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Stunning rebuke for state leaders

Rocky Mountain News

Published May 31, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Sometimes even the most complicated issue can be distilled into a few clear sentences. To her credit, that's what Denver District Court Judge Christina Habas managed to do Friday in ruling that the legislature and governor ignored the state Constitution last year when they approved a law governing property taxes for schools.

Before quoting from her opinion, though, some background is in order. The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights bars any "tax policy change directly causing a net tax revenue gain to any district" without a vote of the people.

Simple, no?

Apparently not. The Independence Institute, which spearheaded the lawsuit over Senate Bill 199, insists that a statute changing how the vast majority of school districts establish their property taxes is a TABOR violation. The governor and legislature disagree.

Habas would have no such water-muddying.

"The court concludes," Habas wrote after 10 pages of analysis, that "the direct impact of SB 199 was to change 'tax policy.'"

Of course it was.

Moreover, she added, "the collection of an additional $117,838,000.00 in property taxes as compared to the previous year constitutes a net tax revenue gain to the State of Colorado."

How could any fair-minded person conclude otherwise?

Look, we're not questioning, the good faith of the governor and the Democratic majority in the legislature. They weren't trying to deceive voters. But in their push to find additional tax revenue, they apparently convinced themselves that they were rectifying, in effect, an oversight of their predecessors. Wasn't it obvious, they concluded, that school districts already had earned the right to collect more property taxes because of "de-Brucing" elections (named after TABOR's author, Douglas Bruce) they'd held years before, mostly between 1996 and 1998?

Um, no - as Habas clearly explains in her ruling. The judge points to one authority after another, including the Legislative Council and two former directors of the School Finance Unit, who over the years concluded that school districts, even after de-Brucing, could not exploit rising property values to collect more tax revenue in the way envisioned by SB 199.

One of the directors of the School Finance Unit specifically said the de-Brucing measures "were not asked in a way to allow a change in tax policy."

"The evidence was undisputed at trial that, following acceptance of these de-Brucing measures, each district would then calculate a reduction in the mill levy to offset the increased amount of property taxes to be collected due to increases in value of property within the district," Habas explained.

Habas' conclusion is all the more praiseworthy because she is troubled by its implications. "At argument, this court expressly questioned plaintiffs about whether the amount at issue for any individual taxpayer justified the potentially destructive impact on providing education services to the children of the state of Colorado," she says. But commendably, she still made her ruling based upon the clear meaning of the Constitution.

If only state leaders had been similarly careful in their search for more revenue.

Comments

  • May 31, 2008

    5:06 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Michael writes:

    "But commendably, she still made her ruling based upon the clear meaning of the Constitution." - RMN
    Yes, and that is exactly what a judge is supposed to do. Good for Judge Habas. She did not allow emotion or "its for the children" platitudes to blur her duty to rule on the LAW and on TABOR and what is right for ALL of the people of Colorado. Congratulations to all of us who believe that this is how judges are supposed to do their job.

  • May 31, 2008

    6:18 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mike_In_Hartsel writes:

    They'll be back next session scratching around for mo' money. Why is we never hear of old programs being cut, just new ones being funded? Like me the old programs have to stop being useful at some time.

  • May 31, 2008

    8:10 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    anarchist writes:

    earl, I recall as a small child my parents teaching me to read before I entered school, what a concept, a parent, parenting, thank heavens the PC thought police have saved us from ourselves.
    As for the democrat led state government trying to pillage the pockets of taxpayers........"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
    - Plato -

  • May 31, 2008

    9:02 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    youngman writes:

    "Look, we're not questioning, the good faith of the governor and the Democratic majority in the legislature. They weren't trying to deceive voters. "

    Yes they were....period

  • May 31, 2008

    4:56 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jackwoehr writes:

    We know they're liars because they keep saying it's for education. Really, it's for the prison system. 33% of the Ref. C money went TO PRISONS. 25% to schools.

    It's the Prisonocracy and the Private Prison lobbyists bribing your state legislators that want the taxes raised. If the state built DOWN the prison system, there would be plenty of money for schools.

    VOTE LIBERTARIAN this year!

  • May 31, 2008

    7:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jacka writes:

    Vote YES on Amendment 47, give forced union teachers the right to walk away fromt he union.

    Union boss says 50% want out of the union today, but are forced to stay to keep their jobs.

    Says so right here .... http://www.freeuploadshare.com/DOWNLO...

  • May 31, 2008

    8:18 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    rickg19611 writes:

    "we're not questioning, the good faith of the governor and the Democratic majority in the legislature. They weren't trying to deceive voters."

    Why not? Why make excuses for the criminals that lied to voters? RMN editors are acting like apologist puppets for criminal politicians that lie repeatedly to voters.

  • May 31, 2008

    10:18 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    gary writes:

    Sometimes even the most complicated issue can be distilled into a few clear sentences.

    There is nothing "complicated" about this issue at all. A tax increase is a tax increase...period.

    Just because Tax Ritter and his bunch want to make thier own laws and not follow the real laws of Colorado, that does not make it "complicated".

    TABOR is part of Colorado's Constitution and is our law. It must be followed.

    Thank you Douglas Bruce.

    Maybe we all need to kick Tax Ritter a few times.

    Nuff Said!!

  • June 1, 2008

    9:45 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jacka writes:

    So just how will the cashola be returned to the people?

    What about state subsidy programmes that have used these illegal tax dollars, will the drug aDdicted welfare mothers and unions that got the handouts be forced to return the cash or will we be presented with THE GREAT NEED TO DE-TABOR COLORADO IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING FAMILIES, ETC.....

    Sickening to even think of what they'll come up with next.

  • June 1, 2008

    10:40 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    anarchist writes:

    DNC to over 600,000 democrats, p^^^ off, democrat governor of colorado and democrat led legislature to citizens, p^^^ off, but by the way, could we keep the money we stole from you and fund the DNC, after all, its good for colorado, and will let us bring in more illegals to work it, and then we will need more to fund education in bi-lingual programs, we are from the government and here to help you, we know whats best for you sheep, stay to the left please, next? "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
    - Plato -
    fear the government that fears your right to guns.

  • June 4, 2008

    7:37 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    MNM writes:

    I still have the pro-mill levy freeze mailer Senator Betty Boyd sent out, it states:
    What the property tax freeze doesn't do-
    1. Does not raise taxes. (Lie)
    2. Does not violate TABOR. (Lie)

    In the small print, the mailer states-
    "This mailing was not approved by any candidate."

    I'm sure Senator Betty Boyd knew the truth, that's why the 527 sent the mailer for her.

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