TABOR & Fiscal Policy

TABOR | Referendum C | Mill levy stabilization | Fiscal work

The Bell's current fiscal work

 

“Is there a gap between our resources and our spending, particularly when you factor in our aspirations for opportunity? That’s the problem statement, and we want to set up a statewide discussion about the options for dealing with it.” — Wade Buchanan, Bell Policy Center president

Even with Referendum C in place, many observers say Colorado can’t sufficiently fund state services to compete economically or meet the needs of residents. Many people are concerned about what will happen once the Ref C time-out from TABOR expires in 2010.

Some groups aligned with specific services, such as K-12 education, higher education, health care and transportation, are considering ballot measures to raise revenues or change budget requirements in the post-Ref C era.

The Bell Policy Center is concerned that piecemeal or temporary fixes may do more harm than good by further complicating and constraining Colorado’s budget process. We believe a comprehensive and permanent solution is the best approach to meeting the state’s budget needs.

We also believe the best way to prepare for the post-Ref C world is to first compile a reputable set of data about future fiscal conditions. This will help us to define the problem, educate the public and create common ground for action.

In collaboration with the Colorado Children’s Campaign and the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, a team of eight researchers spent much of 2007 studying the state’s likely spending through FY 2012-2013: the final three years of Ref C and the first three years of the new excess revenue cap set by Ref C. The research is focused on the five areas of state spending that comprise 91 percent of the state budget: K-12 education, higher education, health care, human services, corrections, plus funding for transportation.

Visit the Looking Forward home page and look for the Looking Forward toolkit. It offers links to HTML and PDF versions of the report, links to the web-only appendices that offer agency-by-agency details, and a reader feedback form that you can download, print, fill out and return to the Bell Policy Center.

We are also working with a broad range of partners on a public outreach and education campaign with numerous presentations across the state. Our aim is to inform elected officials, opinion leaders and citizens about the challenges uncovered by our research. We are working with many organizations to build a strong and diverse coalition around appropriate and realistic solutions, just as we did leading up to Referendum C.

To request a presentation for your group or in your community, contact:

The Bell Policy Center

(303) 297-0456 in metro Denver • (866) 283-8051 toll-free in Colorado

AGBell@thebell.org

Quick links to:

The Bell's Cycle of Opportunity

The Self-Sufficiency Standard

Fiscal policy links & resources

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What's New

December 18, 2007

The Bell Policy Center,
Colorado Children's Campaign and Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute release

Looking Forward home page

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Aug. 4, 2007

Brown on Bell

Denver Post columnist Fred Brown comments on Bell Policy Center's presentation, Looking Forward, Colorado's fiscal prospects after Ref C

A recent meeting of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce spent roughly 20 minutes on the budget question. The speakers were engaging communicators who knew their subjects well. The audience was smart and civically savvy. Even so, there was some eye-rolling and stifled yawning.

Most voters aren't going to have the patience, or the opportunity, to sit through a 20-minute explanation. And 20 minutes only skimmed the surface.

Read Brown's column

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