Tag: tabor
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Colorado budget plan seeks to keep $306 million by canceling TABOR refunds
Tucked deep within the hundreds of pages of the proposed $46.8 billion 2026–27 state budget is a line item showing $306.1 million in savings — achieved by canceling Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds. Gov. Jared Polis has recommended withholding TABOR refunds in both 2026–27 and 2027–28. His budget proposal says the state accidentally overpaid $306.1…
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Appeals court rejects theory that existing tax revenue undermines need for new fees
Colorado’s second-highest court rejected a plaintiff’s claim last week that the tax revenue generated by an existing activity should prevent local governments from imposing new fees aimed at regulating the activity. The question stemmed from Colorado’s unique constraints on taxation under the 1992 Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. The constitutional amendment generally requires voter approval of…
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LETTERS: Wailing and gnashing of teeth; people instead of parties
Why so much anger and fuss? One might imagine from all the wailing and gnashing of teeth in the Tri-Lakes area that Beelzebub himself is planning to build a den of iniquity at the corner of I-25 and County Line Road. Why so much anger and fuss over a Buc-ee’s? Few would disagree that unspoiled…
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LETTERS: For some, the street is all they have; shifting utilities usage
For some, the street is all they have Re: The Final Vote? Colorado Springs Car Camping Ban — March 10, 2026. The air was heavy in the council chambers. Sadness lingered even before the final vote was cast. I felt defeated, as if I had let down the neighbors and loved ones I advocate for.…
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LETTERS: This is a boondoggle; no really means no
This is a boondoggle I attended the Colorado Springs Front Range Rail Meeting. The rail service’s plan is to utilize the existing freight train rails (that run about 12-16 trains a day – no firm answer) and they are still in the negotiation/planning stage. They plan to begin with 3 one hour and forty five…
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Senate committee moves forward with Colorado ballot measure to redirect TABOR refunds to schools
A Senate panel on Thursday voted along party lines to move forward with a bill that would ask voters for permission to eliminate Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds and redirect those dollars to K-12 public education. The 6-3 vote in the Senate Finance Committee sends Senate Bill 135 to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further…
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LETTERS: A remarkable former mayor; the darker side of war
Remarkable fomer mayor A few recollections of Mayor Bob Isaac jogged by the “look back in history” picture of him last week: He served ably and without pay (a tiny stipend at most). He would always begin his monthly news conferences by striding to the podium and, in that distinctive deep gravelly voice ask, “Any…
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EDITORIAL: Another attempt to gut TABOR
For well over three decades, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights has protected Coloradans against money-hungry government. Amended into our state constitution by rank-and-file voters in 1992, TABOR has been the public’s last line of defense against predatory politicians. It limits government growth — capping how much more revenue can be collected each year — and…
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Colorado Supreme Court blocks ballot initiative defining ‘fees’
The Colorado Supreme Court blocked a proposed ballot initiative on Monday that would have required voter approval for new fees above a certain threshold, while also enshrining a definition of “fee” into the state constitution for the first time. Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez wrote in the March 9 opinion that a ballot measure could…
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Another TABOR fight: Democrats plan to redirect residents’ refunds to K-12 spending
Colorado voters could decide this fall whether billions of dollars that would otherwise be returned as refunds under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights should instead go to public schools under a ballot measure unveiled Thursday by Democrats. Supporters say the proposal would address chronic underfunding in K-12 education, while critics argue it takes money away…