DENVER—Republicans said an amendment that increases funding for public schools could block tax reform after Democrats used their majority power to put portions of a constitutional amendment in the school finance act on Tuesday.
House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, said he’s still going ahead with a referred measure designed to resolve conflicting fiscal provisions in the Colorado Constitution.
Romanoff wants to ask voters in November to loosen the fiscal reins on the state’s limits on taxes and spending in the constitution in return for removing another constitutional amendment that requires increased funding for public schools.
Republicans were rebuffed Tuesday when Democrats rejected an amendment that would take the increased funding for public schools out of the school finance act, even though Romanoff voted with the Republicans on a standing vote.
Republicans said by moving the constitutional amendment requiring increased funding for schools to the school finance act to state statutes, Democrats may have doomed any chance for Romanoff to get agreement from them to give up the fiscal reins on taxes and spending.
“It’s almost like it’s still in the constitution. This is why we’re less than enthusiastic about negotiating on nothing,” he said.
Romanoff was visibly upset after the vote, but he said he’s still going ahead with his plan.
He said by putting Amendment 23 in statutes in the constitution, Republicans could remove it anytime they could get the votes. He said his plan protects the spirit of both Amendment 23 and the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, while resolving conflicts that required the state to increase funding for public education. He said it also protects funding for transportation.
“At some point, folks have to ask what’s left,” Romanoff said.
Romanoff’s plan would create a savings account for public schools, require a two-thirds vote of both houses to access the account and repeal automatic spending increases in Amendment 23, which provides increased funding for public schools.
It also tackles another major issue, eliminating tax surplus refunds under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, while still allowing people to vote on tax increases.
Rep. Debbie Benefield, D-Arvada, said Romanoff was unaware of her plan to reinstate Amendment 23 in two years when it is set to expire. She said voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 23 years after they approved the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, showing funding for public schools was a bigger priority.
Previous attempts to fix the conflicting fiscal constraints fell apart because Democrats wanted to protect school funding and Republicans wanted limits on the state’s ability to tax and spend. When the state economy tanked in 2002, lawmakers were forced to ask voters for a five-year time out on tax-surplus refunds, but that also expires in 2011.
Romanoff said he believes he can still get two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate to support his plan, even though he needs four Republicans in each house to get it on the November ballot.
