The Colorado House on Tuesday passed two bills that would ask voters if the state could keep their taxpayer refunds provided by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), sending the bills to the Senate for consideration.
House Bill 1257 is a referendum asking voters to allow the state to keep and spend excess revenues that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers. If approved, the referendum would be on the November ballot.
Two Colorado lawmakers hope to ask voters to nix the state’s gas tax in order to bump up sales and use taxes in an attempt to generate sustainable revenue to fund transportation.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, proposed by Sen. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, and Rep. Matt Gray, D-Broomfield, would ask voters permission to amend the state’s constitution to replace “state excise taxes on gasoline and other liquid motor fuel with an additional state sales and use tax.”
The new revenue would exclusively fund road construction and maintenance.
With four weeks left in Colorado’s legislative session, Democrats in the legislature hope to pass several more pieces of key progressive legislation.
The Democratic-controlled legislature has had little trouble passing several controversial bills, leading to Republicans and grassroots groups calling for voters to recall some of the lawmakers behind the pieces of legislation that opponents say don’t represent the views of citizens.
Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly, and Democratic Gov. Jared Polis supports a vast majority of legislation Democratic lawmakers have passed or plan on passing.
NATELSON: BRITAIN ISN’T THE ONLY PLACE WHERE ELITES TRY TO UNDO BALLOT MEASURES
Robert Natelson | Senior Fellow, Independence Institute
When British citizens voted to leave the European Union, I doubted the British political establishment would allow that decision to stand. Today that establishment is doing everything it can to undermine the Brexit referendum.
Such conduct is not limited to Britain. In the United States also, government officials have a long history of sabotaging ballot measures they don’t like.
The most common method is judicial action. For example, in 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court voided a state ballot measure deciding that sexual orientation was not a special civil rights category. This measure required only that state law treat sexual preferences as it treats most personal characteristics — other preferences, height, weight, allergies, perceived attractiveness, and so forth. Yet SCOTUS upended it, ruling it violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
Similarly, in 2015 SCOTUS reversed 30 statewide votes reaffirming — generally by landslide margins — the traditional definition of marriage.
Colorado makes #1 on another list as best state to find a job. Our state’s economy is so strong thanks in large part to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (#TABOR) which Democrats are working to dismantle.
With job creation still booming in March, as employers added 196,000 positions, marking the 118th month of straight gains, it seems like all states are seeing rapid job growth.
But according to a new study, that’s not really the case.
Personal finance website GoBankingRates.com found that some states are actually flourishing more than others when it comes to job creation.
Colorado voters in 1992 authorized TABOR so that citizens would have to say yes or no on tax increases. Over the years voters appreciate this simple and effective check on out-of-control, tax-and-spend politicians. Colorado is one of the best states economically thanks to TABOR.
So, what is TABOR and how does it affect you?
Penn Pfiffner, former state legislator and currently the Chairman of TABOR, will provide a TABOR 101 discussion with time for questions.
Admission is $5 for Reagan Club members and $10 for non-members. The doors open at 6:00pm with food and drinks available to order from CB & Potts. The meeting begins at 7:00pm and should be over around 8:30pm. You can order your admission tickets online at the Reagan Club website, www.ReaganClubCo.com/meeting-tickets