the ballot? The answer lies in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), which requires voter approval for the state to keep any revenue collected that exceeded a Blue Book estimate. In this instance, the 2022 Blue Book found that Proposition FF would increase tax revenue by $100.7 million in the 2023-24 budget year. The state ended up collecting $112 million, roughly $11.3 million more than expected, according to the Blue Book.

If Proposition LL does not pass, the $11.3 million excess, plus the $1.1 million in interest, would be refunded to households making $300,000 or more a year. In addition, the amount of taxes those households pay would be reduced in the future, as the current law requires under TABOR. Continue reading →

Oct 16

Wednesday hearing ramps up discussion on ballot initiative to create progressive income-tax system

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A person puts a ballot into an election box in front of a Colorado flag.

Posted By: Ed Sealover October 15, 2025

Though the 2026 election remains nearly 13 months away, debate is heating up around a proposed initiative that would replace Colorado’s flat 4.4% income tax with a graduated system that imposes higher tax rates on businesses and individuals with higher incomes.

A coalition led by the Bell Policy Center is pushing the proposal, which is estimated to lower taxes for any person or company making less than $500,000 a year and raise them for those making more. The proposal is expected to bring in between $2.4 billion and $3.25 billion in its first year, and at least one version of the initiative proscribes that new money would go to public education, health care, child care and non-policing programs meant to improve public safety.

The effort ran into a setback Wednesday before the state Title-Setting Board, which ruled unanimously that it deals with more than one subject, which is illegal under Colorado law. But rather than stop the initiative, the decision will require its backers, which also include groups like the Colorado Children’s Campaign and Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, to rewrite the proposal, potentially breaking it into multiple measures.

To continue reading the rest of this story, please click (HERE).

Oct 08

Colorado’s Free School Lunch Program is Getting More Expensive

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Two Colorado ballot measures aim to fund Healthy School Meals for All—but they come with a price tag.

  • Prop LL would cancel a $12.4M taxpayer refund in FY26.
  • Prop MM would raise taxes on Coloradans earning $300K+, with average hikes of $377 (single) and $560 (joint).
Read the latest CSI report to find out: https://www.commonsenseinstituteus.org/…/colorados-free…

#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#DontBeFooled
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
#ThankGodForTABOR
#HandsOffTABOR

Oct 02

Chainsaw Caucus Alert: Prop LL & MM – TABOR Workaround & Hidden Tax Hike!

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ChainsawCaucus @ChainsawCaucus posted this on X

Chainsaw Caucus Alert: Prop LL & MM – TABOR Workaround & Hidden Tax Hike!

Colorado Patriots, it’s time to sharpen your chainsaws! Propositions LL and MM on the November 2025 ballot are being sold as “saving school lunches” and “helping kids,” but don’t be fooled—these are slick moves to bypass TABOR and raise your taxes! Here’s the breakdown from your Chainsaw Caucus crew, ready to cut through the spin.

Prop LL: TABOR’s Backdoor Bust

– What They Say: Prop LL “retains” extra revenue from Prop FF (2022’s school meals tax on high earners) to keep funding free lunches for all kids. Sounds noble, right?

– The Truth: This is a TABOR dodge! TABOR (our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) says any revenue over projections must be refunded to YOU, the taxpayer. Prop LL lets the state keep $50-100M a year that should come back to your wallet, no questions asked. They’re calling it “surplus retention,” but it’s a blank check for bureaucrats to lock up funds without voter say. Once it’s gone, good luck getting it back!

– Why It Stinks: TABOR exists to protect us from runaway spending. Prop LL flips the bird to that, tying up your money for a program that’s already ballooned to $200M a year (double what they planned). No accountability, no flexibility for budget crises. Just a feel-good excuse to hoard cash.

 

Prop MM: Straight-Up Tax Hike

– What They Say: Prop MM “tweaks” taxes on folks earning over $300K to raise ~$95M for school meals and SNAP benefits. They claim it’s just for kids and won’t hit your pocket.

– The Truth: This is a TAX INCREASE, plain and simple. It caps deductions at $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (joint) for high earners, jacking up their state taxes. Think it won’t affect you? Those 200,000 households (6% of filers) are business owners, job creators, and innovators who might just pack up and leave Colorado, taking jobs with them. Plus, nothing stops the state from lowering that $300K threshold later—today’s “rich” could be YOU tomorrow.

– TABOR Trick: Prop MM dresses up as TABOR-compliant by asking for your vote, but it’s a one-way street. Once approved, that $95M is locked into meals and SNAP forever, starving other priorities like roads or schools when budgets get tight. It’s ballot-box budgeting—handcuffing lawmakers and dodging TABOR’s spirit.

 

The Big Picture: Together, LL and MM are a masterclass in government overreach. LL keeps your TABOR refunds hostage; MM slaps new taxes on the table. Both prop up a bloated program (meals for all kids, even wealthy ones) that’s already failing to stay on budget. Meanwhile, Colorado’s facing an $800M shortfall, and these measures just make it harder to pivot. They’re not about “kids”; they’re about locking in spending and screwing taxpayers.

 

Chainsaw Caucus Call to Action

– Vote NO on Props LL and MM on Nov. 4, 2025! Protect TABOR, your wallet, and Colorado’s economic future.

– Spread the Word: Share this post on X and tell your neighbors—these props are a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

– Join the Fight: Follow @ChainsawCaucus for more updates on slashing government waste and keeping Colorado free!

 

Disclaimer: This post reflects the Chainsaw Caucus’s take—no fluff, just facts. Check ballot language at http://coloradosos.gov. Let’s keep the government’s hands off our money! ?

https://x.com/ChainsawCaucus/status/1973026323502084182

#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#DontBeFooled
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
#ThankGodForTABOR
#HandsOffTABOR