Committee rejects resolution reaffirming TABOR after hours of testimony

The House State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee on a lengthy agenda spent much of the session debating House Resolution 1008, a measure from Representatives Barone and Gonzalez that would reaffirm support for Colorado's Taxpayers' Bill of Rights, known as TABOR.

Supporters said the amendment protects voter consent and keeps government growth in check. Representative Barone said the amendment "reaffirms our support for the taxpayers' bill of rights," noting the measure's fiscal principles and local control. Representative Gonzalez told the committee that TABOR reflects the principle of "consent of the governed" and that voters should decide tax increases.

Opponents — including the Colorado Fiscal Institute, the Bell Policy Center, the Colorado Cross Disability Coalition and other witnesses — argued that TABOR restricts the legislature's ability to respond to changing budget pressures and that the formula tying allowable spending growth to inflation plus population understates the true cost increases for government programs such as health care and education. Caroline Nutter of the Colorado Fiscal Institute testified that "TABOR is the single most restrictive tax and budget law in the country," adding it has driven reliance on off-budget mechanisms and litigation. Joshua Mantel of the Bell Policy Center said TABOR "has been a ball and chain on the legs of the working people of Colorado for more than 30 years."

Witnesses for and against the resolution offered competing policy histories and statistics. Disability advocates said TABOR's limits have hampered Medicaid and services for people with disabilities, while supporters placed emphasis on refunds to taxpayers and protections for local government finance and property tax caps.

After extended debate and a long public-comment phase that included dozens of speakers, the committee recorded a preliminary failure of the resolution and then a motion to postpone indefinitely. The measure was not advanced from committee.

What's next: The committee vote ended consideration for the near term; the sponsors and backers may decide whether to try again in a different form or in floor debate.

Votes and procedure: The committee recorded that the resolution failed in committee and was then postponed indefinitely (procedural action recorded in the hearing.)