Panel boss freezes Romanoff proposal

Weissmann says it might be better to let clock run out

By Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 30, 2008 at 10:51 a.m.

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House Speaker Andrew Romanoff's plan to untangle the Colorado Constitution's conflicting mandates is bottled up in committee, a tactic that could keep it from being tarnished before going to voters.

The chairman of the House State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee postponed a vote on HCR 1014 Wednesday, saying he believes it's better to let the clock run out than risk the bill being killed by the full House.

Committee chairman Rep. Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, said he told Romanoff it's not worth advancing the measure unless more lawmakers can be persuaded to vote for it.

"We're still trying to get the votes," he said.

The complex proposal would lift the spending limits imposed by the 1992 Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. It also would repeal Amendment 23's requirement to increase education spending and create a savings account for education.

Romanoff, D-Denver, has worked to gather support the past two months, but has been met with resistance from Republicans who are against gutting TABOR, and from some Democrats who want to preserve Amendment 23. Romanoff's plan would preserve the requirement that all tax increases go to voters.

Romanoff waited until last week to introduce the measure because he didn't have the two-thirds support from lawmakers required to place it on November's ballot.

Proponents are still two or three votes shy in the Senate and one or two votes shy in the House, Weissmann said, adding that it's tough to persuade lawmakers to take on the popular TABOR amendment in an election year.

A similar measure has been filed as a citizens' ballot initiative. Weissmann said that may wind up being the only way to get it on the ballot.

While it would be better for lawmakers to put it on the ballot, a legislative defeat could hurt the citizens' initiative, he said.

"That's my thinking, and I don't know that (Romanoff) shares in that thinking," Weissmann said. "It's almost better if it runs out - because the clock ran out and we brought this up too late - than if it ran out because the General Assembly somehow couldn't get the muster to pass it."

Romanoff said he has agreed to pursue Weissmann's strategy, but is not afraid to let the full legislature vote on the measure, even if it fails.

"I don't think it makes much difference either way," Romanoff said. "I think the important thing is that the proposal be on the ballot. It would be my preference to get it out of the legislature, but we can't get it out without a two-thirds vote.

"I think we have broad support for this proposal outside this building," he added. "The question is how much we have inside the building."

Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, disputed that.

"I'm not sure there was ever much interest in dealing with this (from) anybody other than the speaker," Penry said. "It really wasn't on the agenda. It wasn't on the radar. And it came at the 11th hour and 59th minute."

Penry added that he knows Romanoff's plan lacks support from Republicans and even some Democrats in the Senate.

"It's hard to argue that we should blow the lid on TABOR spending limits in the same year we're passing a record $18 billion budget and hiring 1,300 new employees," he said.

Weissmann's committee heard testimony from Romanoff and a coalition of bipartisan backers of the plan Tuesday afternoon. Rep. Douglas Bruce, the Colorado Springs Republican who authored TABOR, was the lone person to testify against it.

Romanoff has said that if the legislature doesn't lift TABOR's spending limits, the state will be faced with making tough choices such as "asking folks to shortchange higher education in order to keep up with K-12, or to let our roads and bridges deteriorate."

bargec@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5059

What's next

* The House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee is scheduled to take up the plan again this morning.

* Committee chairman Rep. Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, said he might let the legislative session end next week without passing it on to the full House.

* A similar measure was filed as a citizen's ballot initiative last Friday. Even if the legislature doesn't put it on the ballot, the plan could still go to voters in November if backers gather enough petition signatures.

• April 30, 2008

  12:20 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  RickyLee writes:

  Mess with TABOR = commit political suicide.

• April 30, 2008

  12:34 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Bob299 writes:

  If TABOR is so wonderful, why is Bruce the only one arguing for it? Where are all of the other supporters?

• April 30, 2008

  1:02 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Big_D writes:

  TABOR was a convoluted mess to begin with. It is one of the worst written bills in Colorado history and rambles inanely as Bruce himself.

• April 30, 2008

  1:21 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  infidel91 writes:

  Big_D --

  Do you have any experience in writing legislation or legal interpretation? Or do you really mean to criticize the aim of TABOR rather than its wording?

• May 1, 2008

  7:38 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Lowtaxequalsfreedom writes:

  Big dud works for Colorado media matters. He is one of them I Hate Repulicans. Issues what issues?

  Tabor a silver mine right? Written? What's written. I have never read it. Tabor is a silver mine correct?

• May 1, 2008

  8:10 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  holekeeper writes:

  Lowtax....I think Tabor is some sort of building downtown....TABORCENTER DUH! roflmao

• May 4, 2008

  9:32 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Lowtaxequalsfreedom writes:

  http://www.cato.org/pubs/bp/bp95.pdf

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