By Tori Ganahl | Rocky Mountain Voice
Democrats in the Colorado legislature are pushing forward with a plan that would fundamentally alter the state’s tax system—starting with a lawsuit aimed at dismantling the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).
At the heart of this effort is House Joint Resolution 25-1023, which directs the General Assembly’s Committee on Legal Services to file a lawsuit in state court challenging the constitutionality of TABOR.
Their argument? That allowing voters to decide on tax increases and imposing limits on government spending violates the “republican form of government” guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Simply put: Colorado Democrats are claiming that the very act of asking taxpayers for permission to raise taxes is unconstitutional.
This unprecedented legal maneuver comes amid a staggering $1 billion budget shortfall, caused not by a lack of revenue—but by reckless overspending.
The Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado (AGNC)—which represents Delta, Garfield, Grand, Mesa, Moffat, Montrose, and Rio Blanco Counties—did not mince words in response.
“This resolution is not a legal remedy—it’s a legislative betrayal,” AGNC wrote in a statement provided to RMV on Monday. “It seeks to use taxpayer dollars to fund a lawsuit against taxpayers themselves.”
The group warned that if TABOR is overturned, “there will be no brakes left on the spending train barreling toward fiscal collapse.” And they have the numbers to back it up.
Since Governor Jared Polis took office in 2019, state appropriations have ballooned by 46.3%, jumping from $30 billion to $43.9 billion. General Fund spending alone has surged 54.3%, growing from $11.6 billion to $17.9 billion. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) has exploded by 429% since 2005 and now consumes 37% of the state’s budget, while the share going to education has fallen to just 18%.
Despite this, Democrats continue to claim the state is underfunded. Instead of reining in spending, they’re going to court—on your dime.
“Colorado doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending addiction,” AGNC wrote. “And this resolution doesn’t treat it—it enables it.”
AGNC emphasized that rural Colorado has been disproportionately harmed by the state’s progressive tax-and-spend policies: from energy shutdowns and loss of severance tax revenue to wolf reintroductions and jail closures.
“It’s been blow after blow on Northwest and rural Colorado—and now they want to dismantle TABOR too,” the group said. “Let’s call it what it is: The State of Colorado has all but declared war on rural Colorado—on our communities, our way of life, and the industries that built this state.”
The lawsuit is just one part of a broader effort by Democrats to erode TABOR.
In 2023, Democrats tried to gut TABOR through Proposition HH—a measure that would have eliminated refunds in exchange for meager property tax reductions. Voters overwhelmingly rejected it.
Yet here we are again.
Senate Bill 173 and Senate Bill 270 seek to reclassify or redirect state revenues in ways that sidestep spending caps entirely.
Critics say it’s all part of a coordinated strategy to give the state a blank check without asking voters.
AGNC’s message is simple: “We urge every legislator who believes in fiscal responsibility and democratic integrity to vote NO on HJR25-1023.”