#HandsOffTABOR
#DontBeFooled
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#TABOR
#FollowTheLaw
#FeesAreTaxes
#VoteOnFees
#ReplaceThemAllForNotFollowingVotersWishes
Apr
07
Category Archives: Education
Apr
02
10th Circuit dismisses lawsuit challenging validity of TABOR
We just wanted to remind you that the premise of this case was settled in December, 2021 but the political party on the left doesn’t learn. Here’s the headline and story:
10th Circuit dismisses lawsuit challenging validity of TABOR
Chief Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich, writing for himself and six of his colleagues, concluded that the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners, a handful of school districts and one special district failed to show that the 1875 Enabling Act that guaranteed to Colorado a “republican” form of government had also given the local government entities the ability to challenge TABOR’s taxing and spending restrictions.
“Looking at the Enabling Act’s language, we conclude the plaintiffs cannot state a claim under the Act’s promise of a republican constitution. Neither the Enabling Act’s text nor structure supports the political subdivisions’ arguments. The clause promising a constitution republican in form has no clear beneficiary,” Tymkovich wrote in the Dec. 13 decision.
Apr
01
Democrats roll out tax and TABOR reform plan
Democrats roll out tax and TABOR reform plan to remake state finances, calling for “a reckoning”
Colorado lawmakers float legal challenge that, if successful, could kill TABOR outright
A group of Colorado lawmakers has unveiled a plan to fundamentally change state tax policy and attempt to eliminate the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR.
The plan, announced Monday afternoon by Democratic legislators, includes reclassifying chunks of Colorado highway funding so it doesn’t fall under the TABOR spending cap, which would free up money for other things. They also hope to end Colorado’s flat income tax and replace it with a system in which higher-income taxpayers pay higher rates than low-income filers.
Lawmakers also introduced a resolution Monday that seeks to launch a lawsuit challenging the legality of TABOR, which was passed by Colorado voters in 1992, under the U.S. Constitution.
“The state is coming to a reckoning on whether we can sustain ourselves,” said Sean Camacho, a Denver Democrat. “And all of these measures are critical to figuring that out.”
The lawsuit resolution has attracted a roster of co-sponsors, including some top legislative leaders. The proposals come as Colorado faces a budget hole of more than $1 billion because of the cap set by TABOR.
TABOR limits how much state spending can grow based on inflation and population growth. Certain sectors of government spending, chiefly mandatory Medicaid costs, have far outstripped the pace of consumer inflation, effectively eating into how much the state can spend on nonmandatory programs.
To read the rest of this article, click (HERE) to go to the Denver Post.
Mar
30
OPINION: ‘Fiscal tailgating’ caused Colorado’s budget woes
OPINION: ‘Fiscal tailgating’ caused Colorado’s budget woes
- By Mark Hillman
- Mar 27, 2025 Updated Mar 28, 2025
The gold dome of the state Capitol is seen in Denver.
The Associated Press File
Headlines from the state Capitol might cause a reader to believe Colorado is in a deep recession. Legislators say they must cut more than $1 billion in spending to balance the 2025-26 budget.
Still, state government has $687 million more to spend than last year in a $19 billion budget. So why all the histrionics about a budget “crisis”?
Because Colorado lawmakers practice fiscal tailgating.
Tailgating on the highway is dangerous because when drivers travel too fast and follow too close to the car ahead, the tailgating driver doesn’t have time to react if the lead driver unexpectedly brakes or swerves.
Fiscal tailgating is much the same. Lawmakers spend money as fast as it comes in, then when the economy slows, they face much harder choices than if they had tapped the brakes when awash in money.
After COVID, Congress inflated the money supply and passed out trillions to states. Colorado raked in billions, which lawmakers knew would someday run out.
Not long ago, veteran members of the Joint Budget Committee, regardless of party, would stand firmly against spending one-time funds for ongoing programs because they knew they’d ultimately be forced to cut the new program or cut something else.
Ending a program people have come to rely on is never popular.
But for the past few years, the Democrat-controlled legislature has done the opposite. As one local news organization reported, “The budget has actually been out of balance for years.
To continue reading the rest of the story, please click (HERE).
Mar
29
Ballooning Medicaid costs, TABOR limits expose flaws in Colorado’s big government spending spree
Ballooning Medicaid costs, TABOR limits expose flaws in Colorado’s big government spending spree
By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board
After years of overreach and unchecked government growth, Colorado lawmakers are now scrambling to plug a $1.2 billion hole in the state budget — a crisis largely of their own making.
Colorado budget writers voted Wednesday night to finalize a 2025–26 budget plan that slashes transportation funding, eliminates programs, and kicks key decisions down the road — all while Medicaid spending surges out of control.
Despite the so-called “cuts,” the budget still grows to over $16 billion. But massive increases in Medicaid — particularly long-term care for seniors and the disabled — are eating up the budget at an unsustainable pace. Democrat lawmakers admit the problem is only getting worse. “Next year, I see our fiscal challenges compounding,” said Rep. Shannon Bird, vice chair of the Joint Budget Committee (JBC), during a hearing.
Conservatives argue this crisis is a direct result of failed progressive governance: endless new programs, expensive mandates, and refusal to address structural overspending.
TABOR Targeted Again
Once again, the state’s taxpayer protections — the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) — are being blamed by Democrats for the budget woes. TABOR limits government growth to population plus inflation, requiring refunds to citizens when revenue exceeds the cap.
Instead of thanking taxpayers for Colorado’s booming economy, JBC Chair Sen. Jeff Bridges (D-Greenwood Village) criticized TABOR: “When the economy is booming and the state is tightening its belt, that just doesn’t make sense,” he told The Colorado Sun. “It’s like, ‘why are you making these cuts?’ And the answer is TABOR.”
But to fiscal conservatives, it makes perfect sense. TABOR keeps the government from ballooning during economic highs and forces legislators to prioritize. That’s not dysfunction — it’s accountability.
Click (HERE) to read the rest of this editorial.
Mar
29
Unsustainable: Colorado budget structural deficit means widespread cuts
Unsustainable: Colorado budget structural deficit means widespread cuts
Unlike the federal government, the state is constitutionally mandated to produce a balanced spending plan each year.
That red flag warning from the chief economist of the Legislative Council and the director of the Joint Budget Committee staff in February signaled the problems ahead for the budget writers, as they tried to figure out not only how to cover a $1.2 billion general fund shortfall but also deal with a “structural deficit” that could affect future spending.
The structural deficit appears when state spending reaches the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights cap. Despite a relatively healthy economy, according to recent forecasts, once the budget reaches the cap, without changes approved by voters, such as those made with Referendum C in 2005, lawmakers would be required to cut spending.
Joint Budget Committee members acknowledge that a structural deficit exists, but they differ on its causes and how to address it.
The panel had to come up with $1.2 billion in cuts from the general fund, which is the discretionary part of the state budget. The other two pots of money in the state budget are cash funds from fees and other sources, as well as federal dollars. The largest portion of federal funding, approximately $9 billion, is allocated to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, with the majority dedicated to Medicaid.
The budget panel “closed” the budget on Wednesday evening, March 26. It is now preparing to introduce what’s called the Long Appropriations Bill and possibly as many as 80 “orbital” bills that make the statutory changes needed to balance the budget. That’s a record, and by a long way; most years, the JBC offers no more than 30 orbitals.
“This is the most complicated budget that we have had,” said JBC Chair Sen. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village. “The complexity in this budget stems from our thoughtful, strategic, and bipartisan approach.”
Panel delays budget introduction as it scrambles to find solutions
On March 21, Bridges, recognizing that the budget would not be ready on time, sought and obtained permission from the Senate to delay it by a week, from March 24 to March 31. While it’s a week later than initially scheduled, it shouldn’t affect lawmakers’ ability to present the finished — and hopefully balanced — budget to the governor before late April.
The other decision the JBC made during the week of March 17 was to use the slightly more optimistic forecast presented on Monday by the Office of State Budgeting and Planning, which provided them with approximately $168 million more breathing room under the TABOR cap. That decision was adopted on a 4-2 vote, with the committee’s Republicans objecting. The latter preferred to use the more conservative numbers from the Legislative Council forecast.
The week’s delay bought the JBC time to tackle the most difficult decisions it faced in crafting the 2025-26 state budget — funding for higher education, Medicaid and specific programs within K-12 education, although the dollars for public schools will take place through the School Finance Act, a separate measure expected to be introduced shortly after the budget.
The most drastic cuts would be painful, budget drafters warned.
Click (HERE) to continue reading this story.
Jan
20
Herman: Colorado’s over-spending problem explained
Herman: Colorado’s over-spending problem explained
January 19, 2025 By Nash Herman
Colorado legislators are discovering first-hand the impossibility of having their cake and eating it too.
The Joint Budget Committee continues to meet with dozens of departments to reconcile an approximately $750 million budget shortfall in 2025, with some absurdly claiming that deficit is purely a result of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) at work.
Granted, it does sounds bizarre that the state must make budget cuts in a year that it is still expected to collect a surplus of revenue beyond what is allowed by TABOR. But by looking at the facts, anyone can come to see how the so-called budget “crisis” is actually a self-inflicted wound from the legislature’s relentless over-spending.
Having their cake
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Colorado received a windfall of federal funds to prop up the state economy and boost recovery. To fund that massive stimulus, the federal government printed money, causing an increased supply of dollars chasing the same number of goods. This in turn lead to the dollar being worth less, also known as inflation. Continue reading
Jan
09
Gonzalez: Colorado’s TABOR Amendment serving taxpayers well
Gonzalez: Colorado’s TABOR Amendment serving taxpayers well
January 7, 2025 By Rep. Ryan Gonzalez
In 1992, Colorado voters passed the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, the nation’s strongest tax limitation law to this day. For those who are unfamiliar what TABOR really does, this amendment to the Colorado Constitution allows government spending to reasonably increase using a formula of population growth plus inflation. Excess revenue, known as the “TABOR surplus,” must be refunded to taxpayers. If state government wants to keep the surplus, or raise taxes, voters must approve. That is exactly why progressives abhor TABOR. But the truth is, a little north of 60% of Colorado voters approve of TABOR.
Many progressives have made their disdain for TABOR be known, having tried time and time again to chip away at TABOR’s taxpayer protections. And in many ways, they’ve done so; mostly by adding tax credits which pull from the TABOR surplus. They’ve done so by giving everyone equal tax refunds and redistributing wealth; taking from those who paid the most in state taxes and giving more to those who paid little.
In 2022, the Democrat majority, just before a critical midterm election, gave taxpayers what they called the “Colorado cash back” in disguise as a “stimulus” check. What they didn’t tell you is that it was actually your TABOR refund, just early and proportioned against historical distribution. Continue reading
Dec
21
Herman: Course correction needed for Colorado’s economic outlook
December 20, 2024 By Nash Herman
The University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business recently released their 60th annual Business Outlook for 2025, and, despite a moderate outlook in 2025, the report includes some disturbing trends in the Colorado economy. Let’s take a look at some of what’s going wrong.
Troubling trends
As pointed out by Denver Post business writer Aldo Svaldi, Colorado was the fifth fastest growing economy in the country in the last 15 years, but was 41st this year.
In terms of personal income growth, Colorado moved from third to 39th.
Although Colorado only moved down from sixth to 15th for employment growth, it comes with the caveat that the job gains this year were skewed toward government, education and healthcare, and leisure and hospitality.
Conversely, the growth of the high-paying professional and business services industry has continued a downward trend since 2022.
Fueled by slowing migration to Colorado and an aging population, Colorado’s labor force growth ranking also moved from sixth to 29th.
Taxes, spending and regulation
Obviously, some of the problems with Colorado’s economy are externally caused, like the lingering effects of the pandemic and subsequent inflation from federal spending.
However, I think there is still more to be said as to why Colorado’s economy seems to be stuttering now.
Colorado’s shift toward bigger government and away from the free market is why these problems are beginning to manifest. Over-regulation, over-spending, and over-taxation are the key culprits. To Coloradans who have witnessed the economy’s decline, the most noticeable difference between today and twenty years ago is that the state now more closely resembles California more than the entrepreneurial Colorado of old. Continue reading
Oct
26
Poudre Schools Ballot Question Violates TABOR & Colorado Law
Colorado’s TABOR Committee & TABOR Foundation @colorado_tabor replied with:
“The Poudre School District R-1 ballot title violates TABOR Section 20 (3) (c). The answer to Hi Kid’s question is “No, the District’s ballot title is not okay.”
Hi Kid @HiKidHey asked this on X (Twitter): “So what does that mean for voters? Who is ultimately responsible for the TABOR violation? The local county clerk or the district’s designated election official? Genuinely curious.”
Colorado’s TABOR Committee & TABOR Foundation @colorado_tabor replied with:
“We recommend retaining an attorney to quickly file for a temporary restraining order and an injunction in Larimer District Court. If any increased taxes are collected, then they must be repaid to the taxpayers with interest. The County Treasurer makes repayment to taxpayers including the added interest required by the Colorado Constitution.”