Mar 30

Colorado Legislative binge ongoing despite billion-dollar budget gap

Posted on March 30, 2025 by thetabor

Colorado Legislative binge ongoing despite billion-dollar budget gap

Despite Colorado’s $1.2 billion budget deficit, increasing regulatory woes, and a souring economic outlook, the state legislature continues to proliferate new legislation that promises to increase government size and spending.

The 120-day 2025 legislative session is beyond the halfway point, and Colorado’s 35 senators and 65 representatives have introduced over 500 bills so far, with several containing significant fiscal impacts.

Using data from the Legislative Council Staff’s Fiscal Note Reports, I consolidated bills into interactive charts to display the proposed legislation’s impact on government employment, the General Fund, and the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) in FY2025-26. .

Growing government

According to the data, all proposed legislation thus far in 2025 would add over 300 full-time equivalent (FTE) hires to the state’s payroll, reduce General Fund revenue by over $900 million, and reduce funds subject to TABOR by over $1.3 billion.

Of course, legislators will not pass all these bills, and some bills with significant fiscal impacts have already been rejected.

As previously reported in Complete Colorado, the lack of political competition in Colorado’s legislature has ushered in an unprecedented era of ballooning government expansion, and that extraordinary growth is now coming home to roost.

But this year’s budget shortfall did not appear out of thin air.

As I previously explained, Colorado’s billion-plus dollar budget hole was caused by government overspending and the shirking of fiscal responsibility and accountability.

In short, the government spent one-time federal money for COVID relief on ongoing programs, inflation continues to cool (slowing government growth as allowed by the state constitution), the cost of Medicaid continues to increase, and the legislature continues to expand special interest tax breaks.

This is while resisting transparency and accountability and instead deflecting blame onto TABOR, which progressives blame for holding back the state’s ability to offer essential services.

In reality, TABOR just reasonably limits the growth of government, forcing the state to be more efficient, effective, and responsible when spending Coloradans’ money.

Click (HERE) to read the rest of this article at Complete Colorado!

Mar 08

Citizen watchdogs needed for Arapahoe County 1A tax windfall

Posted on March 8, 2025 by thetabor

In the November, 2024 general election, Arapahoe County voters approved ballot issue 1A, removing spending limits imposed by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). Moving forward, this means county government gets to keep and spend over-collected tax revenue that would have otherwise been refunded to taxpayers.

In other words, voters gave county commissioners what amounts to a tax hike, and now it’s time to keep them accountable for it.

As part of the ballot language, a provision was included that mandates all spending of this tax revenue windfall be transparently reported. Specifically, it requires that the new spending be included in the county’s annual independent audit, published on the county website and that it be monitored and reviewed by a “resident advisory committee.” That’s where you come in.

The county pushed ballot measure 1A as a way to fund existing services that they claimed were potentially going to be cut due to budget shortfalls. And while I understand the need for transparency of how this massive influx of money should be spent, we must also make sure the advisory committee is up to the task and doesn’t just become a rubber stamp for political agendas and new pet projects.

According to the county website, the job of the committee is to ensure that 1A funds “are being used in alignment with their intended purpose, advocating for proper stewardship of these resources.”

If you think you’re up to that task, you should consider applying. It’s a great opportunity to get involved in your community, while also holding your elected officials accountable to the taxpayers.

There are ten committee slots to be filled, with at least one from each county commission district. Members serve three-year terms, with a two-term maximum. And if you’ve ever thought about running for public office, this is a great way to get some local government experience under your belt first.

Arapahoe County voters gave up their TABOR refunds in perpetuity, now it’s time to ensure county commissioner honor that sacrifice and hold up their end of the bargain.

Kathleen Chandler is an Arapahoe County resident and directs the Citizen Involvement Project at the Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Denver. She can be reached by email at Kathleen@i2i.org.

Citizen watchdogs needed for Arapahoe County 1A tax windfall – Complete Colorado

Jan 20

Herman: Colorado’s over-spending problem explained

Posted on January 20, 2025 by thetabor

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 →

Dec 21

Herman: Course correction needed for Colorado’s economic outlook

Posted on December 21, 2024 by thetabor

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 →

Aug 10

Study finds special interest tax deals eating up Coloradans’ TABOR refunds

Posted on August 10, 2024 by thetabor

Study finds special interest tax deals eating up Coloradans’ TABOR refunds

August 9, 2024 By Savana Kascak

DENVER–Governor Jared Polis has consistently said he wants to lower the Colorado income tax, even claiming that legislation passed earlier this year would deliver on that promise. But new research shows that billions of dollars in special interest tax breaks also passed this year in all likelihood means broad-based income tax relief is off the table for the foreseeable future.

Earlier this year, Governor Polis signed Senate Bill 24-228, temporarily lowering the state income tax rate, on a sliding scale, as a refund mechanism when surplus revenue under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) is more than $300 million in a given fiscal year, with the maximum rate reduction (from 4.40% to 4.25%) kicking in at a $1.5 billion surplus.

TABOR is a constitutional amendment that requires, among other things, state revenues collected in excess of of a formula of population growth plus inflation be refunded back to taxpayers, unless voters consent to forgo those refunds at the ballot box. An income tax rate reduction is but one potential refund mechanism available to the state. Continue reading →

Feb 23

Freedom Minute | Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR)

Posted on February 23, 2024 by thetabor

Economist Dr. Paul Prentice explains Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) amendment. TABOR allows the state budget to grow each year at population plus inflation, while giving taxpayers the ability to vote on all tax and debt increases.

Feb 23

Freedom Minute | Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about TABOR

Posted on February 23, 2024 by thetabor

Rob Natelson wrote THE BOOK on Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. As he puts it, “It’s everything you could ever want to know about TABOR.” Check it out here: https://www.i2i.org/the-colorado-taxp…