Dec 07

Tweaking TABOR to free up funds for rebuilding after emergencies

By Alicia Caldwell

The Denver Post
The way Sam Mamet sees it, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is its own disaster for communities trying to rebuild after an emergency.

The executive director of the Colorado Municipal League said TABOR imposes unreasonable restrictions on local governments as they try to replace important government infrastructure, such as water and sewage treatment plants.

Mamet, who discussed the issue on a segment of The Roundup, a public affairs discussion conducted by members of the Denver Post editorial board, said some tweaks to TABOR are needed.

He emphasized that the proposal would not involve a major rewrite of the constitutional amendment, but rather a few targeted changes, such as defining an “emergency,” and making clear that grants received by communities trying to rebuild would not count toward their TABOR-defined spending limits.

Mamet called the changes “surgical.”

Read more: Tweaking TABOR to free up funds for rebuilding after emergencies – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/opinioncolumnists/ci_24671095/tweaking-tabor-free-up-funds-rebuilding-after-emergencies#ixzz2mpF0805O 
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Dec 01

Should TABOR be dismantled? No

Voters have right to decide state, local taxes

By John Suthers

Two supporters of Amendment 66 look at projected figures showing the initiative
Two supporters of Amendment 66 look at projected figures showing the initiative’s defeat and the victory of Proposition AA (a tax on recreational marijuana sales). (Ed Andrieski, The Associated Press)

Former Congressman David Skaggs and former state Sen. Mike Feeley have filed a lawsuit contending that it’s a violation of your federal constitutional rights to allow you to vote on whether or not to raise your state and local taxes. Because taxpayers and not legislators have the final say on tax increases, they think we have “too much democracy” in Colorado.

I’m confident the courts will ultimately conclude otherwise.

Reasonable people can and do disagree about the wisdom of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). And many Coloradans, including myself, believe it’s far too easy to amend our state constitution. But there’s nothing unconstitutional about allowing voters to decide important issues, including whether to raise their taxes.

The plaintiffs claim that letting citizens decide whether taxes are raised violates the “Guarantee Clause” of the U.S. Constitution. In the Guarantee Clause, the United States guarantees each state will have a “republican form of government.” It was intended by our founders to suppress any lingering monarchical tendencies in the original states. They wanted to ensure that Virginians couldn’t make George Washington or Thomas Jefferson a king of their commonwealth, even if they wanted to. The constitutional provision was intended to preserve power to the people, not take it from them. Continue reading

Dec 01

Should TABOR be dismantled? Yes

Take back the power to set state fiscal policy

By David Skaggs and Mike Feeley

Two supporters of Amendment 66 look at projected figures showing the initiative
Two supporters of Amendment 66 look at projected figures showing the initiative’s defeat and the victory of Proposition AA (a tax on recreational marijuana sales). (Ed Andrieski, The Associated Press)

When we were new members of the Colorado legislature in the 1980s and ’90s, we hoped colleagues would see the merit in bills we introduced and, of course, approve them. It didn’t take long to realize that fellow legislators would be more skeptical about our ideas — as we would be of theirs.

Our proposals — often drawn from conversations with constituents — were subject to scrutiny in committee hearings, floor debates and endless conversations with all manner of interested parties.

That challenging and sometimes tedious process demonstrated then, as it does now, the wisdom of the Founders in drafting a constitution that requires every state to have a “republican form of government,” a representative democracy.

The Founders recognized that the public interest is best served when complex and controversial issues receive careful review by representatives who have the time, commitment and expertise to hold hearings, take testimony, examine evidence, debate their differences and work out necessary compromises. That is the way a diverse society with often conflicting interests can resolve difficult issues responsibly and respectfully. Continue reading