Much Ado About....TABOR!

Every day we get emails that consist of a full attack on the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR). Every day we read about how the state can't do one thing or another because of TABOR. A representative from the Colorado Children's Campaign spoke to CPR and just stated, "We need $4 billion more dollars in public education each year, but under TABOR we can't make that happen." The Bell Policy Center just pushed out a newsletter about the now 18 counties that are on a CCCAP freezes stating that, "The problem is lack of funding at the state level--and TABOR..."

WHAT IS TABOR? The Colorado Tax Payer Bill of Rights passed in 1992 by Colorado citizens because government was consuming too large a fraction of Colorado's gross state product. It restricts state, local, and school districts from raising tax rates without voter approval and cannot spend revenues collected under existing tax rates without voter approval if revenues grow faster than the rate of inflation and population growth. In other words, you as a resident of Colorado get to decide whether you want the state to spend additional revenue on specific functions. For the 2024 tax year, Colorado has to return $1.7 Billion in TABOR funds.

Another workaround in action...TABOR doesn't restrict state fees. So what does the Colorado government do? It forced citizens to pay $23.3 BILLION in fees in 2023 alone. And yet they argue....they need more money, they need TABOR to go away! Colorado has over collected taxes and has been required to return funds back to the taxpayer. Could the Colorado Government use that money to build out services again? You bet they could! Colorado residents simply want to pick and choose what services they will decide to fund.

During COVID---Colorado's Government saw an opportunity for growth and took it. At least that is the case with the new Colorado Department of Early Childhood who was awarded around $200 million of the ARP Child Care Stabilization Grant. Per the directives of Governor Polis, the department built out initiatives to expand their capacity and services for the industry, all the while understanding that those supports would go away when the funding went away. Give government a dollar and they will spend it. That is what TABOR is about....limiting the size of government so that families don't have to pay so much of their hard earned dollars on services that they may or may not agree with. Want funding for something? Put it on a ballot and ask for the funding!

There will be a ballot initiative in the 2026 November election asking for $400-600 million dollars to support the child care industry with infant/toddler care. THAT is the way funding for initiatives are supposed to work. You want to offer a function? You want funding for that function? Ask the taxpaying residents of Colorado if they are willing to pay for it!

One final note: It has to be said again....CCCAP is freezing because of unfunded CCDF rule changes that were required by the feds in 2024. Those unfunded mandates are necessitating a funding increase of $70 million a year for CCCAP. If those mandates were not in place, counties would not be on freeze lists or at least would not be for long. They had to balance things out because COVID funds went away and therefore the services that were funded went away. Also, the state was audited and was found to be woefully underpaying programs for their low income child care services. Would that necessitate a freeze? Maybe in a few counties but not likely....after all, that is why they are taking 3 years to get that fully funded level for programs. To minimize the impact. The REAL PROBLEM? Unfunded CCDF regulations.