Proponents of a recent Democratic proposal to hamstring the Taxpayer Bill of Rights or TABOR admitted that they couldn’t guarantee that the funds raised from asking Colorado voters to sign over their refunds would go to transportation and education. It’s really just a way to increase revenue that would go into the general fund. Here’s what Democratic Speaker K.C. Becker said in the House Finance Committee about where the funds would go:
“…As you know, Representative Beckman, one legislature can’t bind future legislators, so I don’t know what’s going to happen forevermore. And any change that is statutory, whether voters approve it or not, can always be changed by the legislature because the legislature always has the authority to change statutes.”
A coalition of organizations that has banded together to defeat proposals that threaten TABOR (um, like this one) noted that 71% of Colorado voters support TABOR as it’s defined in the State Constitution. And with good reason. As Michael Fields, executive director of Colorado Rising Action, noted:
“The reason the last six statewide hikes were defeated is because voters want the legislature to prioritize the existing budget. Setting up a new slush fund with our TABOR refunds is definitely not the solutions Coloradans are looking for.”
Don’t buy into Democrats’ garbage PeakNation™. This bill doesn’t fund anything they say it does. It simply funds Democrats’ pet projects.