Republican senators refused Monday to give their consent to allow an early debate of Gov. Bill Ritter’s proposal to freeze property tax rates for public schools.
The move postponed a vote on the controversial proposal for at least one more day and gave Republicans hope to pick holes in the plan to let school districts keep an estimated $47.4 million next year.
The governor’s office previous – ly had estimated that it would allow school districts to keep about $55 million and relieve pressure on the state budget, which is picking up an ever-increasing share of education funding.
The Senate is expected to debate the annual school-funding bill, which includes Ritter’s proposal, today.
Republicans have been calling the proposal a tax increase while Democrats argue that the current system is unfair because it delivers tax cuts to wealthy homeowners while propping up rates in poorer areas.
Last week, Republican Attorney General John Suthers’ office released a memo concluding that the plan is unconstitutional because it is a tax policy change resulting in a revenue gain for the school districts.
The governor’s counsel and the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Legal Services have concluded that the proposal does not violate the constitutional requirement that voters must approve a tax increase.
The inability of Democrats to call up Senate Bill 199, the School Finance Act, for debate on Monday was caused by a standard procedure for putting bills on the calendar, said Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver.
It typically takes two days for a bill to show up on the calendar for debate, Gordon said. The Senate can waive the rules to allow debate, but such action requires the support of 24 senators, a two-thirds majority. Democrats control the Senate 20-15.
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-954-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
