Colorado Priorities, the good-government group pushing a ballot measure that would have allowed the state to hold on to “excess” revenues, has pulled out of the 2016 election.
The shelved measure was sort of a “Son of Ref C,” the successful 2005 initiative that allowed state government to keep revenues that otherwise would have been paid out in taxpayer refunds under TABOR.
This year’s proposal would have allowed the state to keep all revenues collected under the current tax rates and spend any additional revenue on education, transportation, mental health services and senior services. It would have been in effect for 10 years.
Here’s the rationale from campaign leaders Dan Ritchie and Al Yates:
“In November, Colorado voters are going to be asked to decide on up to 10 statewide ballot initiatives, dozens of candidates as well as local ballot initiatives. The crowded ballot has made it difficult to secure the resources necessary for us to win in November.
“While we are confident this is a winning issue — our polling shows 61 percent of Colorado voters support us — it is far too important of an issue to risk the possibility of failure due to an uncertain political climate and the lack of resources necessary to communicate on such a complex issue.”
Sounds reasonable enough: The November ballot will be crowded, campaign contributions will be hard to find and TV airtime could be scarce.
But, word on the street is that the campaign couldn’t raise enough money for petition gatherers.
Without the ballot measure, the legislature remains the only body that can provide relief for the state’s tight and increasingly uncertain budget situation. The one vehicle for doing that is reclassification of the hospital provider fee, a change stymied by Senate Republicans last session. A Democratic takeover of the Senate in November (assuming Dems hold their House majority) is key to the future of the provider fee.