Colorado Teachers Union Pushes Ballot Measure Targeting TABOR Spending Limits

By: Blair Miller | Denver7

DENVER — The largest union of Colorado educators rallied outside of the Capitol on Thursday, calling on lawmakers to refer a measure to the ballot that they believe is a solution to funding struggles plaguing schools in the state.

The measure that the Colorado Education Association (CEA) is spearheading is centered upon the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), which voters approved in 1992. TABOR limits the amount of money the state government can keep and spend, while requiring voter approval to keep excess funds collected. Without that voter approval, extra revenue is refunded to Colorado taxpayers.

The CEA would like voters to decide if they would like to raise the TABOR spending cap, which was called “outdated” several times during Thursday’s press conference. The measure would raise the spending cap by the amount of the current general fund education budget, which tends to fall between $4 and $4.5 billion each year.

“There are a number of years where the state collects excess revenue above what it’s allowed to. And then it has to refund those dollars back to taxpayers. What we are asking then is to raise that cap so those dollars can be used for education instead of being refunded,” explained the president of the CEA, Kevin Vick. “The ballot measure itself calls for increases in funding for education specifically. So, technically, the cap itself provides a little more space for the state to decide on other priorities as well. But, this particular measure only is talking about education.”

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