Suspending TABOR
Titles: “Leap” and “Colorado Springs”
Sponsor: Vote Yes on C&D
Type: Television ads
The message: Mayors John Hickenlooper of Denver and Lionel Rivera of Colorado Springs appear separately in ads to urge support for Referendums C and D, which they say is necessary to help the state recover from the recession. Hickenlooper jumps out of an airplane to make his point; Rivera talks about the measures’ impact on his region.
Facts: Hickenlooper says that in the 1990s, the economy was “flying high” then hit a recession. This is true. Over the past four years, the state has cut about $1.1 billion in spending.
He then describes a “glitch in TABOR” that causes funding for education, transportation and health care to continue falling. Hickenlooper is describing
the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights’ “ratchet effect,” which prevents state revenue from quickly rebounding from a recession. However, supporters of the “ratchet” do not call it a glitch. They say the it forces government to more efficiently spend tax money.
Rivera says the measures would bring $91 million for I-25 interchanges to serve 11,000 new troops at Fort Carson. The state transportation department has approved that project. And, while the number varies, Fort Carson could see 11,000 more troops. Rivera also says the measures would help the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He also says the measures would provide help for local hospitals that have provided uncompensated care.
While the measures talk broadly about funding health care and higher education, they don’t specifically include those institutions.
“It helps southern Colorado without raising taxes,” Rivera says.
That is true insofar as the measures do not increase the state’s tax rate. However, taxpayers would give up money that would otherwise be refunded to them under TABOR.
– Staff writer Chris Frates
