Colorado AG loses another round from Court of Appeals on TABOR lawsuit
By Lynn Bartels
Attorney General John Suthers has lost his request to have the entire 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rehear a decision by a court panel that ruled Coloradans have a right to challenge the constitutionality of the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
The 6-4 decision by the court marks another milestone in a legal fight over how Colorado conducts its most important functions. One of the court’s 11 judges recused himself.
Colorado voters in 1992 passed the TABOR amendment, which in part limits state spending and bars lawmakers from raising taxes without a vote of the people.
A lawsuit filed against Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2011 argues that by taking away lawmakers’ ability to tax, TABOR violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee that every state have a republican form of government.
Suthers questioned whether the plaintiffs had the right to sue, but was rebuffed by a U.S. District Court judge. A panel of Court of Appeals judges in March concurred with the lower court.
In its 49-page decision, the 10th U.S. Circuit panel in March noted the Supreme Court has held that members of a state legislature may have standing to sue in order to vindicate the “plain, direct and adequate interest in maintaining the effectiveness of their votes.”
It did not rule on the merits of the case.
Suthers then asked for the entire court to decide whether plaintiffs had standing and other issues.
The latest decision paves the way for a trial in U.S. District Court unless the attorney general successfully seeks review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We are of course gratified with this decision supporting the plaintiffs’ position that the case should be heard on its merits, and we look forward to that hearing in U. S. District Court,” one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Mike Feeley said, in a statement.
“Now, with the procedural objections resolved and three rulings all in the plaintiffs’ favor — one in U. S. District Court in 2012 and two this year by the 10th Circuit — we hope the case can proceed without delay and without an expensive additional appeal to the Supreme Court.”
David Blake, deputy attorney general for legal policy said, “We will be discussing the case with our client but we expect to seek Supreme Court review.”
The plaintiffs, who include some current state lawmakers such as Sen. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, and House Majority Leader Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder, claims that TABOR deprives them of their ability to perform the “legislative core functions of taxation and appropriation.” Moreover, the plaintiffs say explicitly that TABOR prevents them from doing their jobs.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327, lbartels@denverpost.com or twitter.com/lynn_bartels
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26196416/colorado-ag-loses-another-round-from-court-appeals
TABOR: The Taxpayers Bill Of Rights
TABOR Committee & TABOR Foundation update
Friends of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights,
Your TABOR Committee has a lot of irons in the fire, so I thought to take inventory:
The lawsuit alleging TABOR unconstitutional is Kerr vs. Hickenlooper. You might recall that a 3-judge appellate panel of the federal 10th Circuit found the trial could proceed. In a direct and forceful response, the Attorney General’s Office asked for an appellate review by the entire Court (“en banc”). From the opening salvo:
This case involves questions of exceptional importance: whether three state legislatorsmay enlist the federal judiciary to take sides in their dispute with the state’s constitution, its governor, and its people over the proper role of direct democracy. A case involving more fundamental issues about the proper role of the federal courts in a system of horizontally and vertically divided power is hard to imagine. If the panel decision stands, this Circuit will be alone in giving federal judges the power to decide that some laws are unconstitutional because they are too democratic.
The panel reached two holdings, each of which is unique among the circuits and conflicts with Supreme Court precedent….. Continue reading
TABOR vs Colorado Bridge Enterprise lawsuit update
Friends of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights,
Yesterday, July 8, the Colorado Court of Appeals heard arguments by attorneys representing the TABOR Foundation (we are the appellant) and the Colorado Bridge Enterprise. The three-judge panel already had the written arguments (“briefs”) from both sides. This hearing was the last step before the Panel rules. The ruling will be issued “in due course” according to the Court, which means perhaps one to two months, although such timing can vary greatly. We are praying for the Appeals Court to overturn the trial court decision that allows this abomination to continue; we want the State to have to get prior voter approval to collect the bridge tax (“surcharge”) and to obtain prior voter approval before putting Colorado citizens $1 billion in debt.
Our attorney, Jim Manley of Mountain States Legal Foundation, once again did stellar work, demonstrating quick thinking and thorough preparation. The arguments were limited by rule to 15 minutes for each side. Here is a direct link to the 30-minute audio file: http://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Court_Of_Appeals/Oral_Arguments/Audio_Files/140708-13CA1621.wma
RTD vs The TABOR Foundation written discovery
Water District – Wants a Blank Check!
by Jay Silverheels
Customers of the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District – will be asked this May 6th 2014 to Vote to give their Water District – A BLANK CHECK!
Are you a customer (and voter) inside their Eagle River Water & Sanitation District? (Click Here) to learn if this Water District includes your property.
A Blank Check?
Yes. Here is the specific Ballot Language that the Water District is using – to try to convince you to let them avoid TABOR spending restrictions in the years to come.
Your TABOR protections ARE – Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution!
Why do you think our Water District didn’t use the word TABOR in their Ballot language?
ECT recommends you vote NOT to remove your Taxpayer protections under TABOR!
http://eaglecountytimes.com/2014/03/30/water-district-wants-a-blank-check/
John Cooke on TABOR
Do you have 20 seconds for Colorado’s popular Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR)? Families have to prioritize their budgets and so should lawmakers.
Like HAL 9000, TABOR’s programming overrides will of voters
We disagree. TABOR is the will of the voters.
What do you expect from Carol Hedge’s party when they can’t tax, tax, and tax some more so they can spend, spend, spend until Daddy takes the T-Bird away…. TABOR only says you can’t raise taxes without the voters approving the tax.
Like HAL 9000, TABOR’s programming overrides will of voters
Guest Commentary
The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR as most Coloradans know it, is frequently acclaimed as carrying out the will of voters. But as recent events show, it’s doing the opposite.
Would Colorado voters really have approved TABOR in 1992 if they had known it could prevent their communities from accepting state emergency funds after natural disasters like wildfires and floods? Would they have voted for TABOR if they’d known that it could unexpectedly cut taxes on marijuana that voters had overwhelmingly approved in two elections?
Rather than being a tool used to express the people’s will, TABOR works more like a computer with a mind of its own that carries out its preprogrammed mission automatically, oblivious to voters and to their elected officials.
We now have a new political structure – the HAL 9000 form of governance, modeled after the mellow-voiced but malevolent-minded computer in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Many Coloradans know TABOR mandates tax elections. But it does so much more. Continue reading