We can hardly ask more of our elected leaders than to see a threat on the horizon and take action to wisely prepare for it, no matter how difficult it might be politically.
That’s what some Republican and Democratic leaders did in 2005 when they sold voters on Referendum C, a five-year timeout from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. In that vein, we were glad to hear Gov. Bill Ritter is trying to build a broad coalition to again tackle TABOR, which has slowed the growth of government, diminished state services and jeopardized higher education.
It’s going to take strong resolve by the governor and others to address all of the fiscal constraints and funding mandates that have made a mess of the budget process in Colorado. And it will take a unified front by Republicans, Democrats, businesspeople, educators and activists to convince voters of the merit.
TABOR has been defanged a bit over the years, starting with Ref C, which got rid of the so-called ratchet effect and allowed a five-year timeout on revenue limits, so the state could keep the money it collected over TABOR limits.
That timeout runs out in 2010, right about the time most expect the economy will recover. It needs to be dealt with.
TABOR also conflicts with other constitutional budget mandates, such as Amendment 23, which requires annual increases in K-12 spending.
Hopefully, Ritter will help forge a compromise that deals with both, similar to Amendment 59, the attempt last year to address dual problems of mandated spending and revenue limits. It would have eliminated the constitutional requirement that revenues in excess of TABOR limits be refunded to taxpayers as well as the requirement that K-12 spending rise each year.
To pass any sort of TABOR reform, Ritter knows he’ll need a broad coalition. Like Referendum C, a proposal that’s born from compromise and pushed by a diverse coalition will be something fairly moderate, rather than a full-on gutting of TABOR, which likely wouldn’t fly.
It can’t be pushed by only Democrats either. Republicans, many of whom know the fiscal mess the state is in, must stand up and be counted.
Colorado’s needs are only going to grow with its population, but services such as education, health programs and transportation will be held back by artificial budget formulas and conflicting constitutional strictures if voters don’t act. We hope our leaders have the foresight to look down the road and the courage to fight for a reasonable solution.
