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Text of Republican lawmakers' letter to Gov. Bill Ritter

The Rocky

Published June 5, 2008 at 12:22 p.m.
Updated June 5, 2008 at 12:22 p.m.

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Dear Gov. Ritter: Now is a time for action.

In light of the recent ruling by the City and County of Denver District Court, the state may soon be forced to return millions of dollars to state taxpayers.

It is irresponsible to assume that the Colorado Supreme Court will overturn the decision of the District Court that your property tax proposal from last year is unconstitutional.

A new analysis by Legislative Council shows that the cost of doing nothing to address this possibility, before the budget goes into effect on July 1, 2008, will be $272 million! The price of inaction is too great.

Serving in the justice system, you saw how difficult it is to win on appeal, and must recognize the need for a plan of action should the appeal fail.

It was unwise to ignore the opinion of Colorado Attorney General John Suthers: It is reckless to ignore both the attorney general and our District Court.

We are writing to request that you notify the legislature of your plan to address the unbalanced budget situation created by your unconstitutional property tax hike. As our governor, you have the power to make cuts to the budget or to call us into a special session.

If you refuse to act, we strongly believe you owe the people of Colorado an explanation as to why you are so certain that the Supreme Court will overturn the existing ruling.

We cannot help but wonder if you know something that the rest of Colorado does not, that causes you to be so confident that the Supreme Court, tasked with upholding justice and not agendas, will come down on your side.

We respectfully request a response by Monday, June 16, so that your plan of action can be taken into consideration as the legislature's Joint Budget Committee begins meeting the following week.

Because the "mill levy freeze" was your proposal and its passage was a result of your efforts, you have a responsibility to address the financial uncertainty it has caused.