Free Republic

Colorado voters will face the longest ballot in a century this November. The 18 questions on the ballot deal with some of the state's most hotly debated social and economic issues - from abortion and gambling to taxes on gas and oil companies and a partial repeal of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. An electoral war between unions and their foes has made this the longest ballot since 1912 - the first year that citizen groups got access to the ballot - when there were 32 questions. The union war accounts for seven of this year's questions. It began with...

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Supporters of an effort to repeal new taxes on beer, wine, soda and other beverages raised 15 times as much money as repeal opponents in the latest financial reporting period. The Fed Up With Taxes coalition raised nearly $375,000 for its repeal campaign between May 28 and July 15, according to reports filed with the Maine ethics commission. A tax repeal opposition group, Health Coverage for Maine, raised just over $25,000 for the same period.

In Colorado, taxpayers have a tremendous amount of control over their own property taxes. Thanks to the state’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), which stunts the growth of property taxes, those of us who own property in Eagle County shouldn’t expect to see our taxes skyrocket at the same rate as our property values without voter approval. This year, however, taxpayers’ rights were usurped by Gov. Bill Ritter’s decision to freeze the statewide school district property tax rate... Not only was Ritter’s move a clear violation of the TABOR Amendment because it effectively raised taxes without voter approval, it didn’t...

A year after Boulder voters narrowly rejected raising the pay of their elected leaders, the City Council might ask them to reconsider. The council took the first step late Tuesday toward asking voters to decide nine ballot issues in the fall, including measures that would allow closed-door council sessions and let non-U.S. citizens serve on city boards and commissions. Staff members will draft language for the issues before the council decides whether to include them on the Nov. 4 ballot. The tax questions being studied by the city include removing Taxpayer's Bill of Rights restrictions on property taxes; renewing an...

A Denver District Court judge ruled today that Gov. Bill Ritter's controversial mill-levy freeze is unconstitutional. "However well-intentioned and commendable the purpose and consequences ... this Court must be concerned only with enforcement of the Colorado Constitution," District Court Court Judge Christina Habas ... A group of taxpayers, organized by the conservative Independence Institute, filed suit late last year against the Colorado Department of Education, arguing that the property-tax freeze amounts to an unconstitutional tax increase because voters did not directly approve it. "All that's required to raise taxes in this state is to ask first. Only the most arrogant...

Official testifies in TABOR lawsuit that more money collected as a result of mill levy freeze. State treasurer Cary Kennedy conceded today on the witness stand that a bill passed last year by the legislature alters the way taxes are calculated with the net result that many property owners pay more. But Kennedy continued to insist the 2007 law, SB 199, does not violate Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. Kennedy's testimony came on the second day of a lawsuit brought by opponents of the 2007 law. They say SB 199 should have been referred to voters under TABOR provisions. The...

The rough political road for a proposed state-budget fix got even rougher Monday as Gov. Bill Ritter stopped short of endorsing it and the group expected to propel it to November's ballot expressed concern about funding, timing and other issues. "I don't know ultimately . . . if we're going to have the coalition together to put that on the ballot," Ritter said ... The proposal, which would alter the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights and end mandated increases in education funding, started as a referendum, but Romanoff could not muster the support of two-thirds of state lawmakers — the requirement...

A judge today will hear a case calling Gov. Ritter's move unconstitutional because voters didn't approve it. The year-long controversy around Gov. Bill Ritter's mill-levy freeze spills into a Denver courtroom today, where a judge will decide whether the state has to give the money from the freeze back. A group of taxpayers, organized by the conservative Independence Institute, filed suit late last year against the Colorado Department of Education, arguing that the property-tax freeze amounts to an unconstitutional tax increase because voters did not directly approve it. The trial in the case is scheduled to start today in Denver...

The matchup was inevitable. For the past two months, House Speaker Andrew Romanoff ... His complex proposal would undo the tightest part of that knot by lifting the spending limits imposed by the 1992 Taxpayer's Bill of Rights... Rep. Douglas Bruce, R-Colorado Springs,... "For this purpose, I come before you as the author of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, and as is my wont, I will speak plainly," he began. "This measure, if adopted, will mean unlimited state spending forever." Bruce railed against what he saw as a conspiracy by the "tax-and-spend crowd" to "con" voters into giving up government...

Lately I've been thinking of four left wing incidents that happened in Maine over the course of two years. I feel I should get them off my chest I think some of them would be interesting and I think others should know about them. The first one involves an incident that took place in the Bangor metro area two years ago. This freind of mine and his family were having trouble. He had difficulty getting by and he worked at Edwards Shop'n'save in Hampden outside Bangor. He was on food stamps and his wife was laid off and couldn't get...

DENVER (AP) ― Rep. Douglas Bruce was ordered to leave the podium of the Colorado House of Representatives on Monday after calling Mexican workers "illiterate peasants." Bruce, a Republican with a history of provoking controversy with his statements and actions, made the comment during a debate on a bill designed to ease a farmworker shortage in Colorado. It drew an audible gasp from the House. "How dare you," said Rep. Kathleen Curry, a Democrat who was serving as chairwoman during the debate. She told Bruce he was no longer recognized to speak. The bill under discussion would allow the state...

Anti-tax crusader Douglas Bruce will likely be sworn in Monday to fill a vacant House seat. Just when he will be sworn in is still a matter of contention. House Speaker Andrew Romanoff wants him to take the oath at 8 a.m. Bruce said he wants to wait until 10 a.m., when the House begins its session. "I regret that this simple ministerial act is the latest focus of political consternation and unneeded tension," he wrote. "These publicized pressures are added reason I asked the speaker to allow me 90 seconds right after my oath to speak to my new...

$100 more for car registration among road funding ideas. A healthy transportation network is the lifeblood of the state's economy, Gov. Bill Ritter and others believe, but Colorado voters have a spotty record for providing cash transfusions. This fall, an electorate that has roundly turned down cheaper highway fixes that wouldn't have raised taxes could be asked to approve significantly more spending. Didn't like spending $100 million more a year for five years on transportation without paying any new taxes, as was proposed by a referendum voters rejected in 1998? Then how would you like spending an additional $1.5 billion...

El Paso County Commissioner Douglas Bruce handily won appointment this morning to fill the soon-to-be vacant legislative seat representing northeast Colorado Springs. Bruce takes over the seat that has been held since 2001 by GOP Rep. Bill Cadman. Cadman will be sworn in on Dec. 11 to the Senate District 10 seat that opened up upon Republican Ron May’s Oct. 31 resignation. Long known for his pointed conservative views and often abrasive personality... He told the vacancy committee meeting that he plans to push for tax cuts and limited government with the same ferocity that has marked his public career.

State lawmakers are bracing for a tidal wave named Douglas Bruce. The anti-tax crusader and author of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights may end up in the legislature. Bruce made it official Monday when he announced he would seek state Rep. Bill Cadman's soon-to-be vacant seat, ending weeks of speculation. Bruce said he wants to stand against the "Democrats' socialist agenda" and attempts to raise taxes. "I want to be in state government, but not a part of it," he said. "If your goal is to drain the swamp, you have to wrestle with the alligators." Cadman is the favorite...

Before he gets too carried away with himself, and imagines he's the governor of California or something, Bill Ritter ought to take a careful look at a statewide poll commissioned by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. It might help remind him that, despite the gains made by Democrats, this is still Colorado. Most voters remain wary of higher taxes. They don’t seem to think the health care system is in crisis. And there’s strong support for drilling on the Roan Plateau, if the revenues stay in the state, to benefit local communities or higher education. “We are a hesitant...

A voter opinion poll sponsored by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce shows that Coloradans are increasingly jittery about the economy and not likely to vote in favor of sweeping reforms that could result in tax increases. The poll shows the public also solidly supports drilling at the Roan Plateau, especially if tax revenues are used to fund higher education. Environmental groups immediately blasted the poll methodology, however, arguing the question about the Roan inappropriately tied proposed Roan Plateau drilling with foreign crude oil imports. There are no crude oil deposits in the leasing area, the groups said. About 60...

Two years ago, lawmakers asked voters for a "time-out" from the spending restrictions of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights in order to allow the state budget to rebound from the recession of 2001-2002. Referendum C, which passed by a narrow 52-48 percent margin, erased the TABOR spending limits for five years and permanently increased spending caps thereafter. Following the 2005 vote, Colorado Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald said, “‘We already agreed, if Ref D failed, it would be (one-third each) for schools, colleges and health.” But a funny thing happened after the election. Spending on programs not associated with Ref C...

special interest groups from higher education to prisons to capital construction are demanding more state aid, many saying they've waited long enough for funding, and now it's their turn. At the same time, opponents of Referendum C are saying, "we told you so," over the proposed changes. Several said the ballot question that allowed the state to keep billions of dollars it otherwise would have returned to taxpayers should be more than enough to handle the state's needs. Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, said he fears the new Democratic governor and the now Democratic-controlled Legislature will go hog...

Colorado businesses might think that with the Colorado fiscal crunch eased thanks to Referendum C, now might be the perfect time to sell tax breaks that stimulate industry in the name of job creation. Actually, say political observers, the exact opposite is true for the 2006 legislative session - and perhaps several sessions thereafter. "The political dynamic is such that no tax-reduction or relief measures would have any chance of passage for the next five years," said Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Auto Dealers Association. "It's just a fact of life." Freed from TABOR restraints Ward said the chamber...

A prominent Republican lawmaker is crying foul over $66 million of tax savings homeowners would have seen if not for a law passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Bill Ritter this year. Ritter signed into law Senate Bill 07-199, freezing property tax rates indefinitely at current rates. The measure eliminates tax cuts that otherwise would have taken place under a 1994 school-finance law - an estimated $48 million for fiscal year 2007-2008. "It's the fact that we had said - from day one - it's a bottomless pit and that it will be working families and seniors that...

As a direct result of a booming economy and rising real-estate values, property owners in Mesa County will see a reduction in their county mill levy next year. They will pay $3 million less in county property taxes in 2008 than they would have paid without the mill-levy cut. But, as a direct result of legislation promoted by Gov. Bill Ritter and approved almost exclusively by Democrats in the Legislature, the total property tax bill paid in Mesa County next year is estimated to grow by $4.1 million. The Mesa County Commissioners — Republicans all — were quick to point...

Colorado Springs - Douglas Bruce is known as a frugal man, not a giver of gifts. But when he tried last spring to give pocket- size copies of the U.S. Constitution to high-school seniors, two Colorado Springs-area districts said "no, thanks." snip Bruce said he made it clear that copies of the Constitution were to be given to seniors, but "I said nothing about giving them at graduation or interfering with the ceremony or my being there. That was a contrived excuse by Lewis-Palmer School District."

The entire Colorado tax structure and its effect on business solvency and growth will be the subject of a forum to be held in Denver ... Aug. 13. Hosted by the National Federation of Independent Business/Colorado, the leading representative group in America for the biggest job generators - small businesses ... The forum is open to all Colorado small-business owners. A panel of guests includes House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and ... "Colorado tax structure is the creation of three often competing entities - citizen initiatives, special interests and the Legislature," Gagliardi said. "This has led to the current crazy quilt...

Why on earth did it cost six million dollars to bring the Dead Sea Scrolls to San Diego, and why has this exhibit become submerged in controversy? Hoping to shed some light on these matters, I decided to take a closer look at the parties involved. What I found was surprising evidence that members of several Christian fundamentalist organizations played a major role in creating the exhibit and choosing its content, a fact carefully covered up in the media campaign surrounding the exhibit's opening. For details, see my linked article.

A movement is under way to give Arizona property owners tax breaks while cities, school districts, fire districts and other taxing bodies would face limits on the amount of money raised. A group calling itself Arizona Tax Revolt filed the necessary papers Tuesday to get a ballot measure before voters next year. ‘‘Why should taxes go up 30 percent if home values go up 30 percent,'' asked Marc Goldstone, a Bullhead City resident and chairman of the self-described grass-roots taxpayer group. ‘‘All the governments and taxing entities are reaping a major amount from the increase in values,'' ... The measure...

Gov. Bill Ritter signed an embattled property-tax-rate freeze into law Wednesday, a move expected to ignite antitax advocates during the 2008 election cycle. The measure, which halts the lowering of local property tax rates, is projected to create $1.7 billion in new revenues for education over the next decade. Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams has promised to make Senate Bill 199 the centerpiece of his efforts during the 2008 election cycle. Jon Caldara, president of the conservative Independence Institute think tank, told the Associated Press he plans to mount a constitutional challenge to the governor’s mill-levy freeze. He said...

Veteran GOP Sen. Ken Kester denounced an unsuccessful advertising campaign against him by the Colorado Education Association, charging it "twists and turns" his opposition to a pending statewide property tax hike. A spokeswoman for the teachers union, meanwhile, confirmed that the Colorado Campaign for Children and Public Schools, named at the bottom of the newspaper ad as its sponsor, is the CEA's "527" political-spending arm. Records with the Secretary of State's Office show prominent Democrat lawyer Mark Grueskin filed the group's paperwork. The property-tax hike -- on its way to the governor for his likely signature -- would freeze the...

In the face of a Republican outcry, Senate Democrats approved a fast-tracked property-tax hike today on most homes and businesses in Colorado, and they refused to put the issue to a statewide vote. It passed as part of the annual School Finance Act on a 19-15 vote, with all Republicans voting in opposition. The tax hike -- which was pushed by Gov. Bill Ritter and will cost the public $1.7 billion over the next 10 years -- has been the focus of intense debate for weeks and has dominated hallway discussions at the Capitol. Republicans have assailed it not only...

WONDERLAND Scooter Libby and Reputation Prosecutions that wreak ruin on a lifetime. The trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is the closest version of a Red Queen trial this country has had in a long time. One says that knowing it might start a stampede from past defendants laying claim to the most upside-down prosecution. Lewis G. Carroll's account of the Knave' s trial before the Red Queen and White Rabbit is famous for the Queen's dictum, "Sentence first, verdict afterward." But read the full transcript of the mock trial and one will see that the real subject is not...

Penfield Tate III, Chair: Penfield Tate III, a partner with the law firm of Trimble, Tate, Nulan & Evans, P.C., was a candidate for mayor of Denver in 2003. He served as state senator from 2001-2003 and in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1999-2002. In addition, he has served as executive director of the Colorado Department of Administration during the Romer administration, as an aide to former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, and as a transition team co-chair for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Merle Chambers: Merle Chambers is the president of Leith Ventures LLC, a privately held investment company. She...

This "unpaid activist" has just happened to show up in Maine and has paraded around this state, trashing Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights and making dire predictions for Maine if we pass our version of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. We are thinking she isn't the innocent mother of four that she claims she is. Anyone out in Colorado have any information on her as far as her activism in your state?

Click Here to Watch Americans for Prosperity Meeting June 13, 2006 - Wichita, KS Note: Video features part of the Russell S. Sobel, Ph.D. speech and a update on the Kansas Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). It was sad that I ran out of memory before Dr. Sobel was finished, but what I did catch on video was very informative. Click here for list of Dr. Sobel's work

We'd appreciate some help on this poll. We believe the libs are calling in national voting support. This is a big issue for us in Maine, a poor state with the highest tax burden in the nation.

AUGUSTA -- Organized labor, AARP and the Maine Municipal Association are leading an effort to defeat a citizen-initiated tax measure called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The measure, sometimes called TABOR, seeks to limit government spending to the increase in inflation when adjusted for population gains or losses. If there's a need to exceed that amount, it must be approved by two-thirds of the governing body and by a vote of the citizens. It also requires a two-thirds vote of the governing body -- the state, a town, school district, county, or utility district -- for any tax increases, as...

I got this as an e-mail today, even though I live in Illinois. Anybody know anything about this guy? Dear Friend, In the last national election, President George Bush beat his opponent in North Carolina by 13% points. And yet, the great state of North Carolina is still controlled by a liberal majority in the state legislature and the Governor’s mansion. I say the state of North Carolina and its people deserve better! My name is Nathan Tabor and I am running for the North Carolina State Senate from the 31st District. I am also the founder and CEO of...

Conejos County Commissioner John Sandoval, a Republican, announces his candidacy for Colorado House District 62... Currently held by Democrat Rafael Gallegos. The Conejos county commissioner said he believed his experience as a commissioner for the last few years and previously as an Antonito town councilman prepared him for this political step. Sandoval listed several priorities he has set for himself as state representative: 1) Water. 2) TABOR (Taxpayer Amendment Bill of Rights). 3) Colorado Constitution. Sandoval said Colorado is one of the top three states whose constitution is most easily changed. ...“I don’t think that’s a good thing.” He said...

(Say bill would increase have/have-not divide!!) Local clergy joined with parents and lobbyists on the eve of Thanksgiving to plead with the public to protect bedrock community institutions like strong public schools and a viable safety net of social services.Efforts in the state Legislature to freeze state and local taxes - called the taxpayer bill of rights, or TABOR - would freeze an already inequitable tax system, said Gail Sumi, a lobbyist for AARP."These services make up our quality of life. We should not erode that," Sumi said as TABOR foes staged a news conference in the dining room at...

Coloradans have no commonsense. Within one year we reelected a financially incompetent, liberal Ken Salazar, then raised our own taxes and legalized marijuana. What is wrong with my neighbors? Well, they want to smoke pot and pay more taxes. One problem explains the other. Drug abuse is a large cause of liberal thinking. This is proven historically as we look at the ‘60s and ‘70s. Drug abuse and modern liberalism are synonymous. Person becomes rebel. Rebel smokes pot. Pot affects mind, causing liberal thinking. Liberals raise taxes. Its simple! Fortunately state and federal law will ensure that nothing in Denver...

Drive for Refs C, D got big donations as voting loomed Two wealthy Democrats who helped their party take over the legislature donated more than half a million dollars to Referendums C and D in the final days of the most costly ballot campaign in Colorado history. But donations of $280,000 from heiress Pat Stryker and $250,000 from software guru Tim Gill weren't revealed until Wednesday, the day after the election. It was the first time in the campaign that the pro-Ref C camp did not release its donors early - a tactic opponents said was intended to shore up...

Republicans, Democrats Disagree On What To Do With Money One day after voters agreed to let the state keep an extra $3.7 billion in taxes...Democrats and Republicans were already disagreeing on how to spend it. GOP Gov. Bill Owens said the money should be used to shore up transportation, fix crumbling schools, hold down college tuition increases and strengthen police and fire pensions. Democrats said the state should restore Medicaid programs and ... Referendum C suspends the tax limits in the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment, for five years, allowing the state to keep money that otherwise would...

Opponents of Referendum C counted on voters rejecting a bigger tax bite, $3,100 for the average family in the next five years, under the pressure of high prices for gasoline, home heating, health care and housing. We appealed to people's skepticism that the Democrat-led legislature would use the new money responsibly. Polling even last weekend suggested proponents hadn't made the sale. But they surged to victory with the help of respected Republicans like Gov. Bill Owens, former party chairman Bruce Benson and University of Colorado president Hank Brown. Those heavy hitters outweighed the more numerous antitax Republican voices, including the...

OLYMPIA—Yesterday, Colorado residents voted to “temporarily” suspend the state’s tax and spending limit. Passage of Referendum C allows the state to spend an additional $3.7 billion over the next five years that otherwise would have been refunded to taxpayers. A companion measure (Referendum D) to allow the state to borrow $2.1 billion for, in part, road projects, appears to have failed. “Unfortunately Colorado voters fell prey to their politicians’ best Chicken Little impersonation. The sky is not falling in Colorado, nor is it in Washington,” said Jason Mercier, senior budget analyst for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF). “The key to...

Why Republicans held the state for Bush and lost everything else on the ballot. RED-STATE JOHNNIE HAS THE BLUES. Times are hard for Colorado Republicans, these days. Yes, we again carried Colorado for President Bush. With a GOP voter-registration edge of 186,000, we darn well should have. But that was all we did. Down-ballot, this was the ugliest election for Colorado Republicans that I've experienced in my 30 years in politics. And as president of Colorado's state Senate, I saw the devastation up-close. While Republicans were winning U.S. Senate races from Florida to Alaska, netting a four-seat gain, Colorado lost...

Voting problems cropped up late in the day: Higher-than-expected turnout led to ballot shortages in El Paso County, a conservative Republican stronghold anchored by Colorado Springs that can swing elections as Colorado's third-most populous county. County returns were delayed for hours as sheriff's deputies toted ballots to polling stations where lines of people were still waiting to vote, county clerk and recorder Bob Balink said. A voting machine also broke down in tiny Mineral County... Referendum C would let the state keep an estimated $3.7 billion over five years that would otherwise be refunded under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights,...

"I'll take a split decision," said Jon Caldara, leader of the opponents to Referendums C and D. "I'd rather take the whole match, but more importantly our kids and grandkids are not going to be straddled with billions in debt." ... Caldara said Referendum C passed because of the proponents' superior resources. "I walked into this with my eyes open. They had the money, they had the politicians, they had the media," he said. Opponents have threatened to challenge the ballot measures in court.

DENVER (AP) - Colorado voters decided Tuesday whether to suspend the state's fiscally conservative Taxpayer's Bill of Rights to stave off potentially drastic cuts in such areas as college education and health care for the poor. Polling ahead of the election suggest it would be a close vote, and the secretary of state was predicting a near-record turnout for an off-year. In Greeley, voters at one library waited in line for 40 minutes to cast their ballots. "My job depends on it. Without it, we're toast," said Laura Manuel, who works at Metropolitan State College in Denver and supported suspending...

The scene may seem familiar to Californians: a Republican governor warning that fiscal meltdown is imminent unless voters approve new rules on how much money the state can spend each year. But Colorado Gov. Bill Owens isn't looking for the kind of budget cap that California Republicans want voters to approve next month. That was imposed 13 years ago. Now he is pleading with voters to lift it. The problem: Colorado's spending controls appear to have worked too well. Now some of the most strident fiscal conservatives in Colorado — long viewed as a model for others considering such restraints...

Governments in the United States take approximately 40 percent of the country's total income in taxes. In other words, nearly half of all the income generated each year is sent to governments to spend. The good news is that a growing number of people pay no federal taxes at all. According to a recent Tax Foundation report, 29 million people had no federal income tax liability in 2000, and the number was expected to reach 44 million in 2004. The bad news is that people who do pay taxes much pay more to make up for those who pay nothing....

DENVER -- Whether Oklahoma voters approve a spending-limits proposal known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights next year could hinge on what happens next month in Colorado. Colorado voters will decide Nov. 1 whether to suspend the state's landmark cap on state and local spending, known by the acronym TABOR, and the result is expected to resonate in at least a dozen states now considering similar legislation and ballot initiatives. In some states, the Colorado vote already is being used to sway voters. The fact that Colorado is even considering Referendum C, which would overturn TABOR for five years, shows...