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COLORADO'S FRONTPAGE

Face the State

Content Index: TABOR

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A tale of two think tanks - and the state budget

Colorado's Long-Term Fiscal Stability Commission held its first hearings Wednesday and Thursday. Both the liberal Bell Policy Center and libertarian Independence Institute gave presentations on the future course of the state budget, and Face The State brings you the highlights.

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Despite dismal budget forecast, Colorado WINS wants raise

June 24, 2009

cowins-logo.jpg

Hours after the news broke that the state faces a $384 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year, the Colorado state employees’ union, Colorado WINS, asked the Joint Budget Committee for higher pay and benefits. Talk about awkward timing.

6/24: Marostica says fixing Amd. 23, Gallagher come first

Don Marostica is back in the news, but this time he's defending taxpayer protections.

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Marostica: hands off TABOR; focus on Amd. 23, Gallagher

June 17, 2009

Don Marostica file 6/17

Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, found himself on the outs with his own party last session for siding with Democrats on key budget issues and his sponsorship of Senate Bill 228, which eliminated the 6 percent growth cap on general government spending.

Face The State recently caught up with Marostica, who was appointed to serve on the legislature's Long-Term Fiscal Interim Committee.

6/8: Morse's soul-saving crusade

State Sen. John Morse is fighting for your soul, whether you like it or not.

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FTS Humor: Morse Code

Face The State Humor

June 5, 2009

By Andrew Ripemoff

In an effort to duplicate the wildly successful California budget process, Governor Bill Ritter signed into law on Tuesday a bill repealing Colorado’s Arveschoug-Bird Amendment.

Speaker Carroll 'tweets' for TABOR

May 28, 2009

Terrance Carroll at podium

Our loyal readers know we love to write about the status updates Colorado lawmakers post on Twitter, the short-message social networking site. Last night we received a post-Nuggets game tweet from House Speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, which cannot be ignored.

After the Lakers beat the Nuggets 103 to 94 in game five of the Western Conference finals, Carroll wrote: “that's ok Laker fans...you got this one. But, at least our state isn't going broke.”

Segment 2 - State Sen. Shawn Mitchell's filibuster for taxpayers

FTS visits with state Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, who this week mounted a one-man filibuster against a measure designed to penalize school districts which reinstate spending limits in the wake of a recent supreme court decision.

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Nannies and cabbies beware: tax credits may get the ax

A Face the State Staff Report

April 2, 2009

Taxpayers who pay someone to take care of their children or businesses that use alternative fuel are at risk of losing the tax credit they benefit from under current Colorado law.

2009 School Finance Act could hurt taxpayers

FTS Opinion

April 1, 2009

A recent Colorado Supreme Court decision upholding a 2007 property tax increase is causing school districts to consider reinstating revenue caps in order to keep property taxes low. The problem is, these districts could end up penalized under this year’s School Finance Act, which was introduced Monday.

3/25: Fiscal restraint in the crosshairs

More talk of tinkering with Colorado's Constitution in the name of budget reform.

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Experts debate whether legislature can lift 6 percent spending cap

A Face the State Staff Report

March 5, 2009

As the state legislature debates Senate Bill 228, a bill seeking to eliminate the 6 percent growth limit on the state’s General Fund, questions are already arising about whether the lawmakers can make such a move without voter approval. Also at hand is the issue of whether or not a lawsuit would arise should the bill pass this session.

1/30: Warning! Tax hikers are on the march

Here we go again. Just months after being shellacked at the ballot box, Colorado's tax hikers are gunning for your wallets.

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JBC vice-chairman: 'Ref C wasn't designed to fix anything'

During a Joint Budget Committee presentation before the House Agriculture Committee last week, legislators were discussing the state's budgetary woes. As it often happens under the Capitol dome, conversations about the budget inevitably lead to questions about Referendum C.

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Segment 2 - Taxpayer protections in Colorado Springs

Blogger and former Colorado Springs Gazette editorial page editor Sean Paige is out to save Colorado Springs' local Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.

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TABOR for dummies

January 17, 2009

"Here they go again.

Faced with a budget that’s hemorrhaging dollars, it was only a matter of time before one of our spendthrift legislators made headlines by erroneously pointing the finger of blame at Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR).

Never mind that last spring Governor Ritter and the Democrat-controlled legislature ignored numerous warning signals of a looming recession."

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Springs city council rethinks anti-TABOR vote

A Face the State Staff Report

January 14, 2009

Downtown Colorado Springs

Under intense public pressure to maintain a city requirement that all proposed spending increases go to a vote of the people, the Colorado Springs City Council has decided to draft ballot language for a TABOR revision instead of a full repeal.

1/14: Debt by any other name is still debt

When is public debt...not really debt?

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Bill Ritter's excuses for attack on TABOR

January 13, 2009

"Wandering out to the Western Slope on his cross-state jaunt with his U.S. Senate protege Michael Bennet, Governor Bill Ritter yesterday sat down with the editors of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Here’s the problem, though. Bill Ritter already chose to pass up a legitimate chance to put money from Referendum C into a rainy day fund. So what reason do I have to believe Ritter is being sincere here? That’s right: no reason."

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Gov. Ritter's recent attack on TABOR

January 13, 2009

"In case you listened to last week’s State of the State address, your ears likely perked up when Gov. Bill Ritter took the time to critique the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights:

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TABOR under fire in Co Springs

January 9, 2009

"Well, it is a new year, so it is time for another big government assault on the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). The latest attempt comes from Colorado Springs where a panel known as the "Sustainable Funding Committee" advised the Colorado Springs City Council to place a TABOR override on the April Ballot."

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The rights and wrongs of Ritter's State of State

January 8, 2009

"The Gov. is dead wrong on Referendum C - the suspension of TABOR. While the Governor is speaking of the need to ensure a quick economic recovery, he is also proclaiming that the way to economic stability is a higher tax rate... this mindset is sure to create a more stagnant economy, as taxpayers are squeezed for every last penny available - and are less likely to stimulate the consumer market, leading to lay-offs etc... the cycle continues... Higher taxes and more government are never the answer."

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An alternative to TABOR repeal

January 6, 2009

"I fear that the Sustainable Funding Committee will blunder today by recommending to City Council three proposals aimed right at the pocketbook of taxpayers, effectively dooming these ideas to defeat at the ballot box, when what’s needed from the committee is a more balanced and holistic review of the city’s fiscal and structural situation, which looks not just at the revenue side of the ledger, but produces some innovative, out-of-the-box ideas on what might be done to outsource or streamline city assets or services."

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Timeline: Ritter Flip-flops on Budget

A Face the State Staff Report

January 5, 2009

Ritter file photo 1/05

Throughout 2008, Gov. Bill Ritter advocated for growing the budget and spent his summer campaigning for tax increases. He only more recently acknowledged the dire fiscal shortages facing the state.

12/23: A $600M budget crunch

The numbers are in, and they’re not pretty: Lawmakers must find nearly $600 million in spending cuts, in just six months.

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Rollie Heath looking for ways to kill TABOR

December 23, 2008

"It only took seven weeks after the voters of Colorado said no to a statewide proposal that would have gutted the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) - a proposal pushed by a campaign that heavily outspent the opposition - for the Democrats to be back at it again.

From today’s Denver Post:

Rollie Heath, a Boulder Democrat elected to the Senate, said that as lawmakers grapple in the coming session with cutting as much as $600 million from the budget because of declining revenues, they should also look at TABOR, a revenue-capping provision of the state’s constitution."

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Rep. Bruce may be eccentric, but he's right on TABOR

December 18, 2008

bruce-safety clause

Outgoing Rep. Doug Bruce, R-Colorado Springs, may be bitter, but he’s right.

In a Wednesday e-mail to reporters and a group of fellow state lawmakers, Bruce calls out the Denver Post editorial board for lying about his baby, better known as the Taxpayers Bill of Rights.

Education establishment stalled after defeat of 59 and Ref O

A Face the State Staff Report

November 24, 2008

CEA anti-TABOR video screencap

Following the defeat of two measures on the statewide ballot, a joint effort by Colorado's three largest education lobbying groups to alter the state's tax system has been left in a lurch.

9/29: Doug Bruce is right this time

Our favorite ex-state legislator is at it again. And no, Doug Bruce didn’t kick another photographer.

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9/16: Cary Kennedy vs. TABOR

You can’t make this stuff up – the state Treasurer says she wants to “drive a stake in the heart” of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights.

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