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Pueblo Chieftain guest column By Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany 5/13/07 Bill Ritter, our state's freshman governor, complained at a news conference the other day that the recent Senate debate over his plan to raise Coloradans’ property tax bills had turned into a "partisan fight." You bet it did, and we make no apologies for it. Republicans didn’t set out to rain on Gov. Ritter’s parade when the 2007 General Assembly began, but he should have expected a fight from us over his attempt to exact $1.7 billion from Colorado’s home and business owners over the next 10 years - without even asking their permission. If the Republican Party doesn’t stand up for the taxpayer, who will?
The governor’s school tax hike reminded voters of a fundamental difference between the two political parties: For Republicans, raising taxes is a last resort; for the governor’s party, it is a way of life. This year, it was also the Democrats’ only significant accomplishment. The property tax hike - amended into the annual School Finance Act at the last moment to minimize public input - capped a legislative session in which majority Democrats sidestepped the most pressing issues voters had wanted us to address. Health care, transportation and education reform, all championed by Republicans, were brushed aside and left to "blue ribbon" panels to study. The ruling party instead passed bills that rewarded their old allies, the trial lawyers, making it easier for them to sue and to collect ever-bigger awards. From a measure exposing homebuilders to wide-ranging lawsuits, to one that scraps the caps on various kinds of damages awards, to one that rolls back our state’s prudent "loser-pay" policy on lawsuits, Democrats established a lawsuit-and-lawyer friendly climate. Expect a new wave of litigation that saps some more of the productivity from our economy. Democrats also rammed through a host of measures that either raise fees or lift state caps on local taxes. They raised the fees for registering and titling cars and manufactured homes. Lawmakers tacked higher fees on specialty license plates and driver’s licenses. They even imposed a new surcharge on some court filings. Meanwhile, they passed bills either lifting statutory caps on local taxes or allowing the creation of new taxing districts. (For a more in-depth look at the high and low points of the ’07 session, please visit our Web site, www.ColoradoSenateNews.com ) Up against that taxes-and-trial lawyers approach to lawmaking, the governor’s plan to raise property tax bills is all the more galling. He and his legislative allies say they want the extra money to stabilize school funding, but the legislation that enacts the tax hike includes no guarantees whatsoever that the extra revenue will go to our schools in the years to come. In my experience after 13 years in the General Assembly, it is more likely to be sucked into the black hole of the state general fund and eaten up by new programs. The governor refused as well to look at credible funding alternatives that we implored him to consider, such as securitizing the state Lottery. That would ensure it could continue to fund trails, parks and open space while also creating a sustainable revenue stream for our schools. The last straw was when the governor and his party would not even consider putting his sweeping tax hike to a vote of the people, ignoring a recommendation from Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. Only a popular vote could ensure compliance with the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, or TABOR, in the state Constitution. While it is unclear how the courts ultimately might rule on that question, it is a breach of faith with voters, in principle, to deny them a chance to weigh in. That was why they enacted TABOR in the first place, in 1992 - give themselves veto power over tax hikes. Partisan? We have to be. When you look at the folks who have taken over state government, Republicans are the only true friends the average taxpayer has left. |
