Lawmakers who scoff at asking taxpayers if the state can keep excess revenue under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights should pay attention to a lawsuit that passed a hurdle this week in Denver court.
The lawsuit says the legislature violated the state constitution — and specifically Amendment 23 — when it restricted school funding during the recession. On Wednesday, Judge Herbert Stern rejected a motion to dismiss.
That doesn’t mean the plaintiffs will eventually win. But it does strengthen the likelihood that they will be able to make their case. And that case is very different — and much less fanciful — than the one that failed in the last test of school finance in state courts.
In short, plaintiffs have a shot at actually prevailing. And if they do, lawmakers who have scorned potential revenue that doesn’t even involve a tax hike will be looking pretty foolish.
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