Lawmakers sidestep TABOR by charging fees
When Colorado voters enshrined the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights into the state constitution in 1992, it had a simple premise: If lawmakers want to raise taxes or issue debt, they should ask voters for permission.
In practice, lawmakers rarely ask. But that hasn’t stopped them from charging Coloradans billions more for government services and borrowing costs anyway.
Designed to impose fiscal discipline on government, the amendment known as TABOR also sets a cap on spending growth each year. But 25 years later, policymakers on both sides of the aisle say Colorado government finance has instead become an increasingly complicated exercise in sidestepping those restraints.
Can’t raise taxes without a public vote? Charge a fee, instead. Want to plug a hole in the transportation budget? Borrow against the equity of government buildings.
“It gives voters the impression that we’re playing games,” said Scott Wasserman, president of the liberal Bell Policy Center. “And they’re right — we are playing games.”
This Jan. 13, 2017 photo shows NFL player Cam Newton, center, tossing a football to youth football players during a break in the filming of a Buick commercial for this year’s Super Bowl telecast in Los Angeles. The commercial is set to air during the first quarter. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
