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Senate nixes Ritter's school funding plan, House up next

Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 21, 2007 at midnight

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Republicans offered Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter's property tax plan on the Senate floor Tuesday - just to watch it die.

Ritter's fellow Democrats have been reluctant to bring the school funding proposal to a Senate vote. Officially, they are waiting for a legal interpretation on whether it violates the Colorado Constitution.

But some Democrats are uncomfortable voting for a measure Ritter calls a tax freeze, but Republicans call a tax hike.

On Tuesday, Republicans offered Ritter's proposal as an amendment to the annual school finance bill, Senate Bill 199, which specifies details of school funding for next year.

The motion came from Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, of Colorado Springs, who called for a vote against it. The plan went down unanimously after Democratic leaders urged their party members to vote against it, too.

Senate President Joan Fitz- Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, said the vote wasn't a rebuff to the governor. Democrats don't want to vote for the proposal until they know it doesn't violate part of the Constitution that requires voters to approve all tax increases, she said.

But McElhany hailed the vote as a victory.

"The Senate unanimously voted against this issue. It sends a strong message to the House," he said.

McElhany scoffed at the idea that senators need a legal opinion before voting.

"We vote on stuff that has technical questions every day. Political sensitivity is the real reason," he said.

Tax rates are set to decrease next year under the 1994 school finance law. But Ritter wants to freeze the property tax rate at current levels. Under that plan, tax bills would go up if property is assessed at a higher value.

Senate Democratic leaders expect the proposal to be added to the school finance bill when it gets to the House. It faces a final Senate vote today.

Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, the bill's House sponsor, said he's unsure he has the votes to approve Ritter's proposal. Pommer, like Ritter, argues that freezing the tax rate is not a tax increase, even if homeowners pay more when property values rise.

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